Rian’s power was not merely a dangerous tool that was at his disposal. It was more like an entity unto itself.
And it was now rampaging throughme.
I gave an involuntary cry of horror and almost pulled away from him, but Rian held onto me as if he’d already known I would try to jerk away. I nearly bit off my own tongue as my teeth clenched against the whimpering that escaped without permission. My arm trembled from the gnawing pain, and my body convulsed from the pressure ofso much raw poweras it threatened to overcome me.
I always knew he was powerful, Iexpectedit, but there was no preparing for this. I’d onlythoughtI understood.
“Ornella. Complete the rite,” Rian gritted out through his teeth at me. He was not straining from pain like me, but from the fortitude it was taking for him to hold back the worst of his power from ravaging me.
If he lost control, his magic would consume me…
This realization seemed to knock the words that I was supposed to be speaking right out of my head. My mind had devolved into a harried mess while I struggled just to survive the incursion of his magic.
Thankfully, Sage was there for me, growling through his pain as he sat upright and pulled me close to him so he could whisper the words into my ear.
“I… give you my blood… my magic. And I take yours in return… so our essences may be bound… until death.”
My voice was so strained that the words were almost unrecognizable, but luckily, the magic was understood.
It was all I could do to push some of my own essence through the torrent that was Rian’s power. But as soon as it was done, Light and Shadowdetonatedin my veins.
I was too exhausted and overcome to even think about controlling the outburst, but Rian was ready. He directed it all upward in a spike of pure power that tore through the air above us in a swirl of light and dark. I felt a circle snapping closed, all the links sinking into place one after the other,clink, clink, clink, clink,and my mind imploded. It felt similar to how my body fragmented in the ley lines of the Tithriall, only when everything reformed again, there were new pieces interlocking with me.
The beam of light and dark cut off as soon as Rian released my hand, and the searing pain in my veins ebbed into the pulse of too much magic. It made my head feel like it could explode, my muscles felt like they swelled, and my skin was ready to split open.
You need to let some out,Sage told me. But I was not sure how to do that when the power near bursting inside me felt like it would destroy absolutely everything.
The world suddenly shuddered, and Nuala gave a cry that made me look up just in time to see another elf had arrived in a blast of light. The shock wave blasted through my battered shield and sent the witch hurling backward. Her temples were damp with sweat, so I guessed she was too exhausted and depleted to create her own shield like Ciaran and Darragh. Or perhaps she lacked the skill.
Rian tried his best to catch her before she hit the floor. ButI heard the back of her head crack on the flagstones before she rolled across the ground like a rag doll.
Rian snarled in an absolute rage as he reached her side. The second he touched her, I felt him drawing hard on my magic to heal her fractured skull and an assortment of other broken bones. His breaths sawed in and out of him savagely even as he brushed his fingers through her damp hair with the utmost tenderness. He wielded my power with practiced ease, and once she was put back together, he gathered Nuala into his arms.
“I’ll take her through the portal!” Amira offered from behind me, reminding me that she was still there. I had expected her to slip through the tree to Ahnnaòin and her second mate the moment we were all distracted, but she had stayed with me.
“Nuala remains with me,” Rian growled.
Rian, you need your full strength! Darragh chastised. His voice was strained as he and Ciaran worked together to form a new shield over the rest of us.
She remains with me, Rian reiterated stubbornly.
It took me a second to realize that I was hearing them in my head as clearly as if they were speaking aloud.
I will hold her, Sage spoke up.
Rian hesitated a moment longer in uncertainty, but he clearly trusted Sage, because he brought the unconscious witch over to us. I moved out of the way so he could deposit Nuala next to Sage who shifted her into his arms in spite of his pain and exhaustion. I probably would have taken issue with him holding another female like that at any other time. But perhaps the fact that she was mated to Rian helped me feel less ornery about it.
Sage’s head jerked toward me.
She ismatedto him?he verified, and I grimaced at the reminder that my mind was not fully my own anymore.
Come on, little doe, show us what you can do now with all our power, Ciaran urged me.
I rolled my eyes immediately at the sound of him.
Ugh. I am not convinced that this is going to be worth it if Ihave to hear your voice in my head now,I lamented with feigned disgust.
I meant to project my thoughts at Ciaran, but I could already tell they had been broadcast to everyone. It was going to take some practice before I was able to use this new link with any kind of finesse. Which meant my life was probably about to get wildly embarrassing…
