Page 27

“Do it!” I yelled.

His lips pressed into a thin line, but he drove his fist into my face, then my ribs, then my jaw again.

The world lurched with every impact, but I did not stop him. Pain blossomed in bright, savage bursts that I welcomed.

Because the hollow cavern inside my chest where Lyra should have been felt far worse.

Solas grabbed the front of my shirt and shoved me back against the wall. “Fight back!” he yelled in my face.

I smiled at him, blood dripping from my nose and running down my chin. I would not fight him back. I knew what he was doing. I had done this for him once, too. Beaten the fuck out of him so he knew he was still alive, after he lost Sylvie.

“I bet Helion’s already fucking her,” he said hoarsely.

My smile vanished, blood boiling in my veins.

“Maybe she likes it too,” he added cruelly.

My vision went black, something ugly unfurling in my chest.

“She is mine,” I growled, that possessive part of me clawing free and unleashing on him.

Solas flew across the tavern, slamming into the bar hard enough to rattle the shelves behind it. Bottles toppled and shattered as people sheltering from the storm scrambled away.

I dissolved into my shadows, the world tearing apart into darkness before snapping back into place behind the bar.

The moment I stepped from the shadows, Solas slammed into me with a grunt, driving his shoulder into my chest and kicking me hard in the ribs.

We crashed into a table, splintering it beneath us as fists flew. His were striking fast and brutal, mine wild with fury.

Something foreign coiled around my heart and cut off my breath. A wave of despair crashed through me. Something was wrong with Lyra. I could feel it surging through the bond in a wave of despair.

The rage that had flooded my veins a moment ago was slipping through my fingers.

Knees buckling beneath me, I sank to the floor before I realised what was happening.

My hands dragged through my hair as a ragged breath tore from my chest.

“Something is wrong,” I rasped, staring at the ground. “I can feel it. Her. Something horrible just happened.”

Thunder rumbled distantly as Solas stood over me, breathing hard.

For a long moment he did not speak, crouching down in front of me. His voice was quieter when he spoke. “You can still feel her, which means she is alive,” Solas said, clasping a hand on my shoulder. “You will get her back.”

A broken, hollow laugh scraped out of me. Yes, she was alive, but would she ever want me again?

“You did not see her face,” I whispered, “when she realised what I am.” My throat tightened at the memory. “I lost her before Helion ever touched her.”

The shadows shuddered violently around my feet, clawing up my legs and digging into me.

“Listen to me,” he said darkly, fury dancing in his eyes. “Lyra is many things. Stupid is not one of them. She would have known, even if she did not admit it to herself. And if you do not pull your head out of your ass and focus on saving her, I swear to the gods I will kill you before the curse does.”

He stood and held out his hand. I took it, letting him pull me up. He hooked an arm around my shoulders in a brief, rough embrace.

The corners of my mouth twitched despite the unsettling dread flooding my chest. Solas was like a campfire on a winter’s night—warm and bright against a world that had long since gone dark. It was impossible not to thaw in his presence.

The stable hand rounded the corner with bowls of steaming stew, and I grimaced as his face fell at the destruction we caused.

“Yes, very mature,” Caelum said dryly from where he sat beside Aldric. “Now come and eat before you destroy the rest of the tavern.”