Page 39 of Ignited Spirits
“Why are you telling me you’re sorry? It’s my fucking fault she’s gone. If I hadn’t messed with the magic in my chest that I knew was different, she’d still be here,” he grits out before his face crumples. “I just wanted to make her smile. And now she’s gone. Forever.”
It feels like someone punched me in the chest as I ache for a man I just met. I know exactly what it’s like to have a weird, strange magic that you can’t control and that hurts others around you.
I know it won’t help him to hear that it’s not his fault or he didn’t mean to or she wouldn’t want him to beat himself up. The only thing I can do for him is to get him out of this prison and away from this hellhole of a town. If he’s in here, I can only assume he doesn’t really have anyone on his side.
“Think you can get out of here on your own?” My voice comes out way more choked up than I meant it to, but I can’t help it.
“Yeah. I have enough magic to fight anyone I come across, as long as you can show me the way to get out.”
“Do you have anywhere to go?” I ask, already pretty sure I know the answer.
He shakes his head. “No.”
I blow out a breath as I try to figure out where to send Joseph. As I’m racking my brain for the right place,La Esperanzacomes to mind. It’ll be safe for him and far away from other mages, which I think is exactly what he needs.
“Think you can get out of here without being seen?” He nods. “Then portal yourself to Chile. I’ll show you a picture of whereyou need to go. Do not go into the cave you’ll find until I get there. I need to convince some people to let you in, okay?”
I can’t imagine that the jaguar shifters would welcome him with open arms without my putting in a good word for him. It’s probably best that he avoids interacting with them until I can vouch for him.
His eyes bounce around my face, like he’s trying to find the lie or duplicity in my words. “Why are you helping me?”
“Because I know what it’s like to have unusual magic that hurts the people you care about. I can’t bring your girlfriend back or erase the fact that any of this happened, but I can get you out of the council’s hands. So, go. Once we find my dad, I’ll meet you in Chile. Assuming I’m not dead, of course.”
“Do you need help with your dad?” he offers. “I’m pretty powerful if you can get me out of these cuffs.”
My lips quirk up at the corners as I walk over to him. “We’re good, but thank you. I might take you up on that offer later.”
He holds out his hands for me, and I use mycuramagic to cut through the cuffs, doing my best not to injure him. When the cuffs fall away, his wrists are red and a bit blistered.
I wince at the damage, but I’m glad that it’s at least relatively minor.
Joseph doesn’t seem to mind as he flashes me a small but genuine smile. “Thanks.”
“No problem. The boy version of me will show you how to get out of here.” I hitch my thumb over my shoulder in the direction that I think Aiden is in. There’s only one dude with blond hair and gray eyes with us, so hopefully Joseph will be able to figure it out. “Be careful of the guards and try not to draw any more attention than necessary.”
“I can do that. Good luck with your dad, Isabel.”
“Thanks. We’ll see you in Chile if everything goes well.”
He nods and climbs over the rubble, making his way to Aiden. They chat for a moment before Joseph nods and walks back the way we came. Here’s hoping he makes it out of here safely.
Shaking my head at myself for getting involved in yet another problem, I turn to make my way out of the cell and into the next one. I bump into Bishop, who must’ve been right behind me, and stumble backward, almost falling on my ass. It’s only his arms darting out and wrapping around me that saves me from tumbling down.
I look up at him with a smile that stalls at the anger on his face. Instead of thanking him for saving me, I sigh. “What’d I do this time, St. James?”
At the weariness in my voice, he snaps his mouth shut and closes his eyes. When he opens them, he looks just as done with everything as I am. “You ran into the cell first. You had no idea what was waiting for you, and you still charged in without us.”
As much as I want to argue with him that I didn’t do anything wrong, I know I just ran in here without thinking it through. I was so focused on my dad that I didn’t think about how it would make my mates feel.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper. “I didn’t mean to worry you.”
He leans down to press a kiss to my forehead. “I know,” he tells me just as quietly. “Let’s keep moving.”
Bishop lets his arms fall away and turns around without another word. Even though he didn’t yell at me, I still feel the weight of his disappointment. Somehow, it hurts worse to deal with his quiet disappointment than loud anger.
Sighing, because we don’t have time to get into it right now, I push it all out of my mind.
Picking my way over the rubble, I meet everyone else back in the hallway. As a group, we walk to the next cell. Cain uses hishellfire to melt the door to that one. Much like the first one, it’s empty.
