Page 84 of The Warlock's Kiss

Let go of yourself. Embrace magic in its purest form.Becomemagic.

A fresh surge of mana rose within him, spreading outward from his core to race along his limbs and arc from the tips of his fingers and toes. His consciousness expanded; mana songs from everything around him sparked in his mind’s eye with stunning clarity, even the objects he’d already destroyed in his rage, and he knew that with one thought he could connect himself to any of them, toallof them. As that awareness increased, his fury diminished, and all the emotions behind it faded further.

Let go.

Two of the mana songs were stronger than the rest, their volume amplified by their familiarity. Merrick knew them both—the one moving toward him and the one holding still. The latter wasintimatelyfamiliar; it called to him like a siren’s song, coaxed him to approach despite the discordant notes disrupting its melody.

Let go.

That whisper was more insistent now, more forceful.

“Merrick!” someone yelled from far, far away, from another world—an inferior, physical world.

Let go!

He’d been told that before. Before now, before he’d been consumed by magic and fury, before the ley line had once again buried its claws in him. Adalynn had saidlet me go. That’s what the whispers were demanding of him—to let everything go. To lethergo.

The power, the thrill, themagicdidn’t matter. Only she did. He’d gladly let go of all the rest so long as he could hold onto her for the rest of his days. So long as he could keep her.

No,he shouted in his mind, blasting the thought outward.

The magic surrounding him rippled, but he could feel it building again, could feel it preparing to oppose his will, to overwhelm him.

Let go and embrace the power,the voice in his mind screamed back.

Nothing will take her from me. Nothing!

Merrick’s mental roar gathered in his chest and burst from his throat, raw and primal. It exploded across the room like a rush of air, snuffing out the roiling, ravenous blue magic, cutting off his connection to the ley line and plunging the room into darkness.

He sucked in a ragged, burning breath and fell to his knees.

“Merrick,” Danny called from behind him. “Oh, man, are you okay?”

The boy’s hand came down on Merrick’s back, icy compared to the lingering heat of the magic that had enveloped him until an instant ago.

Though Merrick’s connection to the mana songs around him had been closed, he still sensed Adalynn’s—still sensed the distress in it, the discord.

“Where’s Adalynn?” Merrick rasped, turning his head to look at the boy.

Tears flowed freely from Danny’s eyes, and his face was pale with worry and fear. “She’s upstairs. It’s bad, Merrick. You need to help her.Please.”

No. No, death cannot have her. She ismine!

Merrick rose, turned, and stumbled toward the staircase. His body, his flesh and bone, felt heavy, awkward, and worn now, but he couldn’t let that stop him. Hewouldn’t. His muscles would obey his command and carry him to his Adalynn.

And he would do whatever was necessary to save her.

As he neared the steps, his awareness of her song increased exponentially, and he knew immediately the damage he’d done to her. When she’d first arrived, the darkness tainting her resonance had been concentrated, had been a dangerous but self-contained entity—like a rock frozen in a block of ice. Now it suffused the entirety of her song, staining her whole being with its maliciousness.

His already labored heart quickened, pounding in his chest like thunder breaking over a deep valley. Pulsating prickles of fire and ice trailed along his limbs.

Merrick had done that to her. He’dcausedthat. In his attempt to alleviate the worst of her symptoms, he’d taken whatever time she might’ve had—weeks, perhapsmonths—and turned it into days. Because he knew this was it. This was her end.

But he would not let it be.

He didn’t care what price he had to pay; he would give upeverythingfor her. Nothing would take her…and she wasn’t allowed to go.

Grasping the bannister with desperate strength, he dragged himself up the stairs, forcing his legs forward faster than they were willing to move. Adalynn came into view as he rounded the spiral staircase and neared the loft. She lay at the top of the stairs, her limbs tight and trembling, her face contorted in agony. Her resonance sang to him sorrowfully, longingly, reflecting the pain evident in her body. Blood trickled from her mouth and nose, and her eyes were red with strain.

---