Page 47 of Joined By Magic

Another reason not to tell the prince about any of this. If someone was helping non-mages escape Atar, good for them. I wouldn’t help expose them.

They could get Pia out.

The thought crept in, unbidden, from a dark, hidden part of my brain. The part that didn’t want to go back home to all the restrictions and rules. The servitude. If Pia were here, in Alaria, the two of us could make a life for ourselves. Now I’d tasted freedom, seen and understood what it really meant, part of me craved it so hard it hurt.

But no. It was too risky. I couldn’t put my life, and maybe my sister’s life, in the hands of a mysterious stranger, on the word of a woman I’d only known a few weeks. It would be stupid. And I couldn’t betray the prince after all he’d done to protect me.

Calmer, I moved again and focused on concocting my excuse. He’d know something was wrong, and he was far too good at sniffing out a lie. I’d give him a half-truth and distract him with a fight about something else.

And take whatever punishment followed.

As soon as the house came into view, he stormed toward me. He’d been waiting at the door. In the shadows of dusk, his face looked drawn, pale, and exhausted. He’d been pushing himself hard to create his new weapon.

“Talia. You’re late. What happened?” Concern, edged with anger. I drew in a breath and readied for my performance.

I smiled. “I forgot the time. I had a quick drink with Katrin and lost track. Have you ever tried hot wine? It’s delicious.”

He stared at me as though I’d grown wings, and froze. “You were drinking in the town pub?”

The icy fury in his voice meant I didn’t have to pretend to be afraid. “Oh. Sorry, I forgot you said I shouldn’t. It won’t happen again.”

His face darkened further. “Do you think I’m a fool? You disobeyed me. You risked exposing us and drawing attention, while I worried—”

He snapped his mouth shut, and a little guilt seeped in. Worried. He’d been anxious something had happened to me. Tension rippled through his body, and we stared at each other. “I’m sorry . . .”

“You will be.” He lashed out, knocked the woolly hat from my head, and seized a handful of my hair. I yelled as he wrenched me forward, dragging me toward the house. My eyes watered with the tearing pain as I stumbled after him.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Talia

Thedoorslammedshutbehind the prince, and we stared at each other. His face was tight with fury as he glared at me. “What do you think my father will do to you if he captures us?”

I blinked, thrown off by the unexpected shift. “What?”

He stepped toward me, so close I had to look up into his blazing eyes. “You’re far from stupid. It’s a simple question. What do you imagine he’ll do?”

I swallowed. “Kill us?”

“No. You lack imagination. He’ll kill me. You, he’ll keep. He destroys everything I value. He’ll have you as his plaything until he tires of you. A slave. If you thought he treated your friend badly, you have no idea what he’s capable of. And”—he leaned down—“you brought that fate closer for the sake of a drink. I trusted you, allowed you freedom, and this is how you act? I’ll have to tighten your leash.”

My leash. Anger ignited my blood at the terminology. He was right. But his words were calculated, intended to diminish me. Everything in me rebelled against the idea. “I’m not a pet.”

“Really?”

He raised his hand and I jerked away. Purple magic coiled around my body, drove me to my knees and held me there with my hands trapped behind my back. He placed a finger under my chin and turned my face up.

“If I want to put you on a leash, I will. You’ve proved you’re too reckless to handle freedom. I should confine you to this house for good.”

I struggled against the bonds, anger scorching me, mingled with fear. He’d steal my freedom, just like that. As if I really were a possession. “No! I fucked up, I know I did, but you can’t keep me trapped here.”

“Yes, I can. You’re confused, Talia. You seem to think you have power now we’re out here, but you only have what I choose to give you. At any moment, I can take it all away.”

His eyes narrowed, and more magic flowed from his fingers. It coiled round me, locking me so tightly my chest pushed against it with every breath. I couldn’t move an inch. He’d frozen me like a statue. I tried to speak but spluttered as a gag locked around my mouth.

He crouched, brought himself to eye level with me, and raised his hands to my throat, applying gentle pressure. His expression had changed, morphing from pure rage into a dark, feral lust. He squeezed a little tighter.

Panic clamped my already constricted chest tight as my breath came with difficulty. An instinctual panic, the terror of knowing someone else held my life at his disposal. He wouldn’t hurt me—my conscious mind understood that—but the wild part of my psyche, the part that knew deep down he was a predator, wasn’t so sure.

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