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"He’s caught me. He was about to drain a witch, and I tried to help but …"
“I will find you. Do everything you can to prevent him from taking any power from you. Let him have the witch if it means you survive.”
“But—”
“It is a terrible option, but if you die, we die, Clawdia. If you are hurt, we are hurt. We love you. Fight for us.”
“I will,”I promised.
I was frightened of what would happen when he arrived. Nisha warned me against taking anyone with me, that they might die if I did.But if they arrived separately, did that change their fate? Was I asking them to sacrifice themselves?iI didn’t want them hurt but I was equally frightened about what would happen if they didn’t come to help me.
Fafnir walked back to the witch, carrying me carelessly as I squirmed. “I feel your magic, cat. Are you a shifter working for the council? Are you here to rescue my meal?” He lifted me to stare into my eyes and shook me. “Change. Show yourself.”
I meowed my objection.
The redhead was motionless as we approached her, a pool of blood spreading across the floor beneath her head.
“If you were the familiar of this witch, you could have healed her,” he continued conversationally. “Although, that doesn’t account for how my hand moved against my will. Is there another witch here? Is your master skulking around here?” He shook me again, then tilted his head back to shout, “Come out, witch, or your familiar and you will suffer the most painful death.”
Silence.
His temper flared, and he threw me to the ground, winding me again. He placed his foot on my body and pressed slowly. My clawing didn’t deter him. He stared furiously down at me, his eyes flashing yellow.
And I knew what would happen next. He would drain me. And I would suffer.
I tried to steal my mind, prepare for it. But there is no way to prepare for something so horrific. He reached down to place his hands on me. They glowed, and I flinched away as he dug his cold fingers into my fur. They were so cold they burned. The cold seemed to seep into my skin, into my veins, sending streaks of fire through them to where it reached my power inside me and pulled.
The pain was unbearable.
I hissed and tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he held me tight, his fingers squeezing painfully.
Suddenly the draining stopped, and I caught my breath, panting and sluggishly squirming. Fafnir looked around and tilted his head, and I realized he was listening for an echoed cry of pain. Then his hands glowed again, and that pulling sensation felt like he was tearing me limb from limb. I cried out, knowing that Charlie and Zaide would feel it too. Knowing that it caused them pain too made it hurt all the worse.
I tried to block our connection to each other, but Zaide sensed it and spoke through gritted teeth.
Clawdia, stop! I need you to stay open so I can find you.
I don’t want you to get hurt.
And I don’t want you or us dead. Do not block our connection.
Hurry.
I will, Little Cat. Keep strong.
“What was that?” I opened my eyes to see Fafnir staring at me with a curious expression. My muscles tensed. “Your magic intensified. A witch couldn’t offer that. I’m sure of it. You have another bond, and magic floods you. What are you? I wonder—”
He started to drain me again. This time, it felt like he wasn’t just tearing off my limps, but also breaking every bone, snapping every vein, and splitting every cell of my entire body. The sounds I made weren’t supposed to come from a cat.
I had died twice before, but those deaths had not been this painful.
And then it stopped. And suddenly, he pushed my magic back inside of me, quickly, painfully, and my body reacted in the way it usually did when I was overwhelmed by magic—I turned human.
“A shifter? Perhaps you have a magical mate bond I can feel?” He circled me, and I whimpered. I was naked and vulnerable, and he was staring at me like a medical mystery. I tried to cover myself up, but he wanted me exposed and afraid. He sat on my legs and gripped my hair, tugging hard. I gasped. His eyes tracked my face, and his smirk dimmed as he looked at me properly.
“You’re her image. The one who got away.” He trailed the back of his finger from my eye to my breast, and I whimpered. He pulled tighter on my hair; my eyes watered. “But how? She didn’t have any children. No family. Who are you?”
CHAPTER27
