Page 10 of Captive of Secrets and Storms

The frigid water bites my flesh. Goose bumps erupt over my body, and the shivers begin immediately.

But then the magic in my chest awakens. A tiny ball of heat balloons into a pleasant fire. Warmth flows to my extremities.

Within seconds, my body temperature rises. I glance at my palms and trace over the faint glow pressing against my skin.

My power hasn’t fully replenished following Darius’s healing, but it’s getting there. In addition to making the water comfortable, the discomfort in my fingers lessens, as does the pain in my backside.

Thank you.

My magic vibrates in a silent purr.

I sink into the cool water, relaxing as the calming sensation of magic ripples through my veins, coaxing the soreness from my muscles.

Water rises to the base of my throat. I lean back, allowing my neck to relax, and for the first time all day, I rest my eyes.

The bubbling water soothes. My toes dig into the rocky streambed, holding my position. I breathe deeply.

A tear leaks from my eye.

Then another.

And another.

Tear after tear rolls down my face, plopping into the water to be carried away by the stream. If only my pain and fear would do the same.

I thought I had it all figured out when I healed Darius.

I thought I’d fulfilled my obligation to the Fae.

I thought I’d mastered my power and found a way to defeat the horrible curse that had ravaged his body.

But I was wrong.

Not only has my body been battered and bruised by my neighbors, but so has my confidence.

I’m determined to heal Darius and get back to Ferria, but what will it take? And where will I be in the meantime?

Tears continue to fall as any semblance of peace I found flees at the reminder of my precarious situation.

I sniff and try to stem their flow, so distracted by my pain that I don’t immediately register the fierce hiss that punctures the quiet air.

My eyes fly open.

Water explodes around me.

I barely have time to scream before two crimson eyes cut through the spray, and a snarling creature launches at me.

3

The shriek that tears from my throat hardly sounds human.

I scramble back, the stream splashing around me, as the cat-sized beast lands in the water before it lunges again. Its sharp fangs gleam under the dimming light, red eyes crazed and bloodthirsty.

I take another step, and my foot slips on a pile of loose stones. I go under.

Cold crashes over my head. The shock steals the air from my lungs. I inhale on instinct, and water floods my chest.

The creature lands on top of me, shoving me down.