31
Fade to black
ZARA
The room crackles with energy, the air thick with the hum of magic like a taut string pulled to the breaking point. Malric stands across from me, his red eyes glowing with a feral intensity, the edges of his cloak swirling like smoke in the unnatural stillness.
He’s trying to intimidate me, and it’s beginning to work.
Malric stands like a predator, savoring the moment before he strikes. He’s going to test me, and this isn’t the first time I’ve endured a ritual like this. The coven that betrayed me put me through a similar rite, and the trick to surviving that one was to endure. To withstand. To wait until the moment was right to react and only then refuse to stop until they were defeated.
“That won’t work with me,” he murmurs, his voice a snake’s hiss, all oily calm and calculated malice. “Bravado won’t wash with me, witchling. You want to break the blood weave, and you want to be freed from Kade. Now, stop pissingaround and step forward.”
I stiffen, but I don’t let my anger rise. Not yet.
I don’t know if I want to break the ebon chain. Not entirely. I just want to know that I’ve had a choice and I don’t know why everything is trying to take my freedom from me. I was born into a world where I was bound by the sigil that controlled my coven and my sisters tried to steal my future from me. I didn’t make this connection with Kade freely, and all I want to know is that I’ve chosen this.
Chosen him.
Despite all the pain and hurt, despite his cruelty and darkness. I want to know that this was my decision and that it wasn’t forced on me. By circumstance. By a warlock. By Kade, or even fate itself.
Now Malric’s baiting me, trying to find out what makes me tick so he can hurt me. His methods will be slow like poison, designed to weaken me without killing me, and I’ll bet he’s an expert. His magic coils in the air, thick and heavy, like a fog creeping in on all sides.
And I have no choice but to do this if I want to know that I’ve chosen Kade. I don’t think he understands that I’m doing this for him as much as for myself. He looks wounded. Betrayed. Like I’ve stabbed a knife into the center of his being and twisted it with glee.
I hate it.
And yet I cannot bring myself to explain it to him.
“I can help you undo this chain,” Malric continues, his words pouring into my ear like venom. “But I need to know your strengths. And weakness. Everyone has them, Zara. Kade does. You’re no different.”
I swallow. “Nor are you.”
I hold my ground, but every fiber of my being screamsthat he’s already inside my head. He’s playing the long game, pretending to offer a solution while seeking to unearth every vulnerability, every crack in my armor.
“Don’t make me wait,” Malric coos, his voice dripping with malice. “Step forward. Or I’ll make you.”
I refuse to move.
Malric’s eyes narrow and with a lazy flick of his hand, the air around me vibrates with unbearable force, and the pain hits, sharp and fast. It’s like being flayed from the inside out, the force of his magic tearing through my body as though my skin is being peeled off in long, slow strips.
I scream, but the sound is choked, trapped in my throat as my lungs fight to fill with air. The room tilts, the pain distorting everything around me.
“Tell me,” he continues, his voice shifting until it’s sharp like the edge of a blade. “What is it you fear most? What will make you break? The blood weave is strong, but that’s not what you fear. There’s something else, something inside you—and it terrifies you so much that you daren’t even look at it.”
His magic swirls around me, subtle but insidious. It coils through the air, twisting, slipping under my skin, into my mind. He’s testing me, testing my resolve. A cold hand of dread wraps around my heart, and I shove it down, locking it away.
Malric’s face distorts, twisting into an even more despicable form. His grin is an awful, vicious smile that curls at the edges of his lips as he sucks air between his teeth, inhaling the anxiety flooding from me.
“There it is,” he purrs, stepping closer. “I knew you’d scream. But that’s only the beginning.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I snap, forcing my voice steady, though my insides are screaming. “You can’t break me like this, Malric.”
He laughs. “No, fear is just the beginning. Fear is what keeps us alive, but it’s also what makes us vulnerable.” His red eyes gleam, narrowing as he steps even closer, until I can feel the heat of his magic against my skin. “I’d be disappointed if you failed before we’d even begun, little witch. Shall we begin? I promise to be gentle, at least at the start.”
He raises his hand, and the surrounding air alters, the force of his magic mounting until it’s unbearable. With a single flick of his wrist, I feel the sharp sting of his magic, like a thousand needles pushing into my skin, spreading out from my chest, reaching for my heart. My breath hitches, my knees almost buckling under the assault.
I bite down on a scream, fighting the rush of pain threatening to swallow me whole. My body trembles, but I fight to keep my feet planted, to keep my composure. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me crumble.
