Pain lanced through our connection as Marcus's head snapped up, his eyes finding Talin's presence instantly.
"Hello, Threadwalker." his voice echoed through dimensions. "Come to watch?"
Talin tried to pull back, but Marcus's power wrapped around her consciousness like barbed wire. I felt her panic spike through our bond.
Hold on, I commanded, pouring my strength into our connection. I've got you.
"You're too late," Marcus continued, his smile cruel, and I wasn't sure if he was talking to me or her. "Tomorrow night, when you disrupt my anchors, you'll be doing exactly what I want. The barriers will weaken, yes. But not just between my dimension and yours. Between all dimensions."
Horror flooded through Talin as the implications hit her. Marcus wasn't trying to keep them out. He was using their rescue attempt as part of his ritual.
We have to warn?—
Marcus's power constricted, and Talin screamed. The sound tore through me, her pain becoming mine. I yanked hard on our connection, using every ounce of strength I possessed to drag her back.
The thread realm shattered around us. Talin gasped, her body convulsing in my arms as we crashed back into my room. Blood trickled from her nose, the scent instantly setting off my blood lust, her skin burning hot against mine.
"What the hell were you thinking getting so close to him?" I snarled, cradling her against my chest.
"I had to see," she gasped, struggling to sit up.
"Godsdammit, Talin!" Fury and fear warred within me as I jumped to my feet. "You almost got yourself killed. Again."
She shoved away from me, stumbling to her feet. "We needed to know! Don't you understand? He's counting on us to disrupt the binding points. It's part of his ritual!"
"Then we don't do it," I said flatly. "We find another way."
"There IS no other way!" She whirled on me, eyes blazing with green fire. "Alex is dying, Elias. I felt him. He has maybe two days left, if that. And Kenya—" Her voice broke. "Kenya won't survive losing him. You know that."
"And I won't survive losing you," I shot back.
She froze, staring at me. "That's not... you can't put that on me."
"Why not? It's the truth." I stood, towering over her. "One taste of your blood and I was bound to you forever. You die, I die. That's how it works."
"I know how mate bonds work," she said quietly. "But that doesn't mean?—"
"Doesn't mean what?" I demanded. "That I should care if you throw your life away? That I should stand back and watch while you dive headfirst into danger?"
"You don't trust me!" The words exploded out of her, tears streaming down her face. "You say you want me as I am, and maybe that's true when it comes to my physical body, but you won't let me do what I was meant to do!"
"What you were meant to do?" My voice was cold, controlled, the way it did when I was truly angry. "You were meant to risk your life diving into a pocket dimension controlled by a psychotic djinn? That's your grand destiny?"
"My destiny is to save my family!" She was sobbing now, but her eyes remained fierce. "And you keep trying to stop me!"
"Because I can't lose you!" The words ripped from my throat, a century of control shattering in an instant. "Don't you understand that? I've lived for so long without feeling anything, and now that I have you, the thought of—" I broke off, turning away from her tear-stained face. My hands clenched into fists, nails digging into my palms hard enough to draw blood. "I can't lose you, little witch."
The silence stretched between us, broken only by her ragged breathing. When she finally spoke, her voice was so quiet I almost missed it.
"You never had me. Not really."
I went completely still, every muscle in my body locking into place. Slowly, carefully, I turned back to face her.
"What did you say?"
She lifted her chin, meeting my gaze despite the tears still falling. "You don't want me. The only reason you care this much is exactly what you just said. Because if I die, then so do you."
Rage flooded through me. Not at her for throwing my words back at me, but at every person who'd ever made her feel less than the fierce, beautiful, extraordinary woman she was. And at myself for not making her see the truth. At this whole fucking situation that kept pushing us apart when we should be together.
