“Not to me.”
He ripped his hands away from her so fast it was as if she’d burnt him. He stepped back, his crimson glow stuttering uncertainly. “Then why... why did you put me under in the first place?”
She swallowed, her throat tight. “The Council ordered me to capture you. To bring you back.”
His expression twisted.
“But it was wrong,” she rushed on. “I shouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry, Sebastian.”
His gaze narrowed. “What changed your mind?”
There was something dangerous in his voice now. Controlled. Cold.
Your mind.
“Something did. Tell me the truth,” he demanded.
Kara’s hands came up, palms open, defensive. “I know I shouldn’t have done it.”
“Done what?” he asked sharply.
“I...” she faltered, then forced the words out. “I went into your mind.”
The silence that followed was absolute. His expression didn’t change at first. It just... froze. She thought, maybe for a second, that he’d understand. That she’d had to do it.
“You did...what?” he asked, his voice low but laced with fury.
“W-whilst you were asleep,” she stammered.
“Since when could a healer do that?”
“Henry... he showed me.”
“You had no right,” he thundered.
“I wanted the truth.” Her voice was small. “I needed the truth, Sebastian.”
“So you took it?” He was shouting now. “Ripped it from my head whilst I was trapped in that cursed sleep you forced on me?”
“Yes – but I was careful, I only looked for that–”
He laughed once, a cold humourless sound. “Well, that’s better then.”
She moved closer without conscious thought. “I saw it. What you’re trying to stop. The vision. You’re not trying to hurt Vallenna. You’re trying to save it.”
He stepped back. His magic flared around him, a warning – crimson and unsettled.
Kara’s breath trembled. “You’re so brave.”
“Don’t say that.”
She edged towards him. “Please–”
She laid a hand on his arm. It was pure instinct, not strategy. Just regret. He recoiled like she’d struck him.
“Don’t touch me. Not with your hands or your magic.”
Sebastian whipped around, turning his back to her, but the movement had made his sleeve fall back, revealing the smooth, unmarked skin beneath. He stared. Then slowly – as if afraid of what he’d find – he lifted his arm and turned it over. Kara’s stomach plummeted. He looked at it like it belonged to someone else. Then he checked his other arm. His hands. Reached up to feel his chin. But there was nothing there for him to find. He staggered back a step, his breath stuttering.
