Flame. Flame.
I tried it again. She was still drugged, but there was something there. I couldfeelthe edges of her consciousness returning. And I needed it to, desperately. Flame could contact Kingsolver.
Edith.
Shaking the thought of her out of my head, I focused my energy on Flame.
Even if I couldn’t yet speak to her, if she couldn’t speak with the tygers herself, perhaps she could be a conduit. I was her Bonded rider and Paired with Blake. There had to be a way. I needed Blakeand his telepathic Bond with Kingsolver. I pictured a thread connecting us, through our tygers. Through our Paired magic. Through our love and passion.
Blake. Kingsolver.
Nothing.
I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood and tried again, reaching.
Blake. Kingsolver.
A spark of something. A flicker of recognition, distant and faint, like a call across a vast, stormy sea. My magic thrummed.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
Blake was there. I could feel him. He was searching for me, too.
I just had to reach him.
I closed my eyes and started to sing.
It was instinct, a call from somewhere deeper than thought, deeper than fear. My voice was choked, raw. Every note brought more pain, even as I tried to fight through it. And when it got to be too much, I stopped and reached out through my mind again.
Blake, I called to him. I closed my eyes and saw a thread of light twisting and swirling into darkness.
Then I felt a presence on the other end.
“What the hell are you doing?” Ire’s voice was sharp with irritation as he came into the room.
I kept humming, ignoring him.
Blake. Kingsolver.
The names rippled through me, through the space between us. And then—
Suddenly, in my mind, a roar split the air.
It wasn’t just sound. It was fury, power, a seismic wave of raw, undeniable force. Was it only my imagination, or was it real?
But then—
The collar sent a sharp jolt through me as the chains tightenedand yanked me off the ground. I slipped, the metal biting into my neck before I caught my balance. It felt as if the collar were choking the magic out of me, turning my own power against me.
Ire grinned, crossing his arms as he loomed in front of me with a wicked smile.
“Nice try,” he said, linking a finger beneath my collar. “This is a gift from the Serpent Lord himself.” He released me with a shove. “I’ve just returned. The camp is in an uproar over you, little yin.”
My throat was raw, every breath like knives. In my mind, I wrapped the cursed collar in an impenetrable shield, blocking off its power. With every breath, I made my defense thicker. Then I reached for Blake again.
“Some wish to search for you and delay attempting to find the Anchor,” he continued, “while the Onyx Tortoise and half of the Azures want to leave you to your fate.”
Blake. Blake.
