Page 157 of Bound By Darkness

A cry left my lips.

It was Moria’s necklace. The necklace I’d stolen for her in prison.

“She said to give that to you.”

“She wouldn’t give me that.” I spat, tears welling in my eyes as I slammed my head against the tree. “She would only part with it if… if—” My lips wouldn’t form the words.

“She was dead,” he answered for me.

Dead.

Glancing at him, I saw it. Bits of blood splattered his leather vest and face, his sword resting beside him coated in red.

He’d killed her.

He’d killed them before leaving the tent.

“I’ll kill you!” I screamed at him, my body thrashing against the bindings. “I will kill you when these chains come off!”

Rage, deep and pure flowed from me as I yelled at the man I’d once called a friend.

The man I’d once trusted.

The man I’d cared about more than anyone.

“I will suffocate and tear your lungs from the inside!” I shouted, not caring if my voice traveled to the tents behind him.

He’d killed Moria and Fin with no remorse.

All I needed was the chains removed.

I didn’t care if my casting swallowed me whole. I didn’t care if night billowed from me, uncontrollable and all-consuming.

It would take him.

It would feast on him, and part of that casting grew desperate to release itself at the willingness I gave it.

Another dagger flew, slicing the tip of my ear as he glanced at me, silver fire igniting his gaze. Something lifted from his pocket, and I knew it instantly—a blood stone resembling the one I’d received from the witch.

“You can’t. We’re Siorai, half-breed,” he said as he liftedanother one from his pocket. Both gems rested in his hand as if cut from the same rock—the hue and color identical. “The gods placed an everlasting bond between us even you can’t sever.”

One Month Later

EPILOGUE

The dagger flewfrom my hands, embedding into the soft earth of the underground tunnel we’d hidden ourselves in after the dreadful attack on the Hideaway.

A few of us had gone out a couple of days after the attack to discover everything was burned. The rebels had destroyed every stone of the camp, lighting a blazing inferno beneath my skin. They would pay for their disregard—their arrogance, and for taking Thalia away.

A hand ran through my hair as the sounds of coughing filled the tight space. There was no faelight, no breeze cutting beneath the earth as I wiped sweat from my brow. It was unnecessarily hot as everyone huddled close, waiting for Iyanna’s orders.

A month of living like rodents with no plan in sight.

My patience was wearing thin, especially since no one seemed to give two shits of what I thought except for her. At least she was rational, her priorities straight. Find Thalia no matter the cost. Locating her would bring us to the Book of Spells, Asa, and Kaydn—the man I was going to kill.

“You busy?” A voice said as her footsteps reverberated in the dismal catacomb.

“Yeah, trying to hit the bullseye,” I mused as I walked over, pulling my dagger from the makeshift circles I’d carved into the wall.

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