“I was afraid of that,” Edmund sighed, his feet stepping back as he moved himself out of the way.
“Cail.” Cail stepped forward at Edmund’s words. His anticipation was palpable as his eyes never left Ilyan’s. “Restrain him.”
“With pleasure.”
Ilyan bowed his back slightly in preparation for Cail’s assault.
Cail turned to face Ilyan with a stream of power and light shooting out of his fingers. Ilyan didn’t dodge. He simply stepped gracefully out of the way. The energy, however, continued on and slammed into a supporting beam of the cantina’s outdoor overhang.
The Salsa music was replaced by screams as the roof to the patio collapsed. Without hesitation, Ilyan lifted his hand and detached the entire roof, sending it flying toward Cail. The screams from the people in the cantina increased as the air seemed to explode around them.
The roof made contact, sending Cail to the ground. The pile of wood, fabric, and fairy lights sat in a crumpled heap in the middle of the street.
Edmund clapped his hands as if he was enjoying the show, and I knew why the second I looked down to the street.
With the roof to the cantina gone, a stationary dark figure stood alone in the center of the once crowded restaurant.
My heart beat was disconnected at seeing Ryland there. As Ilyan turned to face him, I took a step forward without thinking, the shield wavering at my movement. I hesitated. I didn’t know what I wanted. Did I want to be near him? Did I want to fight him? Or did I want to save him? What did I actually think I could do?
My whole body shook as I struggled through my options. My mind called for one action and my heart for another.
“Ryland.” I stepped back, hoping my movement hadn’t broken Ilyan’s shield. My magic pulsed and flowed with more heat and power than I had ever felt, but still I knew it wasn’t enough. I couldn’t even mark Ilyan without playing dirty, and tricks like that with the possessed Ryland would get me killed. I clenched my fists and focused on Ilyan’s slow movements toward Ryland, trying to keep my thoughts off of my inability to help.
Before Ilyan could move too far toward Ryland, the shattered remains of the cantina roof exploded into fragmented bits, leaving Cail standing in the rubble. Distracted by the commotion, my eyes flew back to where the now empty dining area was devoid of any dark-haired men.
Raw fear rippled through me, taking my breath and logic away. Ryland was coming to find me. I stood still, listening to the beat of my heart, expecting Ryland to come around a corner at any moment.
Ilyan must have jumped to the same conclusion because he began to battle Cail, his eyes scanning around for Ryland while also keeping tabs on his father, who seemed content to let Cail do his dirty work.
“Hello, little pony, have you come to be broken?” I froze at the words, my whole body going rigid as my pulse skyrocketed. Ryland’s hand trailed down my scalp, his fingers running through my hair. I didn’t dare turn. I didn’t know if I could manage it.
“I like your hair better this way; it’s beautiful. I think—seeing you like this—I would like to keep you as a pet.” As Ryland came around to face me, his black eyes were the only things I could look at. Not for the first time, I had to remind myself that his mind was gone.
He wasn’t there.
It isn’t him.
It isn’t him. I reminded myself over and over, trying to ignore the heavy thump of my heart against my chest.
Then Ryland reached up and placed a cold hand against my skin. I felt the warm buzzing of Ilyan’s shield evaporate. Ilyan must have felt his magic surge as his power returned, but I couldn’t look away from the black depths of Ryland’s eyes to see if Ilyan had noticed.
“What? Not going to say hello?” My eyes ran down his face to the lips I had only gotten to kiss once. Even though my face burned with happiness, I had to tell myself again that it wasn’t him.
It isn’t him.
My head was buzzing with internal yells, many prompting me to run.
It isn’t him
“Goodbye, Ry.” I whispered the words before slamming my hand into his stomach. I filled my palm with all the abnormal buzzing I felt and lunged it at him, sending him spinning through the air to land on the street twenty feet away.
I didn’t dare look. I took off into the air, needing to get to Ilyan.
