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Reyna approached the bed, eyes darting between Emilie and me. I could tell she was putting together pieces like a puzzle. Figuring out what had developed between Emilie and me in the months we’d spent in the mountain. And she didn’t like what she uncovered.
“Get up,” she spat.
I hesitated, still thinking of the way she’d decimated the twins. That same electric fire was growing in her eyes now, but this time, it was directed toward Emilie.
“Reyna,” I said her name softly, soothingly. She hardly heard me.
She spoke without looking at me. “Against the wall, Ladon.”
Wrestling against that magical pull, I found myself moving away from the bed. Away from Emilie.
The lump in my throat was impossible to swallow.
Emilie sat up, and the look she gave Reyna was awe-inspiring. There was no fear. No remorse for what she’d done, even if she was about to pay for it. The fire in Emilie’s eyes rivaled Reyna’s.
Emilie smirked, and Reyna smacked her across the face. The sound was sharp and lingered in the air, sending Emilie’s head twisting. When she turned back to face Reyna, her smirk only grew.
I felt something swell in my chest. Something stronger than anything I’d ever felt. A need to fight, not protect. I knew Emilie could do that now for herself. No, I wanted to fight beside her. I wanted to be her biggest supporter, her comfort when the fight was won, her sanctuary where she would find peace. I wanted her love.
Because I was in love with her.
When Reyna hit her again, my anger was untamable. I thrashed against the vines that bound me, desperate to break them.
Raising a hand, Reyna expelled a magical blast that had Emilie soaring through the air and landing against the wall opposite me. Her head cracked against the stone wall and she went limp.
“No!” I roared. “I’ll kill you! I’ll rip your head from your worthless body!”
Reyna didn’t even so much as throw me a single glance. She extended her hand, and a whip appeared, glowing bright as the sun. Bright as lightning.
Upon closer inspection, I realized it was actual lightning. How she learned to wield her magic like that, I’d never know. I’d never seen anything like it in my life. To shape something as powerful and unpredictable as lightning was not a simple task.
She cracked the whip, and thunder boomed. With another flick of her wrist, Emilie was strung up on the wall, bands of lightning holding her up by the wrists with her back facing us.
Panic coursed through me. So similar…they were so similar to the electric ropes that bound the young boy. I threw all my weight against those magical vines that controlled me. I hardly moved an inch.
Reyna cracked the whip again, this time contacting Emilie’s back. Her body jerked and a bright red line branded her skin. Blood trickled momentarily, but the heat of the lightning quickly cauterized her wound.
Over and over and over again, that whip of lightning connected with Emilie’s flesh. Searing and slicing. Emilie moved in and out of consciousness, screaming when she woke and dangling lifelessly when she passed out.
The vines on my skin were relentless. Unyielding and infuriating. Panting and sweating, I looked down to find I’d only moved a foot away from the wall where I’d started. At this rate, I’d never reach Emilie. At least not in time to save her.
“Stop,” I growled. “Stop or I’ll skin you alive, Reyna.”
My voice wasn’t loud enough to drown out the sounds of thunder. Non-stop flashes of lightning and deafening booms filled the room. I wasn’t sure how much longer Emilie could hold on during the relentless siege on her body.
Reyna took a break, twirling her wrist like she had a cramp. During the pause, I could see Emilie’s mangled skin, full of deep, harsh lines that were already shiny red and scarred.
I stumbled two steps forward. It seemed Reyna’s leash on me had faltered a bit. I was still too far to get my hands on her. The need to strangle her motivated me to keep pushing, keep dragging across the room.
Just a few more steps. Just a few more and I’d be able to reach her.
As if she sensed me, Reyna spun to face me. Her brows pinched together.
“And you…what will I do with you?”
Raising my arm, I begged her to stop. “Let her go. You don’t need to do this.”
She scoffed. “I don’t need to do anything, you fool. I choose to.”
