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I don’t want to eat anymore, but I don’t want to be told to move to the floor either, so I pick at what’s on my plate and hope Dane doesn’t notice for a while longer.
I feel his eyes on me, and I stick a piece of chicken in my mouth.
But he approaches and comes to loom by the side of my chair much as Kallum did. I look up, making sure I appear unaffected, but I can feel the stirrings of his magick, and my body remembers the pain of it. I expect him to just cast whatever conjure he’s planning and let me feel the brunt of its effects without any explanation, but he moves to sit in the chair that Kallum just vacated instead.
He watches me, and I make myself stare him in the eyes, daring him to do whatever he’s going to do without turning away from it.
He leans back and does nothing. I feel the food I’ve eaten churning in my gut, and I wish I hadn’t eaten so much. Finally, I can’t take the silence stretching out before us any longer.
‘Are you intending on binding me for a third time?’
I pretend that I don’t care, but the truth is that I’ve already got three keeping me in check, and they’re starting to feel like a heaviness on my mind and body that’s making me feel sluggish. Although it’s possible that that’s just the effect of the constant Gate travel over the past week or so.
His eyes linger on my face. ‘I think two is enough for you,’ he says arrogantly.
I resist the strong urge to smirk at him.
‘What then?’ I ask.
‘A simple spell to keep you from running.’
A double-edged sword. I won’t be able to escape without disabling it, but at least they won’t need the rope anymore.
‘Will it hurt?’
I curse my suddenly timid voice. He frowns.
‘No. Why would it?’
I rub my perpetually cold arms and see that the movement doesn’t escape his notice, but his expression doesn’t change.
‘Your bindings hurt. They made my body burn.’
His frown deepens, and it’s tinged with suspicion. ‘They shouldn’t have.’
‘Well, they did.’
‘This won’t.’ His jaw ticks. ‘But even if it were going to, I’d still do it, Harbinger,’ he hisses, leaning across the table.
I blink at him, wondering at his sudden vehemence.
‘Do it then. I’m tired.’ I don’t even have to pretend my sudden yawn.
A look of determination steals over his features. ‘Fine.’
He stands and walks behind me, an arm snaking over my shoulder to hover above my chest. He whispers words I don’t know, and a brief flash of heat followed by cold lances through my heart. He’s right. It doesn’t hurt, but it does feel very uncomfortable. I gasp a breath and then another, feeling a little lightheaded. His hand moves away, and I lean forward to brace myself on the table. A few moments later, it dissipates, however, and all I’m left with is an odd tugging sensation in my sternum.
‘It’s finished,’ he murmurs from behind me. ‘You won’t be able to go more than fifty paces from at least one of us.’
I turn back to look at him. ‘What happens if I do?’
He stares down his nose at me. ‘That’s where the pain comes in, Harbinger. Test it tomorrow when we leave if you want.’
I turn back around, and though my stomach is still unsettled, I pop another piece of meat into my mouth.
‘I think you’ve eaten more than enough,’ he chides.
Then, he clicks his fingers and points to the floor. I look down at the hard boards, and my heart sinks.
