Page 19 of Too Dangerous To Die

She exhales, shaking her head. "It’s too soon?—"

I move before she can finish the thought.

A test.

A taunt.

I am upon her in a breath, reaching for her, watchingthe exact momenther body reacts.

Theair explodes.

A sharp,uncontrolled pulse of energy eruptsfrom her skin,knocking me back.

I catch myself against the ruins, landing in a crouch,heat licking at my chest.

She is breathing hard,startled, staring at me withwide, disbelieving eyes.

I brush a hand over my chest where her power struck me,smirking.

"Not bad, little healer," I say, amused. "But next time, aim."

Sheglares.

"That wasn’t—" She stops, swallowing. Her hands tremble at her sides, fingers twitching as if she canstill feel the magicpulsing in her veins.

"It wasn’t intentional," I finish for her. "I know."

That’s what makes it moreinteresting.

Magic, especially something like hers, does not simplylash outunless it is responding to something else.

To somethingdeeper.

I stalk toward her again, slower this time, testing her,measuring the shift between us.

She does not move away.

Instead, shelifts her chin, meeting my gaze withnew defiance.

A mistake.

I step into her space, so close I can feel the way herpulse stutters, the sharp intake of her breath.

The bondtightens, threading heat between us.Alive.

"Do you feel it?" I ask, voice dropping into something dark, something meant tocrawl beneath her skin.

Sheexhales, unsteady.

Her scentchanges, sharpening, her magic rolling through the air like asilent challenge.

She wants to move.

But she does not.

The tensioncoils, thick and heady. A breath. A heartbeat. A waiting game.

I lift a hand, slowly, tracingjust barelyalong the edge of her arm.

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