Page 65 of Ruled By Magic

He smiled but seemed preoccupied. “I don’t know about that. If it wasn’t for Damien, that thing would have killed me and had you for dessert.”

“Yuck.”

A long pause. He sighed. “My powers manifested when I was fourteen. Since then, I’ve always been able to look after myself. I’ve forgotten what it feels like to be helpless. Afraid.” He shook his head. “How do you cope with it? You’re so vulnerable, all the time.”

The gulf in our experience of life loomed before me. What would it be like to have no fear? To walk through the world and know you were the strongest, most dangerous thing in it?

“I just do. It’s normal. Fear is part of life.” I smiled. “Not that I run across giant wolves much in the city.”

He didn’t return the smile, but watched my face with an intensity that made me shy. “You must have been terrified when you first came to the palace. To me.”

It wasn’t a question, and I nodded. We had to be honest with each other. “Of course. You could have done anything to me. I had visions of being locked up alone for the whole six months. You might have been cruel. I’ve never been more scared in my life.”

He ran his hand through my hair. “When I saw that beast on top of you and knew I couldn’t protect you, I was more afraid than I’ve ever been. I’m sorry for what I put you through.”

Surprise flickered through me, along with a deep desire to wipe the shadows from his eyes. I edged closer and buried my face in his chest. “It’s okay. We got here in the end. It was all worth it.”

He kissed the top of my head and pulled me close. We drifted off to sleep as the sun rose.

I woke to shouts. Leo stirred beside me and opened his eyes. Atalie burst through the tent flap. “Get up! They’ve taken Peter, we need to go!”

I jerked upright. “What? Who has?”

“Atarans. There’s no time!”

Leo threw the blanket off. “Atarans?”

“Yes! I can’t explain now. Move it!” She left.

Leo met my gaze, then shook his head. “Come on.”

Damien and Atalie stood at the edge of the clearing. As soon as we reached them, they set off at a run.

“What about the stuff?” I asked.

“Nope,” replied Damien. “We can get more.”

We broke through the trees into a wider space, a path cut through the forest. A tracked crawler waited. It looked military. We jumped in, Leo and I in the back, Damien at the wheel. It started with a roar and fumes enveloped us. Damien set off and the engine whined, pushed to the limit. The thing moved faster than I’d expected. I fastened a lap belt and tried not to flinch every time a branch loomed.

“What happened?” asked Leo.

Atalie spun to us. “A message came through from Hex. They got the pardons verified and were picking up supplies when a man teleported right next to Peter, grabbed his arm, and teleported him away! Dexians can’t do that. They have to be Ataran. They could be here any moment for us.” Her voice wavered. “They’re ruthless bastards. They’ll torture him.” She fixed Leo with a stare. “You have to help. They must have been watching the courthouse. Spies looking for you.”

Leo held up his hands. “I want to help, but you need to tell me what’s going on. What have Atarans got to do with this?”

Atar. A small territory, far away and not very interesting. Unless I’d missed something during my isolation?

Atalie took a breath. “It’s a long story, but where should we go now? To the city? Deeper into the forest?”

“You know the estates on the north side of the city?”

Atalie nodded.

“Go there, to my dad’s house. I’ll be able to get us in, even if they’re watching it. My mother came from Atar. My dad might have more info.”

Leo appeared to have ended up in charge.

Atalie swiveled back to Damien, and they discussed routes through the forest. I put my hand on Leo’s leg. His body was tense, eyes downcast. He’d lost his mum young. That was all I knew. He didn’t seem to enjoy talking about her.

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