“I’d rather die,” I snap, throwing my head forward in a desperate move. My forehead connects with his nose and he stumbles back, cursing as blood pours down his face.
A flicker of satisfaction floats over me, but it’s short-lived.
Kade’s hand wraps around my throat before I can stop him, slamming me back into the wall again. Stars explode in my vision as his grip tightens, cutting off my air. I claw at his hand, trying to fight back, but nothing works and he’s just too strong to shake off.
“This is where it ends,” he says, his voice low, almost regretful.
My eyes widen as I plead for breath, fighting in any way I can. His fingers tighten again and pain burns through me as he crushes my neck and makes my body burn. I can’t draw breath and my heart hammers against my chest, struggling to keep pumping without the oxygen it needs.
My vision narrows as the stars clear and all I see is him. The hatred and the anger. The darkness and the light. The power and the control, watching as his free hand lifts, his knuckles bloody and his stance tense. He’s going to strike and finish me.
He’s going to kill me and he’s savoring the last moments of my life.
I blink and scratch, still thrashing as my limbs go numb.
He shoves me back with a growl, hard enough that my head whips into the rock behind me and I collapse to the ground, choking on the air I’m finally dragging into my lungs. My chest burns as I cough and splutter, spitting blood as I try to recover. The acid burns through my limbs and core and my muscles shake, barely working as they struggle to take my weight until they find a way to work again.
My eyes blink far too rapidly, tears streaming down my face as I force myself to focus. My vision’s blurred and when I turn my head, all I see is Kade, pacing furiously across the cave. His boots scuff the stones as he mutters under his breath, cursing everything and everyone.
The pain in my ribs, my arms, and even my head fades. It’s not gone, but it’s duller now, as though the worst of it’s been stripped away. I draw a deeper breath, expecting a sharp burst of pain as my ribs catch, but nothing comes. My hands press against my chest and there’s no pain, no broken bones beneath my fingers.
I shake my head and my confusion builds.
I’m recovering far too fast. This isn’t normal. This isn’t natural. My body’s healing itself, and I’m not using magic of any kind. Not one drop of it.
My mouth falls open and I gasp, still afraid my airway might get closed off again. Heat builds in my chest and I sigh as its warmth spreads through me, easing some of my tension.
“Fuck,” Kade hisses.
I look up at him, confused. His hands curl into fists and he turns away, pummelling the rocks as if they could contain his anger. The warlock unleashes his fury on the cave walls and screams with rage, every sound reverberating around us with renewed vehemence.
“How can you be so fucking fine with this?” he seethes.
“I’m far from fucking fine with anything,” I snarl back. “You almost beat the living shit out of me, and I’m going to make damn sure you pay for it.”
Kade freezes and turns to face me. His muscles strain, summoning every ounce of power he contains. His eyes darken and their storm is a fury I don’t think I can withstand. His breaths are quick and slow, deep and shallow, a mix of hate and rage and resignation.
“You don’t know, do you?” His expression is a maelstrom of emotions I’d rather not experience. “You don’t know what’s happened to us, do you?”
I shake my head, every movement slow and tentative.
“Gods,” he mutters, raking a hand through his hair. “You’re fucking clueless.” He taps his foot, then strides toward me, crouching before me as his dark eyes narrow on me. They look me up and down, studying me, scrutinizing me as if I’m some object and he’s looking for its flaws. “You’ve fucked us both over, darling. And now we’re bound to each other.”
I shudder and a flurry of bile catches at the back of my throat.
“What the fuck do you mean?”
“Warlocks call it a blood weave, darling. Your kind calls it an ebon chain. Either way, we’re fucked.”
I retch, and Kade’s eyebrow arches as he watches me, offering no comfort and not one shred of compassion. Nausea overwhelms me as my body keeps healing and the warmth spreading through me only makes this worse. It’s more inevitable, more undeniable. And it’s so staggeringly wrong it’s indescribable.
“I didn’t do this,” I seethe.
“You damn well did, Zara. It wasn’t me. I don’t want this and definitely didn’t do this. I don’t want a pathetic slut likeyou tethered to me for the rest of my existence. I don’t want to be bound to you, forced to endure you, obliged to share my power with you. It’s disgusting. You’re disgusting. Yet here we are.”
I glare at him, fury flaring in my chest and chasing away the nausea, if only for a moment. “You think I wanted this?” My voice is raw, trembling with a mixture of rage and disbelief. “You think I’d ever willingly tether myself to someone like you?”
Kade smirks, leaning in closer, the heat of his presence suffocating. “Doesn’t matter what you wanted, darling. Intent means nothing to the blood weave. It just is.” His tone drips with condescension, like I’m too stupid to grasp the gravity of what he’s saying.
