It was too much to focus on, restraining the magic and managing the pain. My chest was heaving with the power of my magic, my fingers flexing against my head. I focused on the floor as I yelled out deafeningly, the power moving deeper into me.
“Breathe deeply and push it into your stomach.” Ryland’s voice was like honey in my ear as he lifted me off the floor to hold me against him, his hands resting on my lower back as he moved me to dance along with him.
I followed his directions, not willing to look up at him quite yet, just in case I lost control again. I pressed my face into his neck, almost losing my focus at the intensity of the memories, the joy that his scent caused me. I refocused and pushed it all back into my stomach, focusing on the space behind my belly button.
“Thanks,” I mumbled as the energy was contained. I looked up at him, focusing with all my might on the surplus power I now kept locked in place.
“I told you not to come.” He looked around nervously, and I knew Ilyan was right. We had walked right into a trap.
I followed Ryland’s line of sight, my stomach clenching as ten Trpaslíks came barreling into the large room. They stopped momentarily before the man in the lead directed them out like a fan. We were trapped. Ryland moved us into the crowd, lifting me off the ground to plunge us into the gyrating mass quickly.
“Ilyan said you wouldn’t leave if it was only him.”
“I wouldn’t. But I can’t leave because you are here, either,” Ryland said.
“I can’t just let Edmund take you away from me,” I stated emphatically.
“Stubborn to the end.” He looked down at me, his bright blue eyes sending a shock through my system. He reached over and placed his hand softly against my face, covering my aching jaw where Tyler had just punched me. I leaned into his touch, needing him to be close to me.
“Are you okay?” he asked softly, his hand growing warm as his magic filled me.
I could only nod as my magic lurched again; I jerked with the energy.
“Focus, Jos,” Ryland whispered, bringing me to rest right against him. “Jeez, how long have you been awake?”
“A week,” I whispered. It was becoming harder to keep the energy restrained.
“Ilyan’s an idiot.” He pulled me against him, his cheek against mine. My heart sputtered and I heard Ryland laugh deeply. I suddenly felt very uncomfortable, not being able to see him properly.
“I need to see your eyes.” I pulled away from him, trying to keep my body moving in the odd dance.
“You don’t have to worry about that, Jos; you’ve already walked right into his trap. You saw all the men that swarmed in here, and there are only about ten times more surrounding us.” He smiled, trying to break the fear that gripped me, but it only grew.
“Besides,” he mused, “he’s already so far in that it’s a miracle I can remember you at all.” He smiled, but it was so sad, so heartbroken.
“You need to come with me,” I begged. “We need to get out of here right now.” I pleaded my case to him, but he said nothing. He only smiled sadly at me and pulled my body to press against his.
I should have fought him, begged him further, but my heart was lost in his touch, his smell. I leaned into him, my soul swelling with joy. He pressed his cheek against mine as we moved. He held me so tightly that it felt as if we simply could not get close enough. I welcomed the contact; it felt so right. I felt so whole in that moment; my magic so close to its other half, my heart beating right next to his. We slow danced among the manically dancing pairs, lost in our own little world.
“I’d sacrifice anything,” he sang softly in my ear, the Frank Sinatra song blending with the loud club music. His voice broke; I could tell he was crying. “Come what might…” I pulled my head away to look at him. The glistening tears streaked down his cheeks. “I will not let anything take away what’s standing right in front of me.”
I reached up, my fingertips softly wiping away the wet tears from his face. As my fingers traced the lines of his cheek, the bruises and cuts swam into view. I gasped as I saw him up close; his face, his agony, making everything that much more real. My hand flew to my mouth, my own tears falling down my cheeks.
“Don’t cry,” he whispered. “Please, don’t cry.”
“But, Ryland,” I spoke through my tears, “what has he done to you?” The tears came fast and hard as I placed my hand against his face, the ridges of his swollen jawline hard against my skin.
“It’s okay. You’re here now. Don’t cry.” His voice was soft. He held me tightly and I felt the warmth of his magic surge into my back. As he had for almost every day of my life, he comforted me, even though he could barely move. Even through his pain, his agony, he helped me.
I let the magic in, pulling it into me. It filled me in a way it had never done before, as his warm tendrils blended and moved with my own, intermingling in a familiar way that I never wanted to lose. The energy inside me continued to build uncontrollably, my skin prickling as the surges fought their way out. I knew he felt it, too; his smile was so triumphant, so happy.
“Now, I can never leave you. No matter what happens, no matter where I go. You will always be mine.”
“Forever,” I whispered through the tears.
Ryland leaned toward me, his eyes boring into mine, searching me. In that moment, I didn’t care about the hordes of people surrounding us. I didn’t care about Ilyan frantically yelling at us to stop. I needed him like I needed oxygen. I closed the gap between us and pressed my lips firmly to his.
That’s all it took for my magic to explode.
I had been waiting for this kiss for months, dreaming of the way it would feel to have his lips against mine, our bodies pressed together. My fantasies weren’t even close to the reality I was now experiencing.
