Page 39 of Joined By Magic

“Good for you. I should exercise more than I do, but I’m so busy.”

Doing what? It felt rude to ask. How did she keep herself so busy? We strolled on in peaceful silence. My body pulsed with sickly energy at the prospect of a fight with Leo. Maybe a run would do me good. Or maybe—

A heavy hand clamped around my throat, a chemical smell filled my nose, and the world went black.

Chapter Eighteen

Liv

Cold.I shivered as my senses returned. I opened my eyes, but my vision was a grayed-out blur, and my head pounded like a drum. Why? My fuzzy thoughts came slowly, dredged up through a barrel of gloopy molasses.

So cold. I tried to hug my arms around myself, but my wrists jarred against metal cuffs. The biting pain cleared a little of the fog, bringing my awareness back.

Celia. The palace. Walking. And then . . . the chemical smell. Fear curled into my belly, driving away a bit more of my stupor.

My breath came in shallow panicked gasps. Why couldn’t I see? I blinked, and my eyes sharpened enough to make out blurry shapes. A table? A door? I tugged at the cuffs. They were fastened to the chair I sat on. I could only move my hands a couple of inches. I tried to kick, but my ankles jarred to a stop as well, cuffed to the metal legs of the chair. The clang as I rattled them stabbed into my pounding head.

Leo.

Of course. I pressed my fingers to the mark on my palm, the built-in method to signal Leo that I needed help. He was in Atar. It would take him a while, but he’d come.

No telltale zing of magic tickled my fingertips. I worked moisture into my dry mouth as I tried again, pressing harder. Why—

“Trying to call your ungodly master?”

My head snapped up. The voice rang with amused menace. Damn my sluggish thoughts. A new shape came into view. Still blurry, but enough to fill me with dread.

Red.

A deep blood red, in the vague form of a man. A priest. It had to be. And suddenly, the voice clicked into place. The palace priest who’d chased me at the portal opening.

“What—” My dry throat rebelled, and I dissolved into a fit of coughing. The priest held a glass to my lips.

“Drink.”

I hesitated. Would he have drugged the water? But my body was crying out for liquid, and if he wanted me drugged, he could do it another way. I downed the whole glass, the icy sensation chasing away the last of the cobwebs. The world sharpened into clean lines, and I took stock of my situation.

I was in a nondescript room with an abandoned feel, dusty and devoid of furniture besides the chair I sat in and a metal table with one dented leg. Weak fluorescent light gave the green walls a sickly pallor. The metal door held a small sliding hatch.

A prison cell.

Primal terror took root and surged through me. A cell, just like the one where I spent weeks alone and desperate. A wave of nausea choked me, and the water I’d drunk sat heavy in my stomach.

“Where am I?” My voice echoed, scratchy and weak. The priest let out a nasty laugh. His watery brown eyes crinkled as his lips turned up in the parody of a smile. The fluorescent light reflected off his bald head.

“A very secure location. No one will look for you here.”

“What’s going on?” This time the words came out stronger, fueled by disgust. “Why am I here?”

The priest moved closer, much too close. I could smell his sour sweat. “Why do you think? What value do you have? You’re a bargaining chip. I’m going to force the Lord Commander to dismantle that abomination he built in our sacred forest.”

Leo. I tried my mark again, with the same lack of success. The priest shook his head. “If you’re trying to call for him, I assure you it won’t work.”

“Why not?”

For a moment, his amused expression faltered. “Not your concern.”

I tried to think through the fear. What could block my connection to Leo? The answer came at the speed of light and forced a laugh from my throat.

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