Page 16 of Faeheart
My vision blurred as I tried to focus on the dancing water in front of me. Students were giving me a wide berth, probablysmart considering the sparks literally flying off my fingertips. I pressed my palms against my temples, trying to contain the chaos building in my skull. This magic was nothing like my own. This was threatening to consume me, to swallow me whole and destroy me completely.
The bond stretched between us like a rubber band pulled to its breaking point. I could still feel Elias in the back of my mind, his anger mixing with what felt suspiciously like panic. Good. Let him panic. Let him feel what it was like when his perfect world got messy.
Another surge of nausea hit me, this one strong enough to double me over completely. My magic was eating itself, consuming the very pathways it normally flowed through. At this rate, I’d burn out my abilities entirely within the hour.
But even that seemed preferable to going back and apologizing to that uptight, judgmental?—
“Wild!”
I looked up to see Atlas jogging toward me, Caden close behind. Even through my deteriorating vision, I could see the worry etched across both their faces.
“Don’t,” I managed to gasp out as they approached. “Don’t make me go back. I can’t stand it anymore…” I looked up at Caden, tears forming in my eyes despite myself. “I don’t even want to be at this school, Caden! I didn’t want to come back… but I… I didn’t have a choice…”
I didn’t understand why all my long-buried emotions were suddenly bubbling to the surface. It was so much all at once and too much to bear. I felt myself sway as my vision tunneled in. But before I hit the ground, I felt a strong pair of arms catch me as if I were no heavier than a feather. I glanced up to see both Atlas and Caden staring down at me.
“Please,” I begged, my emotions and magic consuming me. “I… I just want to be free…”
Atlas lifted me effortlessly, his werewolf strength making my weight inconsequential. “We need to get him back to Elias,” he said grimly to Caden. “Now.”
“No,” I protested weakly, but my voice came out as barely a whisper. The magical feedback was intensifying, making it feel like my very essence was being shredded from the inside out.
“Wild, you’re dying,” Caden said, his face pale with fear as he kept pace with Atlas’s long strides. “Your magic is literally consuming itself. I can see it happening. And it’s gonna start happening to me soon if we don’t get back.”
I wanted to argue, wanted to tell them I’d rather die than spend another minute with that pretentious asshole, but another wave of agony crashed through me. My fae magic was unraveling like a poorly knitted sweater, each thread of power snapping and recoiling back on itself.
“Fuck,” I gasped, my head lolling against Atlas’s shoulder. “It hurts so bad.”
“I know,” Atlas murmured, his voice surprisingly gentle for someone I didn’t know that well. “Just hold on.”
The academy grounds stretched endlessly before us, each step Atlas took sending fresh jolts of pain through my nervous system. Students scattered as we approached the dorm, probably sensing the dangerous instability radiating from my failing magic.
“Elias!” Caden shouted as we reached the door to our room. “Open up! Now!”
There was a pause, then the sound of footsteps. The door swung open to reveal Elias, his face still flushed with anger until he saw me in Atlas’s arms.
“What happened?” he demanded, his tone shifting instantly from hostile to concerned.
“The bond,” Caden explained as Atlas carried me inside. “Wild’s magic is burning itself out. You need to stabilize the connection.”
Elias stepped back as Atlas lowered me onto my bed, his brown eyes wide with what looked like genuine fear. “I don’t know how?—”
“Figure it out!” Atlas snapped, his usual calm demeanor cracking. “Because if Wild dies, Caden’s going to be devastated, and I’ll hold you personally responsible for hurting mymate.”
Elias took a step backward. “Mate?!”
“That’s right,” Atlas snarled. “And I’m on the wrestling team. So if you don’t want me to ring your fucking neck, you better fix this.”
I felt a weak laugh bubble up from my chest. “Threatening... the Thorne heir... for me? That’s... sweet...”
“Shut up and save your strength,” Atlas said, but there was warmth in his voice.
Elias hovered at the foot of my bed, his hands clenched into fists. I could feel his internal struggle through our fraying connection. His anger at me was warring with his obvious distress at seeing me in pain.
“I can feel it,” he said quietly. “The bond. It’s... it’s tearing apart.”
“Then fix it,” Caden pleaded. “Please, Elias. I know you two don’t like each other, but this isn’t worth killing one another over. And… he’s my best friend.”
Elias stared at me, his face a battlefield of emotions I could barely comprehend through the haze of pain engulfing me. His pristine appearance had crumbled. His hair was disheveled, his eyes wild with something between fear and determination.
