Page 78 of The War and Deceit Series omnibus

“Not so I can leave.” His voice sounds angry, like he’s frustrated that I would think he’d leave without me. Raising my head, I look back at him and see his fists are clenched and his body is trembling slightly. Is that because of the cuff? Is he feeling the effects of not working, or is it for another reason? “If you get into any trouble, I need to be able to access my abilities so I can find you.”

I pause, surprised at his explanation. He would do that? Essentially come and rescue me if I needed it? I finally meet his eyes and I know the answer. Yes, he would. I don’t know why he would risk his life to save me when he could just escape and save himself. We’re not friends, but then again, I wouldn’t call him my enemy, not anymore. So what does that make us?

“How would you know if I was in trouble?”

He just continues to stare at me, his gaze unwavering. I need to know if he can feel this bond between us as clearly as I can. Hesays I can reach out and touch his spirit, his soul, but does that mean he can feel me like I can feel him?

“I would know.”

Not the answer I was looking for, but it hints that I could be right, that he feels this connection as much as I do. I should ask him, but after how shifty he became after the spirit thing, I don’t want to make him angry. I did say I would drop it and not ask again, after all.

“Okay, can I see the cuff?” I push up from the ground, leaving the scrubbing brush behind, and take a few small steps to close the distance between us, holding out my hand expectantly. I want to examine it. The previous cuffhurt,and I want to see if there’s a better way of removing this one without the same effects as last time.

“You’re going to do it now?” He sounds surprised, as if he hadn’t truly expected me to remove it. Shrugging, I leave my arm outstretched and he finally places his hand in mine. I lift his arm and twist it so I can inspect the cuff without touching it.

“I don’t see why not. Things are getting worse in the castle, and I don’t know when we’re going to have to leave.” My voice sounds calm as I continue to look at the strange, stone-like material circling his wrist. “It doesn’t make sense to leave it on.”

Vaeril stays silent for a few seconds, pulling his gaze from me and running his hand over his tools like he can’t be away from them without being in pain. Surprise runs through me, I thought he would be desperate to get those cuffs off, to be able to use his powers again. To be free. He told me he wanted me to break the spell, but now he’s hesitating?

“Is it going to exhaust you like last time?” His question is quiet, but I can hear the seriousness behind his words. He really sounds like he cares how it will affect me. “You would be vulnerable.”

My heart throbs. When did we get to the point where we cared about the other person? Maybe care isn’t the right word, but we’ve gone from hate to indifference to... whatever this is. He’s right, though, it would make me vulnerable, but I can’t think of a better time to do it when we don’t know how long we’ve got.

“I know what to expect this time.” With more confidence than I feel, I hold my hand out again for his wrist. I need him to understand what I’m feeling. “If I get caught helping them escape, I want you to go, to leave. Don’t wait for me, just go. You can’t do that if you still have this on.” He raises his gaze from his work table to mine again with an unreadable expression. I know what he’s going to say, that he will refuse to leave without me, we made a pact. However, I need to know that if my plan doesn’t work, he won’t go down with me because I had to help people. This wasn’t his plan, he’s stuck here longer because of it, yet he agreed.

He stares at me for a long time until, finally, he offers his arm to me again. Taking a deep breath, I use my right hand to brace myself against the workbench, and then wrap my left hand around the cuff.

Pain flares through my body and the draining sensation immediately brings me to my knees. Vaeril curses and kneels next to me so I don’t have to stretch, but I couldn’t let go even if I wanted to—my hand is glued to the stone. I can almost hear whispers in my ear, like the magic is talking to me. I don’t understand it, but it’s testing me. It doesn’t want to be broken. This spell isold,and I had forgotten how much the previous cuff had taken out of me, but what I said was true, I knew what to expect. The feeling that the spell is angry rolls over me, and if I could frown, I would. How can magic have feelings?

This is taking longer than the first one, and I realise I need to fight this time. Pushing all the adamant demand I can musterinto the cuff, I begin to feel lightheaded, and something trickles from my nose down onto my lip.

“Stop, you’re giving too much,” Vaeril growls, but his voice sounds muffled. In fact, all sound is muffled, even the roaring of the forge is quieter than usual. “Clarissa, stop!” The shout catches my attention, and I lift my head to look at the elf. The movement is harder than it should be. My whole body is heavy, and I just want to curl up in the corner and go to sleep.

Yes, sleep sounds good right now. My thoughts are foggy as I smile up at the elf who is now shaking my shoulder with his free hand. Wait, when did he move his arm?

“Stop, now! I can feel your spirit fading!” he orders, and I’m sure it’s the lack of energy that’s making me delirious, but I could have sworn he sounds scared. I snort.I doubt that very much.

With one last tremendous push, I feel the spell finally unravel and break. The pain and draining of my energy instantly stops, but I feel exhausted. As soon as I release his arm, I fall back and curl up into a fetal position.

“Clarissa!” He hovers above me and I want to sit up, to tell him to leave me alone, that I need some quiet while I rejig my thoughts.

“I’m fine, I just need to rest for a moment,” I mutter, not even bothering to lift my head from the floor.

I can hear his breathing and feel his presence. He’s close enough that if I reach out, I would be able to touch him, but thankfully, after a moment, he stands and I hear his footsteps as he walks away. The sound of metal banging against metal echoes around the underground room and relief fills me. I don’t want him to know how much energy that took from me, and my whole body begins to ache. Taking deep breaths, I try to calm my thoughts and let my body recover. I can feel his eyes on me, and there’s a small tug in my chest every couple of minutes from the connection between us.

Eventually, I feel like I have enough energy to sit up, so I take a deep breath before pushing into an upright position.

“Did it work?”

“Yes.” I needn’t have asked, I can practically feel his power from here. He isstrongif he’s emitting this much power and he’s not even using it. He could level this entire room without even a second thought, and I just unleashed him.

When the guards come to collect me several hours later, I expect to be beaten like I had previously, their eagerness and need for violence shining clearly in their eyes. However, as soon as they see my limping, exhausted form, they turn on Vaeril.

“What did you do to her?” the guard in charge bellows, taking a few menacing steps towards Vaeril, but he stops when the elf levels a glare at him. I don’t blame him, it’s a look that promises bloodshed. Even a restrained elf, as they believe him to be, would be a formidable opponent, and they don’t even know that his cuffs are now obsolete.

The head guard’s companion watches me with disdain as I push to my feet and stumble towards them, stopping a few steps away. “If we beat her now it will be obvious, and the priest was explicit. No one can know.”

“Taking all the fun out of our job,” one of the guards from the door calls out, his crossbow pointed at Vaeril’s chest. For amoment, I think he’s going to shoot and cause the elf pain to make up for the violence they missed out on with me.

---