A warm tingling began in my toes and spread rapidly at his silky touch. His hand trailed up my spine to get lost in my hair. My magic expanded; his, still intertwined with mine. Our magic bubbled together like a pot overflowing. The two separate powers became so infused that I couldn’t tell where mine ended and his began.
He pressed me to him roughly, a deep groan issuing from the back of his throat. I sighed at the sound, the touch, the pressure. My hands wrapped around him, clutching at his hips and elbows in a desperate effort to be closer to him. He answered my call. I gasped as our magic became a white hot heat that rocked inside our bodies with a violent force. The white heat grew, his touch tingled, the kiss deepened. My body became limp in his arms as the magic within me reached a point I could no longer control.
Our combined energies exploded out of us in a blinding, white light. It was the same light as when Ryland had touched my kiss for the first time, but now, it had more force and energy. It whooshed out of us as the ground shook violently in an explosion of energy, fire and wind. Flimsy human bodies were flung away from us as a result of the blast, slamming them into tables and walls with such force that I couldn’t imagine many of them surviving.
Ryland held on to me tightly as screams began to fill the room. Teenagers ran for the exits in a wall of people that clogged the doorways, which resulted in yelling and fighting as the drunken crowd attempted to escape. I didn’t dare move from Ryland’s embrace; he held me in place, his arms shielding me protectively.
“You couldn’t wait to seal her to you until we had gotten you out of here?” Ilyan yelled as he ran through the crowd, his hair long and blonde again.
“You knew you weren’t getting me out of here in the first place, Ilyan!” Ryland yelled back. I turned in Ryland’s arms to see Ilyan approach us, his skin glowing with energy.
“Ha!” Ilyan laughed without any humor. “You always did underestimate everyone, Ryland.”
“You walked right into his trap and you accuse me of underestimating! You...” He stopped abruptly, his body twitching violently.
“No!” I yelled, clinging to him; he twitched again, his arm flying away from me.
“He’s close.” I heard Ilyan mumble from somewhere behind me.
The Trpaslíks who had walked into the room before had begun disentangling themselves from the wreckage around us. I looked around in a panic as more of them began to appear around us; from beneath the rubble on the main floor, on the balcony that surrounded the large room, in front of every doorway. Tace, Zilla and the other guards appeared out of nowhere to encompass the three of us in a wide circle, each of them with their hands palm side up, prepared for an attack.
The Trpaslíks began to approach us, their steps slow and measured. They kept looking from one to the other, gloating as if they were overjoyed with the prospect of battle.
I clung to Ryland, scared for both of us. He twitched again, the violent motion sending him flying to the ground. I sank down with him, my hands hovering uselessly above him; it was like the first dream all over again.
“Fight it, Ryland,” I pleaded.
“Get him out of here, Joclyn,” Ilyan said as sparks flew from his fingertips.
I grabbed Ryland and hung on to him, a gust of wind swirling around us as I prepared to take flight. My wind vanished in fear as an explosion rocked the room. The main doors flew off their hinges, the large slabs of wood flying right toward us. Ilyan raised his hand and stopped them in mid-air before shoving them in another direction, both doors now flying toward the Trpaslíks who were approaching us. The screams of the teenagers who were still in the large hall increased as they watched what was going on.
“Well, well, well.” I jerked away from Ryland at hearing that detestable voice, my eyes searching for him in the mass of people standing in the doorway. Edmund stood in the middle of them, his tall frame and shortly-cropped hair giving him an almost militant look. Next to him stood Timothy and Cail, both of whom looked pleased, anticipating the events about to take place.
I felt Ryland flinch again. I threw my body over him, foolishly thinking I could protect him.
“My prodigal son has returned!” Edmund clapped his hands together in joy, an ominously pleased smile lighting up his face.
“No,” Ilyan interjected powerfully, “I just came to save my little brother.”
“Ryland!” I yelled out as Ryland flinched in my arms again, the reality of it all jerking at my magic again.
“Oh, look!” Edmund called out joyously. “Little Joclyn came, too! What fun! You sure have grown up since the last time I saw you. So beautiful. Such a pity to destroy you, but then I destroy things all the time.” He smiled cruelly at Ryland who jerked again, his voice calling out in an agonizing scream.
“No! Leave him alone,” I pleaded with Edmund, but he only smiled at me like I was the most pathetic thing he had ever seen. Ryland jumped again.
“Fight it, Ryland, please,” I begged him, my hands pressing against his back. I desperately tried to push my magic into him, not sure if I was succeeding. Ryland lifted his head to mine, resting his hand against my face.
“You’re so beautiful. I always thought so... with those eyes... They are just like diamonds.” Ryland’s body jerked again, and he screamed out in pain, his body tensing and convulsing as he fought his father.
“Fight it, Ryland!” I repeated, but I barely got the words out before Ryland’s hand shot out to wrap itself around my throat. He lifted me up in one swift movement, my feet leaving the ground as he stood.
His black eyes looked into me with a look of evil pleasure that did not match his face. He smiled his beautiful half-smile, but this time, it held no pleasure for me. I clawed at his hand as my lungs called out for air, my chest heaving as it attempted to inhale.
