Chapter XII #2
“Do get comfortable,” he says, clicking his fingers. A symbol of flame hovers above his hand and then sinks back under his skin. “This could take a while.”
Tarryn wraps his paw around my upper arm, his claws obscenely large. He tilts his head at me as if I have any idea what he’s trying to say.
“I am perfectly capable of standing on my own, and I certainly don’t need one of your kind to help me,” I tell him forcefully.
He needs to take the hint and get out of my personal space.
Just because we had sex doesn’t mean he has any kind of claim on me.
It was a mistake, and it won’t be happening again.
If he so much as even tries to mention the light wobble while I’m still gaining control over my limbs, I’ll save the sorcerer the trouble and murder him myself.
I swear that furry eyebrow raised and he’s laughing at me. I’ve killed for less.
“This might hurt,” the sorcerer interrupts, diverting my focus. “Brace yourselves.” The lycan has a way of claiming all of my attention, even when we’re in such a vulnerable position already. That’s uncomfortable and something I have no intention of making a habit of.
Pain sparks in Tarryn’s eyes right before he snaps and snarls.
A moment later, it lances through me, my knees buckling as agony rips through me.
I’m not going to fall. I refuse to show that kind of weakness.
Gritting my teeth, I fight through it and remain standing.
I won’t allow a witch to bring me to my knees.
Tarryn growls loudly and charges at the flames surrounding us.
Before he can hit the fire, something else hits him, and he’s flung backward.
His quick reflexes are the only thing that save him from being put on his ass and looking a fool.
He changes tactics, swiping at the invisible barrier with his claws and then his shoulder.
It’s too late for him to escape the circle. He’s trapped in here with me, with no one but himself to blame. If he’d chosen his targets more carefully in the beginning, instead of going right for me, maybe we’d already be out of this mess.
Damn it, fucking break. I’m going to kill you, witch!
The thoughts aren’t mine, just like before in the church.
The sorcerer slides to his knees with a bowed head. The words he speaks are low, and I can’t make them out. More of the ancient language, no doubt. It’s an effective dismissal and prickles at me like a thousand needles. How dare he act like we aren’t dangerous? He acts as though he’s won.
Unless I’m ash on the ground, my enemies will never win.
There has to be a way to disable the barrier and get through.
I hate to admit that nothing I can do will affect it.
Not something I’d say out loud. “Soul shadow?” I ask through gritted teeth.
The pain has lessened, but it still thrums through me, like a live wire maintaining a steady flow of energy.
The lycan shakes his snout in a clear no. What good is a power like that if we can’t use it when needed? It’s nothing more than a party trick with severely limited tricks.
What else can we do? Anything we discuss will be heard by the sorcerer, ruining any chance of the element of surprise. He has us effectively trapped. I hate that.
His thoughts. I heard them. Does the connection the sorcerer is talking about have something to do with it? Could we have a conversation with it?
Can you hear me?
Tarryn’s nostrils flare. Yes. How the hell can I hear you?
As if we have time to go into specifics.
Also, I have no answers for him. I’ve never heard of this “bloodbond.” Ten seconds ago, I’d have said it was the ramblings of a madman.
But hearing thoughts? Not even witches can communicate that way.
Once is a weird fluke. Multiple times? There’s no denying that it’s possible.
When he had me chained up waiting for you, he spoke about an inner power that we both have. It’s what he wants to use.
For what?
He didn’t say.
Too much to ask for him to be a talking kind of villain.
Stop talking.
Technically I’m not t—
Just shut up and pay attention.
You’re so bossy.
I’m going to kill you. Every time he opens his mouth—figuratively or literally—it only enhances the urge.
I assume you have a plan.
Of course, I do.
Are you going to share with the class or…?
It’s tempting to refuse. Let us both die here simply to spite him.
If we could find this power and tap into it, we might be able to break the ritual. As powerful as he seems to be, he’s still physically weak.
The sleeping thing? You believe him.
I’m not inclined to, but he’s holding a lot of power and not using it. A disconnect between his magic and his body that isn’t natural. Whatever he’s able to access right now, he’s using it for something else.
What makes you think that? Forgive me if I don’t take you at face value.
Trust a lycan to be able to put derision and sarcasm in the one sentence and without speaking a word.
He needed the chains as an anchor point.
Evidence enough. If he were at the full strength of a sorcerer, he could hold me himself, regardless of what else he was doing.
There’s limitless power at their fingertips; it’s why sorcerers are so lethal.
Fine. How are we supposed to find this inner whatever?
There’s a kind of satisfaction in giving him a look dripping with scorn. I hope he knows how little I think of him and how far beneath me he is. If it had an easy trigger point, they would have just abducted us and forced it out.
But they didn’t. They waited for us to have sex.
Maybe there’s half a brain in there somewhere after all. A quarter, if I’m being generous. They made us have sex. There’s an unsavory difference between the two.
If you want to lie to yourself, fine. But they didn’t make you scream for me, darling.
I sneer at the word. I’m no one's darling, least of all a lycan’s.
Time for that kiss now?
My response is automatic and brisk. No. Does he think I care for him? That we have some sort of understanding or affection between us just because of this bond? Once we’re free of here, I’ll find a way to break it. To destroy whatever links us so that I can continue with my life as I always have.
A glance at the sorcerer shows that he’s not paying attention. Arrogantly believing that we’re trapped and there’s no way for us to break out of his circle. He doesn’t notice when we move to the left, further from him.
The other mages in the circle, now chanting the same language as the sorcerer, look to be in some sort of trance. They’re looking at the floor, with no self-awareness. This’ll be easier than I thought.
Lifting a hand, I hover above where I can feel the invisible barrier.
It sparks, lightning shooting at my fingers and palm.
There’s a tingling sensation under the pain.
Deep magic. Old magic, like it’s been here centuries, lying in wait.
The sorcerer isn’t just using his own magic.
He chose this lair for a reason. What secrets are here?
If I had time, if the place weren’t filled with ghouls—and who knows what else—I would want to stay and find out.
To explore and discover everything this place is hiding.
A thick paw rests on my shoulder, and I shrug him off. I don’t need comfort or support. I have myself, and that’s always been enough. Try to conjure the memories of us together and what it made you feel. Channel it to me.
The images hit me instantly. It’s strange, feeling it from his perspective.
The tightness around his cock. The pain and pleasure of my bite as I fed from him.
A seductive ache that shouldn’t exist. A vampyre’s bite is pain and nothing more.
Yet I can feel the truth of it through him.
That it gave him something entirely different, and he wants more of it.
That’s not going to happen. A onetime deal that won’t ever be repeated.
At least I don’t need to find my own thoughts or dive back into that incident and how gone I’d been. His memories are vivid and eager enough that lust stirs in my belly, and a power rises from it.
Embracing the pleasure instead of fighting it causes me to whimper, my cock hardening and my fangs lengthening in preparation of a feed. Tarryn growls in response, a seductive rumbling that has heat spreading through me, a euphoric dizziness almost undoing me.
It takes considerable strength to push that energy toward the barrier instead of turning and taking what I know he would offer.
Shoving my hand against the barrier before all thought is gone, lightning sparks, and a bright light implodes around us.