At some point in my brief contact with Ryland, Ilyan had begun fighting with Edmund, leaving Cail to take a supporting role; the scene before me was terrifying. I landed further away from Ilyan than I wanted to, scared to get too close.
Ilyan’s and Edmund’s hands moved seamlessly as they fought. Tables, daggers, swords—objects both real and conjured—everything flew across the space between them. Physical weapons to magical attacks, they blended into one another. The energy fields and magic that they fought with sent flashes of color through the darkened street.
I watched for a moment, stunned into a stupor. I needed to get to Ilyan, but more importantly, I needed to help him.
My hand flexed in preparation for an attack when I was struck across my back by a long strand of white-hot heat. I fell to the ground as the burning pain seeped into me before dissipating. I scrambled to flip around on the asphalt only to get tangled up in the remains of my hoodie, which had been shredded by the whip-like attack. I yelled as I pulled at it, frantic to remove it. My efforts were halted by Ryland’s legs straddling me and holding me in place.
“Now, where were you going?” he sneered. “I told you that I need to break you.”
He sat down on my legs, the pressure inverting my knees painfully. I moved to place my hands against his skin, ready to attack him, but Ryland grabbed my wrists before I could make contact. He transferred both of them into one hand and leaned towards me, pushing my arms above my head. His searing magic moved into me and blended with my own, his negative energy stopping the flow of magic and blood to my arms. I attempted to pull my hands away—to kick him off of my legs—but he was too strong and his weight too much for me. I could feel my body weakening the more I fought him.
“Do you know how they break a horse?” He increased the weight on my legs and against my wrists as I fought him. “You have to whip it.”
Ryland sliced his free hand through the air in front of me sending the same burning sensation against my skin, this time through my chest. I screamed out at the centralized pain. He swiped his magic across me again and again, the pain surging with each new impact. I continued to fight him as I screamed and writhed, my hands still bound as he pinned me down.
I was desperate to escape the agony, but I also knew I should be hurting more. With each painful swipe of his hand the pain grew only to be swallowed up by my body as I absorbed his energy, the Zȇlství forming a loop between us.
I waited until his next strike and grabbed the burning energy before my body dissipated it within me then combined it with my own magic and shot it back at him through my hands, directly into his face.
Ryland yelled in pain as he fell off me, freeing my legs. I scrambled up, the now shredded fabric of my hoodie falling to the ground. I didn’t wait to see if Ryland was still down. I did the only logical thing that I could think of, I ran.
I bolted into a dark alley, the large adobe buildings towering over me and enclosing me in the dark space. A few steps in and the darkness engulfed me, leaving me alone with my pounding heart as I felt my way along the rough wall, waiting until I was far enough into the alley not to be seen, then I jumped into the air. The wind caught me and hoisted me onto the nearest roof.
I knew it was pointless to run. I could already feel my own magic pulse toward Ryland; the heavy weight of the pull increasing the closer he got. It was part of the magic of the Zȇlství, the bonding. The connection that was supposed to have been such a joyous occasion had turned into my own personal hell. I was, at that moment, being hunted by my mate.
I darted behind a large air conditioning unit, throwing up a shield so weak that the magic simply flickered and d
ied. I needed to fight him; but how was that possible if our magic just loops around? It would be an endless battle, constantly hurting the one person that I didn’t want to hurt.
I didn’t have a choice.
The pulse of my magic continued to grow as he moved closer while the sounds of Ilyan’s battle with Edmund and Cail from the street below echoed in my ears. The air was becoming thick with the smell of dust and burning wood. I had only vaguely begun wondering what had caught fire when Ryland suddenly pulled me up by my hair.
I controlled my breathing, squaring my jaw to face him. His gaze was so full of hatred that my stomach tightened and churned in warning. I fought against his hold, my arms swinging wildly at him when it became obvious he wasn’t going to let me go.
“If whipping doesn’t work, make the horse submit.” he stated blandly, as if reciting the words from a book just before his hand flew through the air and made contact with my stomach. I gasped as the air left my lungs and was replaced with the pain of the impact.
