Page 70 of Immortal Burden

I wouldn’t let go.

I wouldn’t yield.

Ryker strained to look at me. Pain flashed in his eyes and he shook his head at me. “I swore… to you.”

I frowned.

“No more… reckless… shit.” He snuffed out his magic. “At least… we’ll… be there… together.”

He smiled sweetly.

His head hit the floor and he passed out, allowing himself to be taken.

Instantly, my hands stopped smoking, the cuffs cooling.

He’d let go to spare me.

He’d swallowed his pride.

He’d thought beyond the immediate.

He’d kept his promise.

Having studied magic his whole life, I didn’t doubt that he was fully aware of the nature of phantasmal planes. He would’ve known that there was no way out, just like I did. Escape was at the discretion of the conjurer. We could be trapped there for mere moments, or for many long years.

I knew better than most.

I had lived it.

It had been both my penance and my rehabilitation.

Releasing my grip on the cuffs now it had become a futile pursuit, I settled myself beside Ryker.

Mere moments passed before it came for me.

My head spun violently.

I braced my palm on the floor, but it ceased to be enough to hold my body up.

I toppled, collapsing in a heap right beside Ryker.

And then it took me as well.

17

~Mia~

Darkness surrounded me.

I walked forward unsteadily, feeling bits of gravel biting into the soles of my bare feet.

The wind picked up, sending a chill through me.

I wrapped my arms around myself instinctively, realizing why I hadn’t been able to guard against it. All I felt covering me was thin silk. I patted the material, recognizing it. The elegant black chemise with the sexy lace bust that Ryker had gifted me a few years ago when we’d been in the throes of our romance.

Why was I seemingly out and about wearing only my bedroom attire?

With another step forward, I smacked into something solid.

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