Page 31 of Magic Hunted
“Why would you want to stop us bonding?” Savvas stepped toward me, moving slowly to give me every chance to move out of his way. But I didn’t, because I was a weak-willed idiot. All I could do was sag in his arms when he slowly brought them around me. His fingers curved around my nape, holding me secure and gods help me if I didn’t lean into his touch like I craved it.
I closed my eyes, hating the way my chest eased and the fight drained from my system. I didn’t need his affection because that would lead to me wanting more. I had nothing left to fight with other than words. My body was as heavy as my mind. “All of you should want the same thing. What we think, what we feel…All it will bring is destruction, because of the grimoire.”
“Do they mean…thegrimoire?” Dias said.
My stomach clenched against a lifetime of keeping my secret, but if they were ever going to understand they needed to know. Elves had already made us captives and I had no idea who they really were or if they’d ultimately make us bond to get the grimoire out of me. I didn’t want to put them in more danger than they already were and I didn’t want them blind-sided from anything that would potentially harm them.
I stepped away from Savvas, needing space so I could think without the temptation of him. “I don’t understand how they sense it, but I do have the original grimoire inside me. Or a section of it, to be accurate.”
Thick silence rang through the hut. The moment stretched so long I was forced to look up. I expected the shock, but not the compassion on Ashir’s face. “How?”
“My parents were tasked with protecting our part of the grimoire. The other sections were divided up years before to be cared for by others to ensure its safety against The Six finding its whereabouts. I never knew who the others were.” I rubbed the knot forming in the middle of my chest. I hadn’t thought much of my childhood living in the wilds of the jungle when I was young. I’d had endless wild days doing whatever I’d pleased, happy for the company of my parents and not needing anyone else. Only now I understood what a hard life it had been for my parents, living wild without the support of a village.
“How was it put inside you?” Ashir asked.
My stomach rolled because these were the questions I didn’t want to answer. I rode the usual surge of anger and helplessness I was so used to. Heat prickled behind my eyes and I clenched them shut, willing the tears back. They weren’t going to help me. They’d dried up years ago when I learned they never did.
“The Six somehow learned my parents hid a section and they attacked. In order to protect the grimoire, they sacrificed their lives to seal it inside me.”Just as five other sets of parents had done.I looked them in the eye, letting them finally understand what I couldn’t tell them before. “It’s bound there by magic and only bonding can release it. If we bond, you’ll never be free of it.”
“My heart? How long has it been there?” Savvas said.
My brow tightened, wondering why he wasn’t raging at me. He should be. Suddenly, I couldn’t take this compassion. His understanding. He wanted to know about me? Then I would tell him. I’d told them this much, the rest was superfluous. “Since I was eight.”
“You were a child?” Savvas said, horror and sympathy crossing his face.
Ashir swept his arms around me, pushed his nose into the crook of my shoulder and purred. My limbs instantly relaxed, as though I’d been shot up with some type of potent drug.
“Stop!” His purr cut off immediately. I missed it straight away and I wished I didn’t. I didn’t need to look at him anyway to tell them the whole sordid truth.
“I survived. I can’t do anything elsebutsurvive. My mother protected it with her dying breath. As long as I live, the grimoire survives.” I peeked around Ashir’s shoulder at Dias. “I did die when I fell from Titan’s stronghold. Iwasdead when you picked me out of the Grand River. The backlash of magic killed me when I helped Savvas becauseI might die, but I come back.A gift given with my mother’s last words after the grimoire used my parents’ bond against them.”
My breath was a ragged, jerking kind of breathing. I expected an accusation. An uttered sound of revulsion. I didn’t expect Ashir’s arms to tighten around me, or the kiss he pressed to my temple. Or Savvas to stroke his fingers across my shoulder and down my arm to link my fingers with his. Or the way Dias purred and blocked me in with his hot, hard chest.
“Don’t you understand? This is my purpose in life. To be used as a vessel. This is why I can’t bond you. The bond will make you do things to protect it through me. I’m not a normal female. Hells, I didn’t shift before you touched me because Icouldn’t. Another failsafe put in place to protect the grimoire. It will use me and use you. You will never be free. You have to see that!Whycan’t you?” My chest heaved. I had to make them see. Make them understand what they risked. Maybe if they knew there was an out for them, they’d see reason.
“I need to get to wolf territory. The golden dome protecting it means that another part of the grimoire has been released. I might be able to use its magic to release my section without resorting to bonding. We’ll all be free.You’llbe free.” I ignored the sour taste in my mouth and the punch to my gut.
Ashir growled. He lowered his chin and the determined look in his eyes hooked somewhere behind my sternum and tugged. “We’ll help you if that’s what you want but not because of the bond. That’s real, even if you don’t see that now. You have to understand we won’t bond you because of magic or a grimoire. You’ll bond with us because you want it. We’ll have you screaming our names and begging for us before we’re through, little mate.”
My gaze bounced between them, logging a mix of concern and determination. “Hasn’t anything I’ve said meant anything to you?”
Before they could answer, the door of the hut swung open and three guards filed in. They rested their hands on the handles of their swords. It was clear they didn’t trust us an inch.
“Don’t you ever knock?” Dias snarled.
The biggest elf spoke, his tone holding no warmth. “You’re to come with us to the eating hall.”
Tension ran through us, connecting us on a visceral level. The elves were an impenetrable wall of leather armor and stoic strength. This wasn’t a question; it was an order and we had no option but to obey. The shifters shared a long look and surrounded me as we followed the elves through the door. Ashir’s shoulder brushed mine and I ignored the sizzle that zipped into me when he took my hand in his and gently squeezed my fingers.
If only I hadn’t met them. Hadn’t known their touch, their looks, their damned consideration, because the gentle way he held my hand, the intensity of his attention, made me understand what I’d miss out on when I cut the bond. I unthreaded our fingers and tucked my hands over my chest, needing to put some kind of distance between us.
His forehead creased and he watched me in that way I was coming to recognize. That look meant he was trying to work out how to best help me. That I was worthy of his attention and consideration. That look meant danger. I’d given them an out and I didn’t understand why they weren’t taking it.
I had to keep it together. I willed the wave of dizziness away. Exhaustion was dangerous. It would make me let my guard down again. Any more damage to the bond barrier, and we’d all be lost because it seemed they didn’t understand the magnitude of the mistake they were making.
Chapter Seventeen
The guards led us out of the hut without another word. My feet sank into the sand and I stumbled, my legs buckling beneath me. The next thing I knew, I was held in strong arms against Dias’ solid chest. Heat rose up my neck and colored my cheeks.