I reached up and cupped my hands around his face, letting my magic flow into him in a boiling heat. He should have screamed in pain, but instead he smiled before slapping me hard across the face. Ryland released the hold on my hair, sending me tumbling to the roof’s surface. I reached up and touched my swelling face, unsurprised by the trickle of blood flowing from my nose.
“Stop this, Ryland! Stop! It’s me!” I knew it was pointless, but I had to try. I gasped the words as I moved onto my hands and knees, fighting the pain so I could face him again. On my hands and knees, I spit blood just as his leg swung forward, his heavy shoe making contact with my stomach. Pain jolted up my spine and stayed there, centering in the tender bones and tissues of my back.
I fell to the ground, my stomach landing hard on the gravel of the roof. I tried to sit up, but was stopped as Ryland once again came to sit on my legs. I cringed in pain as he leaned over me, the weight of his body adding to my agony.
“Stupid girl,” he said, pushing me further into the gravel; the large ruby of his necklace pushing hard and cold into my skin. “Haven’t you noticed? Our magic doesn’t have any effect on each other. If I wish to break you, I’ll have to do so literally. One. Bone. At. A. Time.” With each word he ground my wrist into the gravel, pressing the delicate bones into a dangerously compacted state. I felt the snap as my bones broke, the turquoise bracelet Ilyan had given me shattering under the pressure. I screamed at the pain that shot up my arms as each bone cracked.
My magic pulsed, attempting to heal me even as he broke me, and then I realized, magic didn’t work on him, but it could still work against him. I pressed my hand into the gravel beneath me and pulsed the panicked flow of my magic into it, sending thousands of pieces of gravel off the roof and into Ryland’s face. He jumped away from me, unable to breathe or see through the arsenal that I had propelled at him. I spun around, ignoring the pain that still shot through my body to send my magic to the air conditioning unit. My power surged as I ripped it off the roof and right into Ryland.
The large metal box smashed into him and sent him flying onto the street below. I crawled to the edge of the roof and peeked over. Ryland had landed with the air conditioner on top of him, right in the middle of the brutal battle that Ilyan had been fighting.
At first all I saw was his hand sticking out from underneath the large unit. It was like the Wizard of Oz. I expected the fingers to curl away into a lifeless form, but instead they flexed and moved with strength. We didn’t have much time.
The whole area lay in ruins. Most of the cantina was on fire, the street had been ripped apart and was full of giant pot holes, and pieces of asphalt were littered around like odd pieces of modern art. In the middle of it all, Ilyan stood straight and tall with his braid remaining sleek as it fell down his back. Cail was gasping and clutching his side while Edmund stood next to him laughing. When the air conditioning unit had hit the ground, the fighting had stopped and Cail had fallen to his knees. Edmund, however, seemed uninterested in the interruption and had squared his shoulders, his hands moving swiftly through the air, a wave of energy falling behind. Color and energy built as he gathered his magic together. It was obviously meant to be a death blow.
Ilyan seemed to sense that as well, and without even a word, he took off into the air. Edmund’s explosion lit up the air behind us as Ilyan scooped me up and continued his flight. His magic grew fast and strong inside of me as the shield returned thanks to our physical contact.
Almost immediately, the glow of Edmund’s useless attack faded, and I could hear him yelling angrily.
“Run boy! We both know that’s all you can do!”
Ilyan didn’t turn, he soared through the night sky, the hot wind whipping at our clothes while I looked back to the destroyed city street, relieved to see Ryland standing. My heart began thumping all the more at the possibility of being followed, though. They had proven once already how quickly they could find me.
“Are you alright?” Ilyan’s panicked voice broke through my thoughts and I turned to face him.
“A little beat up, but what’s new?” I tried to laugh, but my lungs ached from the large bruises I was sure I had.
“I’m sorry,” he said, his lips pulled together in a tight line.
“For what? You protected me, and I got to show that I at least learned something from your lessons.”
