Page 23 of Hallowed Games

I looked up, searching for the spread of dark veins over his skin, the poison rushing through.

The Serpent’s voice rasped in my mind. Bring this beautiful man to his knees. Make him beg your forgiveness.

I watched as his eyelids fluttered closed and he exhaled. Time seemed to slow, an icy breeze rushing over us. Thunder rolled over the horizon, but still, I kept my palm pressed against his skin—cool to the touch, marble-smooth. Darkness breathed around him like bellows exhaling smoke, and forbidden pleasure rolled through my body. As a charge passed between us, visions flitted through my mind until they crystallized on one image—the Magister, bare-chested, with a spiked crown tattoo on his chest. Blood spattered a pendant that hung from a chain around his neck, the little silver surface etched with a butterfly—

What the hell was that? Whatever the case, Maelor wasn’t dying.

His eyes snapped open once more, and he covered my hand with his. “It’s been a long time since I felt my heart race. It seems like a dangerous thing.” His murmured words felt like a dark caress up my spine.

A violent, holy sort of ecstasy burned in his eyes. His cloak had opened a little, exposing his clavicle. As much as I loathed him, the man was hauntingly beautiful. And the Serpent must be whispering in my mind because I had the most bizarre desire to lean in closer and kiss him.

“Why don’t you die?” I croaked. “I’ve never met anyone who can live through my touch.”

He pulled my hand from his face. “Don’t you believe the Archon protects those of us who serve him? That he empowers us?”

I nodded, feeling the blood drain from my face. What I wanted to say was that sometimes, I couldn’t tell the difference between the Archon and the Serpent. Both were powerful, destructive, and demanded fealty.

“I appreciate your reasons for wanting to escape, Elowen,” he said quietly. “The Pater wanted me to kill you. I had to persuade him that I should bring you back alive. But it won’t be easy in the trials. Now, the others will have you marked as the biggest threat after your public displays of magic. No one has ever escaped after a Finding.”

I had no regrets, but my heart pounded in my chest anyway. “Maybe the Archon will protect me as he does you.”

“Maybe so.” He glanced over my shoulder. “The boy is gone.”

“He’s only a child.” I forced a calmness into my voice that I didn’t feel. “And he has no magic.”

He cocked his head. “I need to get you to Ruefield Castle. Trust me when I say there is no escaping the Magister. Sion is ruthless.” He arched an eyebrow. “So will you come with me the easy way or the hard way?”

Out of weapons and outmatched, I didn’t have many choices. “Whatever.”

Maelor gripped my shoulders and spun me around. Pressing me against the tree trunk, he bound my hands—this time with iron. I wouldn’t be carving my way out of these manacles.

As the sound of a horse’s hooves drew closer in the darkness, Maelor called out, “Sion!”

I turned to see the Magister weaving between the shadowy trees, mounted on his horse. A cloak hid his face. Sion. Even that sounded lost to time, dredged from the past.

“Call off the Luminari,” said Maelor. “Elowen has realized the error of her ways, and she’s giving herself over willingly to the trials. She’s begged forgiveness.”

I did no such thing.

“She’s still an escape risk. Or at least a risk of trying.” Sion dismounted with an easy grace. Cloaked in shadows, he crossed closer to me. His amber-flecked eyes danced with amusement, and his lips curled in a faint smile. “Though I don’t know how she thought she could escape us. This little one with the deadly touch is completely devoid of sense, I’m afraid.”

My jaw tightened. I hated the way he was speaking about me like I wasn’t there.

He stalked closer to me, towering above me as he lifted my chin with his fingertips. Under his cowl, I glimpsed a strong jawline and a dimple in the center of his chin. Gold flecks blazed in his honey-kissed eyes. He’d be beautiful if it weren’t for the sense of brutality that radiated from every one of his muscles.

“What a pair you two will make.” He chuckled softly, a disturbingly sensual sound. “A Raven Lord who thinks of nothing but forbidden touch and a witch who can kill if she does.”

Inwardly, I was rattling off prayers for Leo’s safety. Please, Archon. Please get him to Eboria. Keep him safe with a full belly and someone to look after him.

“You should know that you can’t run from us.” Sion dropped my chin. “The Order will always find you. We will always find you.”

Ice ran through my blood.

It was another ten minutes before I realized that Sion had touched my skin, unflinching.

Was I supposed to believe the Archon protected him, too?

CHAPTER 12

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