Tobias
The fog wrapped around my feet, curling up my legs as I ran. It tugged at me like it was trying to drag me down. Her footsteps echoed around me, her laugh ringing in my ears even as it scattered in every direction.
“Quinn,” I gasped, looking around wildly. “Wait for me.”
She only laughed again. I couldn’t see her, couldn’t find her in the mist. The ground shifted unnaturally beneath me as if it was breathing.
I let out a desperate scream, yet it sounded as weak as a whisper. “Quinn…”
The fog rose higher, wrapping around my wrists and neck.
The more I struggled, the tighter its grip became, like sinking deeper in quicksand.
It wasn’t just the pressure on my body. It was the crushing, claustrophobic realization that every movement sealed me in tighter, as if the fog was a living thing bent on destroying me.
I sucked in a breath right before it covered my face. It blinded me until all I saw was a cloudy, endless white. I sunk beneath the surface, those tendrils dragging me under—smothering me into a submission so complete I couldn’t even scream.
The laughter stopped.
I had to get to her, even if it killed me. The fog held me back as I kept resisting, the mist solidifying into iron bonds.
This time, as the mask stole the heat from my skin, I knew there was no help coming. This time, there was no way out.
I tried to shout her name—
?
My chains caught me as I lurched forward, pain ricocheting from my broken leg as my knees hit the stone. It was an effort to catch my breath as the world flickered around me.
Blood dripped from the wounds on my wrists, painting my forearms in lines of red. Another iron scar to add to my collection if I survived this.
Quinn’s face snapped toward me. “Tobias.”
She jumped to her feet; the pen she was holding clattering to the floor.
“I-It was a dream,” I said weakly. “I’m fine.”
I wondered if she could sense it for the lie it was, even without our bond. The guard shifted in place but didn’t move as she ran to me, helping me back onto the stool. A cry of pain slipped from my throat.
“You’re not.” Something about her tone made me sit up straighter. “Your blood…Tobias, it’s flowing too fast…” Quinn sucked in a sharp breath. “I can feel your heartbeat.”
Even across the cell, I could see the change in her eyes—the deep blood red of her irises.
Dolion turned to her, his mouth open in astonishment. “Your magic shouldn’t be able to work here.”
Maybe not her healing magic. But perhaps something else.
She looked at me intently. “Can you reach your light?”
I barely attempted it before I shook my head. I had tried and failed already.
“Can you access your healing magic?” I asked cautiously. “Or just your…”
I glanced at Dolion only to see realization dawning on his face.
He leaned forward, gripping the edge of the table so hard his knuckles turned white. “You have blood magic?”
He didn’t sound judgmental. He sounded elated.
Surprise flashed across Quinn’s face. “I assumed that you wouldn’t think that’s a good thing.”
I couldn’t think around the pain in my head. Why was he looking at her like she was the answer to all of this?
Quinn blinked. “But how did you know?”
Dolion was staring at her so intently it was an effort not to tell him to step back. “Bodily magics all come from the same internal source. And it’s hard to hate a power that’s about to save our lives.”
I loved that look on her face—the furrow to her brow, the faraway look in her eyes, the slight pucker to her lips. I could practically see the wheels turning in her brain.
Quinn sucked in a breath. “I’m an idiot.” I opened my mouth to protest when her next words stopped me cold. “Shifting is a form of blood magic. Whatever Silvius did to make this room resistant to Elemental and Celestial magics, he made sure his power was the exception.”
Dolion nodded, looking expectant.
“I-I should’ve realized.” Quinn looked down at her hands, her fingers splaying. “If he can shift in here…”
Then she could use her magic. At least, half of it.
“The mist,” I murmured. “The aerosol serum had a magic blocking component. The effects of that must have taken longer to wear off.”
Quinn closed her eyes. Her fingertips glowed a faint red.
“I didn’t realize until you started bleeding, especially without my healing magic,” Quinn whispered.
“They’ve always felt like two sides of the same coin, like one balanced out the other.
After hiding my blood magic for so long, it’s become second nature not to use it.
And with my healing blocked, I didn’t recognize… ”
“You can get us out of here,” Dolion whispered excitedly.
The guard beside me lurched forward like the words woke him from his stupor. Before I could move, Quinn raised her hand.
