“Let me do it.” Using her magic, she simply waved a hand and removed the pile of debris.
“Forgot you have a cheat code. Good work, princess.”
“My name is Lana Darling, by the way.”
“Lana,” he repeated, savoring the sound of her name. “And I am Mordecai Masters.”
She smiled. “I know.” Her smile slowly faded. “Did I hurt you? Earlier, when I—”
“It wasn’t you. The runes the prison marked me with were burning, but it doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“You have tattoos like the ones on my forearms?”
Turning around, he pointed to the back of his neck. “Here.” When he glanced back at her, she was frowning. “What’s wrong?”
“There aren’t any runes on your neck.”
“I—”
He froze in shock. Had the influx of her magic somehow bypassed the magical runes he had been marked with? Perhaps the power of their bond and the mating mark had been enough to remove all of the restrictions the prison had put on him. He doubted anyone inside the prison had ever found their mate while they were still incarcerated before him, so it made sense that no one had even considered it a possibility.
Reaching for his magic, he felt almost euphoric when it reacted to him for the first time in years. But it was like a well that had been drained dry. He was still weak, lacking power, but he would recover. He had no doubt about that now. And when he did, there would be a reckoning.
His voice was rough with emotion when he spoke again. “You’ve given me a gift beyond measure.”
Her cheeks flared with heat. “I didn’t mean to mark you. I mean, I would have. Eventually. But this just sort of happened. I should have had better control. I didn’t even realize it would hurt you.”
He walked over to her and cupped her face, gently rubbing her cheeks with his thumbs. “I am grateful you did it now ratherthan later. It’s like you removed a shackle that had been wrapped around my neck.”
“Then, I’m glad.”
Raised voices from close by made them both turn toward the hallway.
“Won’t other people try to come here?” she asked nervously. “They might get suspicious when they realize the entrance to the library has disappeared.”
“Most people in here have pretty much forgotten the place exists. And those who do know about it will think twice about trying to get in once they come up against your protection wards.”
“That celestial didn’t seem to have a problem figuring a way around them. How did he know we were here? With the protective shield I created, he shouldn’t have even been able to sense us at all.”
“Thraxon is different from most of the other inmates. He knows where the library is, but some of his crew don’t, so he won’t bring them here. I have no doubt he can sense more of what is going on around him than he lets on. But the safeguards in the prison are failing, so we have to be careful of the others,” he reminded.
Once they slipped through the open door, he quickly closed it again. A dim light flickered on overhead, allowing him to see that she was frowning as she glanced around the small space.
He grinned in response. “What’s wrong?”
“This looks like a storage closet.”
“Because it is.” Laughing lightly, he explained, “It’s camouflage to protect the library. The real entrance was covered up years ago, and a new one was made in here.”
“Ah, clever,” she praised.
Walking toward the back of the closet, he shoved open the back wall that was actually a hidden doorway. The heavy doorcreaked as it slowly opened, then he shoved it closed again once they were on the other side.
He noticed she was holding onto the hem of his shirt like a tether, and immediately wanted to comfort her. They had entered another stone hallway that was completely dark since he had personally disabled the automatic lights long ago to deter those who weren’t familiar with the passage from using it. It wasn’t dark for long, though. Lana conjured up a couple of light orbs that started circulating above their heads.
“Come on. We should be safe here…for now.”
“Let me add another safeguard on the door first,” she said softly.
