“Are you okay?” Kerak asked, touching Reid’s face and throat with gentle fingers.
Reid nodded, sucking in shaking breaths and trying to recover himself. He didn’t think anything was permanently damaged, but he couldn’t stop shaking. Behind Kerak, Selin got to his feet. Reid managed to gasp, “Behind you,” just before Selin turned and charged toward them.
Kerak’s eyes bled from black to red. He spun, meeting Selin head-on and repelling him again. The air in the room changed.Charged with some force that Ried couldn’t see. It was magic. It had to be.
Kerak put a hand out toward Selin. He didn’t actually touch him, but the gesture sent Selin flying backward, tearing apart another section of the wall around the door, and back out into the street.
Kerak followed.
Slowly, Reid got to his feet. He was still shirtless and his throat ached, but he was in this with Kerak. Even if he couldn’t physically do anything to help.
“I told you what would happen if you didn’t leave him alone,” Kerak said, standing over Selin. His voice had gone dark and low.Sinister. It sent goosebumps racing up Reid’s arms even in the bright morning sun.
On the ground, Selin spat blood onto the dirt and rose up onto his knees. “You won’t do it. What would you do without me, little brother?”
“Live.” Kerak raised his hand and started to speak in a language Reid didn’t know. It sounded otherworldly.
Selin’s eyes widened. “Kerak?—”
Kerak continued. Louder.
Selin started to shake, pale skin turning red and veins popping out in his forehead and neck like he was straining against a force Reid couldn’t see. “You’ll regret this.”
Kerak’s voice rose in cadence and pitch until Selin screamed, and Kerak closed his fist.
Selin disappeared. One moment, he’d been on his knees in the street, and the next, he was gone, only the imprints of his knees and flecks of spat blood to prove he’d been there at all.
“What—” Reid started to say, but Kerak dropped to one knee in front of him. “Kerak!” Reid rushed forward, falling to the ground beside him and gripping his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
Kerak panted. Sweat coated his face, and for the first time since Reid had known him, there was dust clinging to his clothes. He reached one arm around Reid and pulled him close. “Yes. I just need a moment.”
As it always was, the touch of Kerak’s skin to his was a balm. It seemed to be the same for Kerak, too. As soon as his hand slid around Reid’s bare waist, he pulled in a deep breath and looked more like his usual put-together self again.
Kerak rose to his feet, bringing Reid with him. “Let’s get you dressed and see about fixing this damage.” He pointed to the front of Reid’s rented room.
Reid hadn’t really taken a moment to look around. He cringed at the missing boards and broken door. It also didn’t surprise him to see faces disappearing behind curtains in his neighbors’ windows or the small crowd of onlookers that had gathered up the street. If people in town hadn’t known Kerak was a paranormal, they definitely would now.
“Everyone will know about you now, though. We should get out of town.”
Kerak’s dark gaze met his. “We can leave if you want, but no one here is a threat to me. Or to you.” His voice rose enough to carry as he said the last. “Anyway, I like it here.”
Reid laughed in disbelief before he looked back at the spot where Selin had been. In a whisper, he asked, “What happened to him?”
“I sent him back to the realm we grew up in. He’s been avoiding our father for a long time.”
Chapter
Eight
PRESENT DAY
Wylder
Wylder wasn’t sure what Sigurd was doing, but he’d learned years ago not to question his uncle too much when he was mumbling to himself about magic. Sigurd moved with purpose around the outside of the circle, making three small marks in the ground. Then he turned his attention to the trees surrounding them. Pulling a dagger from his belt, he approached a tree, said something in a language Wylder didn’t know, and cut one of the small, lower branches from the tree.
“What’s he doing?” he whispered to Silva.
Beside him, Silva shook his head. “Probably laying whatever spell work he needs to break the circle.”