He went completely still. Her fingers splayed apart, trembling with tension.
Dolion gasped as the guard’s entire body contorted, each limb extended like an unwilling marionette as her magic forced him against the wall. His sword fell to the floor with a clatter. Then his body followed, crumpling into a heap.
“New plan,” I croaked. “We make Silvius pay.”
Quinn looked at me, then did a double take, her triumphant smile sliding away. The fear on her face made my heart spasm. Dolion’s eyes widened as he followed her gaze. The loaded look they exchanged felt like a swift, silent conversation.
“Tobias…are you feeling alright?” The gentle words were a sharp contrast to how quickly she hurried over.
“I’m—” It was harder than I thought, lying to her. “Fine, Sagray. Why?”
Her voice was strained as she whispered, “Maybe you should lie down.” She knelt next to me, then looked back at Dolion. “Can you check the guard for the keys to his locks?”
Even without our bond, Quinn’s panic was plain.
“Quinn…”
Her thumb gently brushed against the skin above my upper lip, the touch so fragile it hurt. When she pulled away, my focus narrowed on the blood darkening her fingertips.
The look in her eyes…that terror was entirely for me.
My tongue darted up to lick my lip. The taste of iron confirmed what I already knew.
“I thought…” I gestured up at my face. “I thought I had more time.”
“You knew?” The hurt in her words felt like it was cutting into me. She shoved against my chest, her hands curling atop my heart. “You knew?”
“I suspected,” I admitted, leaning into her touch. “When the nosebleed didn’t start sooner, I hoped I was wrong. I didn’t want to alarm you when it was only a suspicion.”
There was nothing she could do. Even with her blood magic, she had no way to heal me. And putting her into a coma to keep me stable definitely wasn’t an option.
Dolion stopped patting the guard down, shaking his head. “Silvius must have them.”
The telltale drip from my nose was coming faster now, dark spots crowding my vision as I swiped my mouth with my sleeve. Dolion removed the guard’s cloak, silently passing it to me. The blue immediately turned black with my blood.
His voice was kind but measured, a doctor speaking to his patient as he asked, “How long, exactly, have you suspected?”
I leaned forward as a dizzy spell overtook me. It was almost a relief not to hide the signs anymore even as I fought against their pull.
“Not long after I woke up,” I confessed. “I thought whatever he used to knock us out was the culprit, but then it only got worse. It would’ve been easy to infect me while I was unconscious, especially since he already created a virus keyed to my blood.”
We literally handed my blood to him that first day in the lab. The stricken look on Quinn’s face told me she had just now realized it.
I coughed, then spat out blood. “I’m only surprised Silvius didn’t mention it as leverage against you.”
Quinn laid the back of her hand against my forehead. “Low-grade fever. Though the fact you haven’t passed out yet is promising.”
I nodded blearily, then immediately regretted it at the ensuing vertigo. “Happy to hear you’re impressed by my stamina.”
Quinn’s mouth twitched with a hint of a smile before her worry stole it away.
“Once we get the cure, you’ll be fine,” she said reassuringly, her tone carefully calm. But I could’ve sworn her hands were shaking.
My hand covered hers, my thumb rubbing against the blood smeared on her palm. “Promise me you’ll do what you need to do, no matter what.”
“No matter what happens to whom? To you?” Her voice wavered, a thread of desperation weaving through her words. “Nothing’s going to happen to you, Tobias. I’m going to make sure of it.”
I opened my mouth, then closed it again, trying to find the words to comfort her only to find the lies caught in my throat.
This had always been Silvius’s plan. He had targeted this virus for me from the beginning. And, unlike the rest of them, he personally wanted to see me dead.
Quinn’s eyes were fiery as that red intensified. “I can’t heal what’s wrong. But I think I can slow your heart rate and repair the blood vessel damage enough to keep you conscious. It’ll have to be enough for now.”
One hand moved to my cheek, the other pressing against my heart. I didn’t say anything as Quinn closed her eyes in concentration. My nosebleed slowed to a trickle.
I dropped the bloody cloak, leaning my head back against the stone. I didn’t even have the energy to wipe the remaining blood from my lips.
A glass was lifted to my mouth, and I took a grateful swallow.
“I won’t let you die,” Quinn said in a voice so low she might have been talking to herself. “And that’s a promise.”