Page 40 of Joined By Magic

“Magical tech! You’ve got a device to block our connection, haven’t you?” The priest’s face hardened. I’d hit the mark. “You hypocrite. Leo’s portal is an abomination, but you’ll use tech when it suits you. I bet—”

The backhand slap landed hard, jolting my head back. My cheekbone stung as the pain sank in. “Shut up,” the priest’s voice rasped, laced with fury. “A filthy whore like you can’t lecture me. You’re nothing.”

“Fuck you.” I pulled against my cuffs.

The priest lashed out again, a harder blow that brought tears to my eyes and a cry from my throat. “Watch your tongue, bitch.”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Deep breaths, in and out. Don’t be a victim. Act confident. Pretend to be Celia.

Celia!

“What did you do to Celia? Is she okay?” I had the sudden gory image of her lying in a crumpled heap at the base of a tree, blood pouring from her head.

The priest laughed. “Stop asking questions.” He leaned in, and I cringed away as his breath brushed my face. “I’m going to have some fun while I’ve got you to myself.”

His hand gripped the back of my neck and pressed my head against his scratchy red robe. I jerked and twisted as he reached behind me and pulled the zipper of the dress down. I ground my fingers into my mark with everything I had as terror turned my bones to liquid. If only—

Zing.

I felt it. The tingle of warm magic as the mark activated. I gave it all my focus, willing it to work, willing the spark to travel all the way to Leo and let him know I needed him.

Please, please, please.

The priest yanked my dress down. The teal fabric locked around my middle and trapped my arms to my sides. He pulled back, and a leer spread across his features as he took in my bra, a delicate construction of silk and lace. One of Leo’s favorites. He leaned in again and gripped my breast with cruel force.

I flung my head forward and sank my teeth into his cheek. Sickness slammed into my belly at the taste of his skin, but I didn’t let go. His hand clamped around the back of my neck and squeezed, strong fingers digging deep until I lost the pressure in my jaw and fell against the seat.

The priest loomed over me. Blood painted tracks down his cheek from a ragged puncture. I spat out the foul taste.

“Bitch.” Spittle sprayed me. “I’ll—”

Blue light. The priest flew back, slammed against the wall by a blast of power. Leo stood in the center of the room, dressed in his full royal regalia, chest heaving. He looked at me once with black fury, then advanced on the priest’s crumpled form.

The priest sat up. His eyes widened, and his mouth went slack. He pressed into the wall, babbling. “Please, I wasn’t going to hurt her, I didn’t—”

Blue light flashed again, and the priest’s body convulsed. He fell still.

Visceral horror stopped my breath as I stared at the lifeless red-robed form. I’d seen death before, but as part of a battle, the bodies blasted to ash in a maelstrom of magical energy. This felt more personal somehow. The priest’s eyes gazed into nothing, and I shuddered.

Leo rushed over and burned through my restraints. He knelt and gathered me into his arms. I collapsed into him, numb from the shock and too stunned to cry. The terror of what had almost happened clung to me like a noxious cloud. Leo tightened his arms around me as I took deep, shuddering breaths.

After a time—several minutes, maybe?—Leo moved far enough back to look at me without letting me go. His lips twitched as he studied me, and his expression vacillated between fury and tenderness. Moving carefully, as though I might startle, he pulled my dress up and fastened the zip.

“What happened?” He kept his voice soft, but I heard the rage behind the words. “What did he do to you?”

“He slapped and groped me. You got here just in time.”

A thought cut through my stupor. “He’d done something to block your mark, but it stopped working. Why—”

The door burst open. Three Guardians ran in—a senior officer with a red stripe on his uniform jacket and two armed patrolmen. They all pulled up short, faces frozen in shock as they surveyed the scene. The senior officer stared between the dead priest and Leo. He turned to address his patrolmen.

“Call for a med transport and radio this in. Check his vitals.”

The two snapped salutes and got to work. One searched for a pulse and shook his head.

The officer turned to Leo and set his shoulders.

“Lord Commander. I have to ask both you and Miss Spencer to accompany me to the station under guard to give statements.”

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