Page 50 of Captured in Love
But this person, whoever they are, is strong enough to hold down the grille against a freaking sea dragon and a vampire.
That’s when I realize that we’re in far deeper shit than I thought. We have asea dragonand avampireright here. Raphaël might be fine, he passes for a human well enough, but Isak… This witch couldn’t have missed the fact that there’s a huge mythological creature in the tunnel with us.
Isak must see that, too, because he slams into the grille with renewed force, scattering flakes of rust everywhere. The witch cringes but doesn’t relent. A cluster of crystals hangs from his belt, and I’d bet my best leather pants that they’re pre-charged and ready to be used.
Then the dragon moves in the tunnel, crowding us away from the grille. Once we’re all behind his back, he puts his snout right up to the metal, expands his belly, and blows.
I can’t see anything other than a few bubbles, but the water around us instantly heats up, the deathly chill disappearing. I don’t know how hot the stream of water he blew out was, but the witch moves a bit farther out to avoid it. Still, Isak’s action doesn’t have the desired effect—the portcullis remains in place.
Levi pokes me in the arm and lifts the tablet again.
DO SOMETHING
Yeah, but what?If I could touch the witch, I might be able to get past his mental barriers and get him to stop, but he’s fifteen feet away from me, and I have no idea how being submerged in water would affect my abilities. I reach for my magic anyway, only to find a meager little puddle of power instead of my well, filled to the brim.
I blink my eyes open and take the tablet from Levi.
NO MAGIC LEFT
It’s a terrifying prospect. I’ve never used up so much of my power, not even in Egypt when I tried to dig myself out of the caved-in tunnel. I’d been reckless in trying to save Isak, and Levi took a lot from me, too. With nothing to recharge it, I’m left with the bare minimum, just enough to survive.
Something nudges me in the back. I turn to find Isak’s head mere inches from my face. His golden eyes burn with intensity as he glances down at the tablet, then nudges me again. I frown in confusion.What—?
Raphaël rips the tablet and pencil from my fingers and quickly scribbles something, then shows it to us.
USE HIS MAGIC
Oh!
I take the tablet back and show it to Isak to make sure this is what he wants. It’s one thing to share magic with Levi, my best friend, the man I’ve known since childhood. And even with him, opening up so completely for the first time was scary—for both of us. It left us open for attack, and I think we shared more than just power. The sense of connection between us deepened profoundly, and I don’t know if Isak is aware of any of this.
But he jerks his large head down in a nod and nudges me again.
Yeah, no time to worry.
I stow away the tablet and place my bare palm on Isak’s warm neck. The scales shift as he moves closer, allowing me better access. Then I close my eyes and search for an opening in his defenses.
At first, all I feel is an impenetrable wall around a foreign consciousness. The energy coming off him is impressive, but how do I get in…?
Then he lowers his barriers, and sheer, unfiltered power spills over me. It’s a gorgeous orange color, glowing white in the middle of his chest and expanding out in feathery tendrils. I want to bask in it, let it fill me until it’s all I see and feel. It’s wild magic, ready to be molded into whatever spell I need it to become, and the amount of it is staggering.
Gods, I never want to let it go. I want Isak near me, always, just to be able to connect with him like this and feel his power.
But I won’t get to do that if I drown in this fucking tunnel.
The thought sobers me up fast. I slowly scoop up a handful of magic and shape it in my hand. Isak jerks a little at the sensation but doesn’t break our contact. Bit by bit, I add his magic to my spell, a cannon ball of sorts that might get us out of here. The urge to just mash something together and throw it at the stranger is strong, especially as the gauge on my wrist computer sends out an alert that I’ll soon have to switch my cylinder to the backup.
But I only have one chance to do this. Once the witch realizes what kind of power I possess, he’ll throw up mental blocks or swim farther away, out of my reach. Even now, I’m not sure this will be enough.
I don’t have time to craft a new spell, either, so I use the same one I hid under the protection spell in Levi’s and Raphaël’s crystals. It’s an ugly piece of magic. A nasty barb to set off the victim’s amygdala to trigger their primal fear. If it works correctly, it’ll force its way through the witch’s mental protection and cause him to feel as though his life is in mortal danger, prompting him to drop everything and run.
I’d hoped this kind of spell would force Levi and Raphaël to flee if we found ourselves in a situation we couldn’t escape from. They might have saved themselves, their instincts taking over for long enough to get them away from danger. I would only have activated those crystals if I had no other choice, and the guys would likely never forgive me for doing it.
Now, I don’t care about this witch’s feelings. He’s actively trying to kill us—maybe not by shooting magic at us, but by keeping us down here. I wonder if he was in the tunnel as we swam by, concealed by some powerful illusion spell even Levi couldn’t detect. If he watched us pass under this portcullis.
If he thought even then about how best to prevent us from escaping.
The spell ball in my hand grows stronger, jagged with offensive magic. I take one last handful of power from Isak’s seemingly bottomless well, and it’s suddenly ready. I send a thankful thought to Isak and open my eyes to find Raphaël and Levi floating in front of me. Raphaël likely only sees empty space above my palm, so his eyes behind his mask show he’s concerned but not frightened.