“For that, you should be proud.”
“Oh, I am.” I grinned at him, and he smiled back although the look was clouded by the concern in his eyes. I didn’t blame him. I was sure we both looked a mess.
Ilyan’s magic flowed stronger through me as he checked over my injuries, his face growing hard at what he found. Part of me wanted to push him away, yet I was grateful for the comfort his warmth provided me. His arms around me were a reminder that at least there I was safe.
I leaned into him as he held me, healed me, and flew us away from the man I loved.
The man who hunted me.
Seventy-Six
Ilyan
I needed the cold air to calm me down.
I was furious.
My magic was pumping through me so rampantly that it was taking far more of my self-control to keep it from flooding the girl in my arms. I had hurt too many people with the strength of my magic, she would not be one of them.
But it didn’t help my anger as I found more bruises, more burns, more broken bones.
My father had done this to her. He had used Ryland against her.
It was enough to send me soaring back to him. To end him. If he hadn’t been surrounded by so much of his guard I would have, but I would not risk her life.
So, I continued flying endlessly north, letting the chill night air take the edge off my anger. Not that I was about to let my guard, or my shields, down.
I still did not understand why they hadn’t followed us. All the more reason to hurry.
“How much farther?” Joclyn asked in a whisper, her teeth chattering.
“We are almost there, Silnỳ.” It was a lie, but I needed her to relax.
Carefully, I pulsed more of my magic into her, binding the broken bones of her wrist together and warming her until she relaxed in my arms.
I held her closer. Part of me knew I shouldn’t. Part of me didn’t care.
With a sigh, she laid her head against my chest, the smell of her filling me. It took self-control not to fly back to Edmund, but keeping my heart calm, my wits stable, with her so close was torture.
Her breathing softened, her body pressing against mine comfortably.
“I’m sorry, Ilyan.” I nearly jumped; I could have sworn she was asleep.
“For what?” I asked, glancing down at her, she stared straight ahead, her brow furrowed in over-worry. Something that I was realizing was far too common for her.
“For ruining our noncommittal night out to dinner.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, the phrase had been so perfect before. Now it was a brilliant mockery of what had happ
ened.
“I wish Ryland couldn’t track me so easily. I wish he...” I looked at her and she stopped. She was doing it again. I resisted the urge to smooth the wrinkle between her eyes and instead ran my palm over her arm in an effort to warm her.
“At least we know how fast he can track you now.” I spoke the truth to calm her, she only seemed to grow more concerned.
“Which is?”
“Too fast for me to be comfortable.” Her brow furrowed more. I exhaled, my eyes flitting to faded lights in the distance that marked our destination. “I am sorry you got hurt, Silnỳ. I should be there to protect you at all times.”
I was firm, determined. My heart beat faster with the truth of my words. I had made that promise to her centuries ago. I couldn’t help but wonder when she would remember.
I pushed the thought away and ran my fingertips over the skin of her wrist, my magic flowing through her skin to the healing bones.
Ryland had broken at least four of them.
“Does it hurt much?”
“No.” That time the crease in her brow furrowed for a different reason.
She was stubborn.
“Why did he do this to you anyway?”
“His magic didn’t work against me,” she said in confusion. I almost dropped her. “I only absorbed it. He never actually did any damage.”
“Vut?”
“I felt the pain initially, but it would disappear. The same thing happened at the... the... party.” Her voice caught. I was sure all of those emotions were too raw, especially after seeing just what Edmund had managed to do to my youngest brother. After seeing him, I didn’t blame her. It only made my rage fire more. My father was ruthless, and while he had done worse things, this was yet another thing I would never forgive him for. I would make him pay.
“Every time he attacked me, nothing happened.”
“And what about him, does the same thing happen to him?” I asked, my voice hard and controlled.
“Yes. In the end he didn’t even react, that’s why I pushed him off the roof.”
Imdalind Ruby Collection One: Kiss of Fire | Eyes of Ember | Scorched Treachery Page 52