Chapter 8
Chapter
Eight
Rowan was in danger, but the power I could usually control had gone rogue. A darkness had leached into the border between Donovan’s old property and Rowan’s. Guilt flooded me. I’d neglected the property. If I had visited more often, I could have caught this before whatever this was spread.
The spot itself wasn’t large, only a couple of square feet, but the malevolence pulsing from it gave me pause.
Rowan was with me, somehow entwined in my power, with me and not with me at the same time.
Speech was useless, but I felt the sharpening of his awareness as my power probed the spot, seeking to understand first, then destroy.
I kept trying to pull back to no avail. Floromancy was meant to heal the earth and whatever this thing was seeping into the ground was anathema. Curious, my magic circled closer and closer, seeking to understand what was poisoning the land.
On the outside, Rowan’s heartbeat galloped against my back, his breath ruffling the hair against my neck.
I tried to come back to myself, but the magic had me entangled in its grip, as if saying, no, I need you for this, and you must wait.
Not being the master of my own fate raked at my soul, fury spiraling through my breast. Once more, I tugged, trying to spool my magic back into my body.
I hadn’t siphoned enough, but it would do, at least long enough for me to get back to Joy Springs and expel the rest on my property.
Evie.
I stilled, my magic sputtering as if it too were stunned by the voice in my head.
Rowan?
A pause. I’m not sure how I’m doing this.
Me neither, but I wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
I need you to let go of me. My magic isn’t cooperating.
No.
Rowan! I’m serious. Stop being a…
Bear? Male who cares about you?
A stubborn ass!
I’m not letting go. In fact, I’m going to see if I can help.
Rowan. I’m not sure how we’re communicating right now.
I’m extremely freaked out and will examine it later, but right now, I’m about to go to battle with some dark sludge.
You have a lot more to lose than I do. Let go of me and go back to the Keep.
The last time I was trapped, it ended up being days. You can’t be gone for that long.
Says who? Are you forgetting I’m Lord?
Godsdammit, Rowan. Let go!
Outside of this place, I felt him shift, twisting until he scooped me into his arms and settled me into his lap.
This is not the time for you to feel me up.
Amusement trickled through our bond. I’m aware. If we need to take off running, I’m quicker than you, and this position will allow me to get up faster.
No funny business.
I would never, he swore, his mental voice oozing charm. I’m going to try something.
My magic was still circling that black spot, but had pulled back some, curious about Rowan, too.
Outside, he linked our hands together, his calloused fingers scraping over my palms. A soft green light sank into the ground below our feet, its shape akin to roots.
Rowan. He was not what he said he was. Or not only what he said. Rowan was much more than he seemed.
But he was intently concentrating on that magic moving toward mine and said nothing until it stopped right next to my tourmaline-colored power.
Think we can merge them?
No idea, but I can try. I nudged my already questing power toward Rowan’s.
The moment mine touched Rowan’s, the normal watermelon tourmaline color flashed a burnished gold, something I had never seen or felt it do before, and the two powers twisted together into something new, something that reminded me a bit of a DNA helix.
Cool, wild magic rushed over my soul, the feeling unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Not bad, but different.
Should we be worried about this?
You’re trapped underground due to misbehaving power. Let’s worry about that before we worry about our magic melding. He paused. Let’s see if we can clear whatever this is before we don’t have a choice.
Ready? I was anything but.
Let’s go.
As one we pushed toward that darkness, our melded power seeking straight toward the heart of the mass. At first, nothing happened, only a slight sense of resistance as we pushed through, both of us straining with the effort.
An oily sense of malevolence fell onto my shoulders, a wet, suffocating blanket of darkness blocking out everything good.
Rowan sucked in a breath. Keep pushing, he gritted.
Underneath us, the ground rumbled, snow shifting and sliding against our bodies outside. If we weren’t careful, we’d end up under the snow. Not that being cold was our biggest worry at the current moment.
Our magic touched the heart of that darkness.
We plunged into absolute darkness.
I could handle many things and had. An absentee mother, a terrible marriage, a violent assault, life-altering genetic changes, but darkness…
this absolute nothingness made me go still.
A tremor rolled down my spine at the absence of any light.
Even our melded powers had snuffed out or disappeared, but they were gone.
Everything was gone. It was only me, only me, and I was alone like I’d been alone so many times, and was this death?
Had I died? Was I doomed to drift in this nothingness forever and ever?
This eternal hell of sensory deprivation—
Evie.
I flailed, a scream tearing from my throat.
Evie.
Nothing could penetrate this blackness. I must have died and this was my karma.
The scream went on and on, and it would go on forever. Surely there must be something ahead, surely there wasn’t only this. My breath came in short spurts, my heart pounded against my chest, but if there was nothing, then I was nothing. Wasn’t I?
Heat touched my lips, firm and unyielding pressure. Something slid in my hair, then a firm grip against the back of my scalp, tilting my head back. Warmth. Comfort. Fingers ran over my jawline, down my collar and stopped at my throat.
Evie, Rowan whispered against my lips. Come back to me.
He kissed me again, more insistent, his tongue sliding against the seam of my mouth until I opened.
Heat roared in my veins, his touch different but not unwelcome.
His kiss was claiming, but tender. Outside, I turned toward him, running my hands up the tense cords of his neck, fingers roaming through the thick, shaggy mane of his hair.
His hands dropped to my waist and pulled me closer, never breaking the contact of our kiss.
Slowly, I came back to myself, my power, my body. I trusted Rowan, more than I’d ever—
There you are, he murmured, breaking the contact, as if he’d somehow known I was about to have an internal freakout.
His hand slid up my back and into my hair once more. Touch grounds us. I was losing you.
My lips burned from the contact of his kiss, and my thoughts were an internal jumble.
We’re still in the dark, Rowan murmured. But I am with you. We can discuss what happened later if you like. For now, we are both outside and inside this place, whatever it is. Focus on only this, Evie.
I let out a long breath. Thank you. My mental voice was more of a croak, but at least I could speak.
Amusement filled the link. I’ll never pass up the opportunity to kiss a beautiful woman, even in a life-or-death situation.
Ass. But his words and touch had jarred me from my terror. We still floated in a sea of obsidian, but he was here with me.
I was not alone.
Do you feel anything?
Other than the weight of that oppressive darkness, no. Nothing here feels alive.
I agreed and reached for my magic. Even though I couldn’t see it, it had not disappeared. Rowan’s power still melded with mine.
Concentrating, I followed the threads of power, seeking into the heart of darkness.
There, Rowan said. Can you feel it?
Yes. We joined hands once more and plunged into a sea of obsidian night.