Page 25 of Fate Unchained

She nodded. “Yes, he had the book.”

Kyril kept his face expressionless though his heart rate thrummed faster. He knew where the grimoire was. All he had to do was get out of this damn cave and go get it.

“I need that book.” So far, she really didn’t seem aware it wasn’t a book, but a grimoire. Good. He thought for a long moment. “Are you familiar with the ten top magicwielder families in Coromesto?”

She shrugged one shoulder. “Sure. I read the announcements to the Magicarchy. The top families don’t really change.” The official Magicarchy book showed the hierarchy of power within all the magical families, and the top ten became the Ten, and they ruled Coromesto. It was all based on bloodlines, marriages, and the level of magic of successive generations. It didn’t change much because the families in the Ten hoarded their position like dragons with gold.

“I think a member of one of those families had those pages before Boris.”

Lilah scooted a little closer to him. “You do? Why?”

“A month and a half ago, a necromancer named Hoyt had the book. I think he was the one who translated it. When he died, a figure in a cloak stole the pages. We believe he was in one of the top families in Coromesto.”

Lilah frowned. “It’s not easy to get near one of the Ten. I’m not sure how Boris would have done it.”

Kyril studied her closely. “We think this member of the Ten was also a member of a group called the Dark Cabal. Boris must know him. Or be in the cabal, too. Did he mention a group?”

Her brows rose slightly. What he’d said triggered something for her. To his surprise, she didn’t try to hide it. She nodded. “Yes. He said he and his group weren’t like other people. That they are more gifted and powerful, and I needed to help them.”

This was confirmation Boris must be in the Dark Cabal. He was on the right track.

Kyril looked up at the skylight. It was dark, signaling the suns had fully set. The wind still howled. “When this storm ends, we need to find Boris.”

Lilah nodded and stood. “All right. Then I’ll work on breaking us free.”

She walked to the center of the cave. Raising her hands, her body shimmered with white light, casting a warm glow through the cave. His breath caught in his throat. She was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen, her golden hair floating on invisible currents, her blue eyes more vivid, and her face illuminated as if the light was drawn to her.

She whispered words again, and the glow around her strengthened. Her expression grew vacant as if she couldn’t see where she was. A chill shot through his chest as if he’d stepped out into the blizzard. It was coming from her. From the bond they now shared in their chests.

“Lilah … you said runes are dangerous. Don’t push it.”

Had she heard him?

She staggered, and his chest became ice. He shot to his feet and ran for her. He grabbed her, and she didn’t respond. Her face was slack, and she still glowed. His chest grew colder.

“Lilah, wake up!”

Scorching icy heat flashed, and a gush of white light erupted from Lilah and flooded the cave. He lost his breath, and his vision swam. In his chest, the warmth of the bond cooled. Lilah was fading. Her life was fading.

In one bound he was next to her, and he wrapped his arms around her. He knew nothing about magic, nothing about runes. All he could do was hold her tightly. The bond in his chest pinged, and his heart froze. He snarled and fought back, willing his side of the bond to take over.

The rune mark on his chest burned, and gold flashed in the air, washing over the bluish-white light. He focused on their bond—the slight pressure over his heart. The presence he’d tried to ignore until now. His arms tightened, and he focused. Everything that made him a vulk, the primal, raw strength inside him, he pushed toward her. His inner beast clawed for her. “Come back to me, Lilah.”

A small flicker of heat fluttered in his chest.

Lilah gasped and blinked, her gaze meeting his. Inside, he roared, and as if his inner beast reached out and grabbed her, warmth flooded through their bond again.

A loud crackling popped through the cave, and Lilah fell forward, crumpling into him.

10

Her lids fluttered open. Kyril. He bent over her, his head near hers. Behind him, the stone ceiling arched overhead, and a column of smoke whisked away through the small hole in the ceiling. Her entire body ached, and it felt like ice crystals were lodged in her blood.

When she tried to move, she couldn’t. She looked around. She lay next to the fire, with every single sleeping skin bundled on top of her, swaddling her tightly. Kyril sat next to her, as close as he could get with the layers of blankets between them. She groaned. “I’ve passed out in front of you again?”

Kyril’s brow smoothed, and he ran his thumb lightly over her cheek. “I thought you were dead. You were blue like you’d stood in the snow and frozen. Then I realized you couldn’t be dead because I wasn’t dead, but …” He started speaking in another language, the words coming out in one long ramble. He’d been worried about her. He switched back to the common tongue. “Don’t do that again.”

As if she wanted to. But she was too muzzy to reply. The power of the rune took her much deeper than she’d ever gone before. Time had seemed to stop. Even her heart stopped beating. Then she’d felt Kyril. His warmth thawed whatever hold was over her, and she’d been able to move again. To go to him. The rune consumed her, making everything go black, but when she opened her eyes … there he was.

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