“Help him,” I managed.
“We need to cut off the poisoned magic,” Petrona said.
“That hasn’t been done by force since before we were children,” Leon said severely. He stood next to the bed, close but out of reach of Cade’s black lines of magic.
Beside him, Jesaiah raised a hand, gripping Leon’s shoulder. Leon looked over at him, his eyes relaxing. He nodded.
“We need to do it now.” Petrona rolled up her sleeves, and I saw blue whorls on her flesh. They looked old, like tattoos faded from age. But when she touched them, they slithered off her skin quickly. “Will you help me, Leon?”
He nodded sharply, then glanced at Sonja. “Keep Miles over there. If it is the consort bond that’s contaminating Cade’s magic, cutting off the poisoned pieces might shatter their bond entirely.”
“Tyson,” Sonja said sharply.
The werewolf picked his way through the room, hesitant for the first time since I had met him. He looked at me, brows drawn together. I had claimed him as part of my pack, but now the woman he loved was telling him to hurt me.
“It’s okay,” I managed, gritting my teeth through the agony of magical, thorny vines stretching under my skin, slicing through the flesh at my back. “Whatever you have to do to save him.”
Petrona stood on one side of the bed, Leon on the other. Cade arched in the middle, his entire body pulled taut by whatever magical agony he was going through.
Petrona raised her hands, a webbing of blue fully encasing Cade. Leon did the same on the other side, layering his golden magic on top of hers.
“Prince Bartlett, prepare yourself,” she said.
Then the webbing snapped shut, all gaps closing, leaving him wrapped in blue and gold light. It was as though someone had carved a statue made of pure light that looked exactly like Cade.
His mouth opened, a silent scream that was eaten by Petrona and Leon’s magic. His eyes searched for me, and I tried to yell out for him, but Sonja’s red magic tightened around my throat, digging into my mouth.
The black lines of magic around us disappeared, floating away like ash. Without the thorns of black tattoos digging into my skin, I felt every wound, blood sliding down my legs.
Sonja’s magic wasn’t enough to keep me upright, and I sagged down. Tyson stepped forward, reaching out. For a second, I thought he was going to strike me. Instead, he used his hand to pin me against the wall until I could get my own feet underneath me.
“Is it done?” Sonja asked. She didn’t even look at me.
“Yes.” Petrona reached out her hand, drawing her fingertips down Cade’s cheek, her blue magic returning to her.
Leon swirled one of his hands over the other, his gold magic coming back to him like wool becoming a skein of yarn. He shook his head sadly.
“Petrona, there is a reason we do not do this by force. That amount of magic removed from him, even if it was poisoned—”
“It is done,” Petrona said shortly. “Now we just need to wait to see if it broke his mind.”
“What should I do with him?” Sonja’s voice made it clear that she would prefer to kill me outright, a casualty no one would miss.
“Detain him,” Leon said firmly. “He tried to kill Prince Bartlett. We need to know who taught him how—we need to know exactly what he did. If Prince Bartlett wakes, he can manage his consort’s punishment.”
I didn’t bother protesting when Sonja twisted her magic around me even further, binding my legs and arms before dragging me through the house. An entire wall had fallen. Cracks decorated the ceiling, and furniture was shattered and tossed around haphazardly.
I could smell the trail of blood I was leaving behind as Sonja pulled me out the back door, hauling me across the lawn and through the forest. Sticks and stones scratched my skin, but it was nothing on the agony of my back where Cade’s magic had torn most of the skin.
When we reached the three small cells, she pulled a key from her pocket, unlocking the far one, the one where rats nested. Using her magic, she threw me inside.
For a split second, I saw Tyson framed in the doorway, something on his face broken. Then, Sonja slammed the door shut, leaving me in darkness.
* * *
I stared at the walls around me, unable to move because of the red magic that wrapped my body. I had enough experience fighting against Cade’s to know that struggling would only lead to pain and more broken bones.
Blood trickled down my back, moving more sluggishly now. The cuts burned, dirt and cool air irritating the wounds.
