Page 19 of Blood Freed

“Just one more minute,” I plead, trying to peer around Morgan’s imposing figure.

“No.” Morgan’s voice is steel. “Guards, escort Miss Blackwood out.” With a dark look at me, he heads for the door and stalks away.

“Soren!” I say, my voice laced with desperation. “Don’t give up, okay? Just don’t!”

“Goodbye, Mia,” he says softly, then turns as the guards pull him toward the door. The connection I’d felt vanishes sharply, as if it’s been cut.

Dammit! I won’t let this happen. I won’t!

I let the guards lead me away, but my mind is already racing with plans. Soren’s presence lingers in my thoughts, along with the memory of that strange connection I’d felt.

“Interesting,” Gran murmurs as we walk down the corridor. Her keen eyes study my face. “Very interesting indeed.”

“What is?” I turn to her, grateful for any insight she might have.

“The way the barrier responded to your touch.” Lysandra falls into step beside us, her long silvery skirt swishing against the stone floor. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”

“Neither have I,” Gran agrees. “And I’ve seen a great many things in my time.”

I clench my fists. “Then help me. Please. You both saw what happened in there. You know this isn’t right.”

“Morgan’s hiding something,” Lysandra says quietly. “His reaction was… excessive, even for him.”

“I don’t care what Morgan’s up to.” My voice comes out stronger than I expect. “I won’t let Soren sacrifice himself for me. He doesn’t deserve this.”

Gran places a gentle hand on my arm. “No, dear one, he doesn’t. And perhaps there’s more to this situation than any of us realized.”

I meet her knowing gaze. For the first time since my rescue, I see real understanding in her eyes. Not pity, not concern about my mental state – but genuine comprehension of what Soren means to me.

“I’m getting him out,” I say firmly. “With or without the Conclave’s help.”

Lysandra exchanges a look with Gran. “This is probably something you shouldn’t be saying in front of me.”

Gran laughs lightly. “Oh, Lysandra! It’s not like the girl is planning a jailbreak!”

They both chuckle. I say nothing. Because deep down inside, in that place where his voice keeps touching me, I know that’s what I’ll do if I have to.

7

Chapter 7

Soren

The silver burns deepernow, each movement sending fresh waves of pain through my limbs. I’d do it again. The memory of Mia’s touch lingers on my skin, a warmth that defies the cold bite of these restraints.

I lean back against the rough stone wall, letting my head rest against its cool surface. The ward-magic pulses around me, an ever-present hum that sets my teeth on edge. But for those few precious moments when Mia was near, even these ancient protections wavered.

Not just wavered. We broke through them.

My muscles ache from fighting both the wards and my own instincts during our meeting. The urge to pull her fully through that barrier, to shield her with my body, to run – it tookeverything I had to maintain control. The guards would have killed me without hesitation if I’d truly broken through.

I flex my fingers, remembering the sensation of hers intertwined with mine. The contact was brief, but it fed something in me that even blood cannot satisfy. The cuffs char my wrists as I move, and I welcome the pain. It helps clear my mind, keeps me focused on what matters.

Surviving this.

Exhaustion pulls at me, a bone-deep weariness I haven’t felt in centuries. Fighting magical wards takes more strength than battling physical enemies. Combined with the silver’s constant drain and the fact that I’m already weakened by the Maker’s Bond, it’s left me depleted. But I can still feel traces of Mia’s energy, like echoes of sunlight beneath my skin. The sunlight I only have memories of.

The cell seems darker now, more confining. The brief taste of freedom – of her – makes these walls press closer. I close my eyes, holding onto the memory of her face, her scent, the fierceness in her eyes when she fought to reach me through the barrier.

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