AllFreeNovel
Share Us
All I could think to say was, "So I could find you. To make sure you're all right after what was done to you. It's a thing Fae can do. Are you all right?" I hated lying to him, but if the truth was too hard for him to take, I had no other choice.
He looked down at his sword for a minute or two, then put it back in its sheath.
"Of course I'm all right. It takes more than one Fae bitch to fuck with me."
That was the Zared I knew.
I forced a smile. "Of course it does. I'm glad you're doing well. I should let you go on your way. I have to make another stop before I return home. A visit to the Temple in Havenmoor. I have business there. An offering to make." He wouldn’t refuse to let me go if I had a gift for the gods. The Fae visited rarely, but were always generous when they did. I overheard Geralda mention the fact once. Something about fine wine and a bag of money. Recompense for taking care of the maidens for the Summer Court, perhaps?
"That's where I'm going," he said reluctantly. "I can show you if you want."
"I'd appreciate that," I said graciously.
Without thinking, I reached out and touched his hand.
He jerked away as if my touch stung his skin.
Froze.
He clapped his hands to either side of his head and felt to his knees in the dirt. A jolt of pure agony surged through the bond.
"Shit, Zared!" I dropped down beside him and grabbed him before he could topple.
Ryze and Tavian darted out from behind the bushes and helped me lower him until he lay on the ground. His legs kicking, body writhing.
"Gods, what did I do?" His pain was so intense I swear I felt it too.
"Stop panicking," Cavan ordered as he too stepped out of the bushes. "You have the magic to ease his pain."
"I'm not going to—" I started.
"I'm not suggesting you kill him," Cavan snapped. "Focus."
Without knowing what I was doing, I placed my hands on either side of Zared's face, beside his. I pushed a combination of numbing cold and soothing warmth into him. That was when I found it.
"She didn't change his memories," I said absently. "There's a block. If I move it, will it kill him?"
"If you don't, this may kill him," Ryze said. I felt a sliver of his cold magic curl around mine. A moment later, Cavan added a dash of warmth.
"We've got him," Ryze said. "We'll try to keep the pain at bay while you deal with the block."
Zared still writhed, but the agony wasn't quite so bad.
I sucked in a breath. Cavan's order not to panic kept me from losing it completely.
I focused my attention and my magic on the block in Zared’s mind. It felt like a wall made of pure thought. Like Dalyth created an idea and pushed it into place there.
Ideas, once settled into the mind, were always difficult to shift. This one was no different. It clung to him stubbornly even while he rejected it.
I closed my eyes and sent my own thoughts down the bond.
I am Khala. I was transformed into a Fae. I was always part Fae. You know all of this, you were there. I'm an omega. I went through heat and changed. You were there for that too. You're part of my pack. You were always meant to be part of my pack.
The block started to disintegrate, bit by bit. It clung on stubbornly, tendrils trying to dig invisible claws into Zared's mind. I teased away each one, until only one large piece remained. One particularly stubborn section. I poked at it with my magic.
Zared arched his back, threw his head back and howled in pain.
"Quickly," someone urged. I didn't know whose voice it was. It might have been Ryze's, or even Tavian.
