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I look to Sunder for a response. “You haven’t told me your price yet,” Sunder says firmly.
Yurghen makes a soft tsking noise, shaking his head in mock disappointment. The hair on my arms stands on end again, as if something is stirring in the air.
“I didn’t even get to tell you the good news yet. I’ve detected a curse on the little shifter.”
I freeze, looking down at Bobble, who is staring at Yurghen with round eyes.
“Will you help him?” I blurt out, stepping closer to the wizard despite my better judgment.
“Of course. But are you willing to pay my price?”
“Anything!”
The wizard is coy as he looks at us. “Stay awhile. My apprentices and I would like the opportunity to study the three of you. A fractured soul is a rare opportunity, indeed. That’s all I ask. It is. And after you’ve gathered the other two Shards, I’ll help merge you boys back together. You’ll be Prince Dan’thiel again in no time.”
“I need specifics. Length of stay. Describe the ‘study’,” Sunder asks.
Yurghen looks at me thoughtfully. “Well, I need to see if the Vessel can manifest powers on her own without the bond. The first part of the experiments would center on putting her in… uncomfortable… situations that could force her human mind to- “
“No.”
The tone of Sunder’s voice bounces off the walls of books. His hands ball into tight fists at his sides. A distant feeling of anger seeps into my mind, but it doesn’t feel right. It’s coated in a layer of oil, slippery and just out of reach. Sunder grabs my hand, pulling me towards the door.
“We’re leaving. Now.”
Through the bond, fear and desperation slam into my mind. Bobble runs ahead to the door and back to us, circling our feet and running to the closed door again.
“That’s quite enough, Prince Dan’thiel,” Yurghen says.
Sunder places a hand on the small of my back, urging me to the door. With a shove, he pushes me out of the way before spinning on Yurghen. A blast of his sapphire Chroma spews out, hurdling towards Yurghen.
Sunder shouts over his shoulder, “Run, Mira.”
But it’s already too late.
Looking bored, Yurghen raises a hand and swats the ball of blue spider webs out of the air. A bolt of yellow lightning shoots out from Yurghen’s hands. It blasts Sunder across the room, striking him down before he can react. He falls to the floor in a heap, unconscious.
My heart stops. A shrieking scream rips from my throat as I rush to his side, kneeling by his motionless body.
“Sunder!” I cry. “What did you do to him?” I glare at Yurghen.
“I just rendered him harmless, so there would be no bloodshed today. He’ll live, my dear. Don’t be dramatic,” Yurghen says casually.
As he mentions the lack of bloodshed, I notice blood seeping from under Sunder’s shirt. Pulling the fabric aside, I see a deep gash in his chest, right over his heart. Bobble lunges at the wizard, but without Chroma, the effort is futile. Yurghen effortlessly swats him to the side with a blast so powerful it throws him across the room, slamming him into a bookcase.
Tears well up in my eyes. “Please, don’t hurt them. I’ll do anything. You can study me. Just let them go,” I plead.
Yurghen gives me a knowing smile, revealing his rotting teeth.
“Very good, my dear. Very good, indeed. First, I need to test your strength. Your ogre of a boyfriend is too dumb to understand the great opportunity for scholarship here. You, however, can help them both if you comply. Follow me.”
I stand up defiantly. “You’re not letting them go?”
“Not yet. I need to run some tests. Finding a Soul Shard is very rare indeed. Two is even better! And, to have a Shard bond with their mate, in front of my eyes? No Shard has ever been known to bond their mate. The things this research could lead to… the world will thank you one day. You see? I will help you, and you will help the world.”
He lets out a small whoop of excitement, sounding like a giddy scholar who just discovered a groundbreaking theory. I don’t know what these tests will entail, but I know we’re better off far away from this place. He turns to walk towards the door, assuming I will follow.
Instead, I stay crouched next to Sunder, my hand on his wound trying to stem the bleeding.
