Page 17 of An Archer's Reckoning

Moments later—I had no idea how many—my eyes opened. My head rested in Ayden’s lap with his hand gently stroking my hair.

“Welcome back,” he said, smiling down. I’d almost forgotten how deep the blue was in his eyes.

“Ayden? What happened?” Two or three beautiful faces dancing before my vision finally resolved into one perfect man.

“You think I know?” His brows shot up. “One minute, I’m minding my own business out here in the middle of the range, the next, you flash into existence before me and promptly pass out.”

I looked past him, then to the side. “Where’s Órla?”

“Who?”

The pieces finally slotted into place.

I focused on Ayden, then I focused on wanting to be near him,needingto be with him. Magic must’ve responded.Sweet Spirits, I can Blink—or whatever the Mages would call it.I tried to recall anything like what I had done in my training or in any of the conversations with Larinda, but I couldn’t.

Another wave of nausea threatened to spill the contents of my stomach.

“Easy there. No yacking on the Ranger cloak,” Ayden said, holding my head so I faced away.

“I’m all right.” I pushed myself upright and rubbed my eyes with the heels of my hands. When they fell away, Ayden was staring at me. I couldn’t tell if his eyes held concern, fear, or something in between.

“I need to go back and get Órla. She’ll be worried, and my pack is—”

“Who is this Órla you keep talking about?” His voice sounded a touch defensive.

I grinned at the thought he might be jealous. “Remember the owl?”

He nodded. “You kept her?”

I laughed. I hadn’t meant to. It just flowed out.

“What is funny?”

“When you meet her, you’ll understand. It’s more like she kept me. Just trust me on that.”

His brows bunched. “Tell me what’s going on, Dec. You are so . . . different.”

Fear clawed at my chest.

Ayden couldn’t pull away, not now, not after everything I’d been through. I needed him. Spirits, I craved him more than I wanted air to breathe. Then something occurred to me that I should’ve thought through before.

I had magic now; he was still Mute.

He wouldalwaysbe Mute.

That neither of us had a Gift bound us before. Our shared experience, all our failed expectations, everything that went along with being society’s stepchildren, we shared all of that. We understood each other, and in that way, we were drawn together.

Now, I not only possessedaGift, I wielded more magical abilities than anyone alive—and more would likely manifest over time.

“Dec, you are scaring me. Your face just lost all its color.”

How could I tell him . . . Spirits, would he even understand?

I squeezed my eyes shut and sucked in a breath. “Maybe . . . it’ll be easier if I just show you.”

I got to my feet and reached down, offering him a hand to rise. He eyed me a moment, then took my hand and stood.

“I’m not sure this will work,” I said. “I’m not even sure how it worked the first time, but it’s worth a try.”

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