A ball of light hit Ryland’s side, shooting him across the large room. His hand lost its grip on my throat, and I went flying, Ilyan’s wind bringing me right to him before I had a chance to hit the floor. He wrapped his arm around me securely, his eyes never leaving his father’s.
“Well, that was fun.” Wyn came up to stand next to me, wiping her hands against her jeans.
“Wynifred!” Timothy’s deep voice had taken on a panicked quality I wouldn’t have thought to ever hear from him. I jerked my head around to see the panic evident not only on Timothy’s face, but on Cail’s as well.
“Isn’t this a veritable family reunion,” Edmund commented in a bored voice. “Didn’t want to bring Ovailia, I see; didn’t think she could handle being near me again?”
Ilyan smiled, that look of power covered his face as a visible wall of energy moved away from us, shooting across the ballroom and ramming into Edmund and his men. They all stumbled back a step; many fell clear to the ground.
“Oh, I’m here, Father. I just prefer not to get my hands dirty.” Ovailia’s voice echoed around the room from somewhere behind us.
“I’m tired of this,” Wyn said, stepping forward one step before jumping in place. The whole room shook and shifted as pieces of the ceiling and balcony broke apart and tumbled down around us. Her action opened up a floodgate, and the ballroom began to explode in a torrent of energy. Wyn laughed happily as she continued to jump; no wonder she had said her magic was destructive.
I covered my head and dropped to the ground as chunks of marble and wood came crashing down, leaving a giant hole gaping in the ceiling. I dodged and weaved away from the falling debris until I slid under a large table, finding two trapped party-goers who were screaming frantically.
I looked up as Wyn clapped her hands; the wall behind Edmund and his men exploded, sending them all running in a panic. The room groaned at the loss of a supporting wall, the structure heaving as it was torn apart from the inside out. Wyn’s explosion separated the Trpaslíks from each other. Edmund seemed to have completely disappeared, leaving his minions to do his dirty work. With the Trpaslíks separated, Ilyan and his guard were free to pick them off, one by one. Wyn laughed before heading straight for her brother, Cail, her look of determination, terrifying.
She met up with him as he broke out from behind the rubble. She pushed her hands toward him, a magical pulse pushing him back down into the rubble he had just escaped from. Cail recovered quickly, jumping to his feet as he shot a fiery orb of energy her way. Wyn dodged it, but lost her footing. Without thinking, I sent wind to her and righted her before her brother could attack her again.
My actions caught the attention of three Trpaslíks who flung away the table I was hiding under, slamming it into an opposing wall. My head jerked up to see the three small men approaching me excitedly. I jumped to my feet, shooting three waves of fire toward my attackers. The burning orbs collided with them, sending them skidding against the floor. The fire burned their clothes and singed their flesh, but the weak, unfocused energy wasn’t able to do much more than that, and they quickly continued toward me. I didn’t wait for their attack; I exploded into the air and away from them, only to land clumsily in the middle of the floor, not having planned where I was going. I spun around wildly, hoping to get my bearings.
The whole ballroom was now madness and chaos. Explosions rocked the air. Wind and magic flew between fighting pairs, leaving paths of fire and destruction behind them. I watched as Talon swung his arms wide, a trail of fire spitting from his fingertips. Zilla wrapped electrical ropes around her opponents, causing them to fall to the ground, one by one. Ilyan then disappeared from one spot, only to appear across the room a moment later, hovering behind one of Edmund’s retreating allies. He placed his hand lightly on the Trpaslíks head, causing him to yell out in pain before dropping to the ground.
Another explosion rocked the building, sending more debris crashing down from overhead. Talon appeared behind me, grabbing me around the waist and sliding me across the floor just as a boulder-sized piece of the balcony crashed down where I had been standing. He shoved me behind him as he shot light and wind away from us.
“Get Ryland and get out of here!” Talon yelled as he sent a table skidding across the ground, the hard edge slamming into the back of one of Edmund’s men.
I took off toward where Ryland’s body still lay, crumpled from the impact.
“Ryland!” My voice broke as I called to him. I reached out and grabbed his hand, pulling it up to my face. His touch triggered my magic and I felt it surge into him. I could feel it move inside his body, instantly moving to intertwine with his power. His head turned toward me, the knot in my stomach releasing at the sight of his blue eyes.
“Jos,” he whispered my name, a smile trying desperately to form on his lips, “you came.”
“Yeah, Ry. I did. Now we have to get out of here. Come on, let’s go, just you and me.” I tugged on his arm, but he didn’t budge.
“What did you do to your hair, Jos? I always loved your hair.” His eyes were fading out on me, focusing on something far behind me.
“Ryland! Come on; we have to leave now!” I clutched onto him and brought a powerful gust of wind around us; I felt my magic fade as we lifted off the ground a few feet, only to crash back down to the floor. I tried again with the same result.
“Ryland, I need your help.” I was becoming desperate; he still didn’t respond to me. “Ryland! Please.”
“Do you want to go steal the car, Jos?” His voice slurred as it faded away, his eyes gently closing.
“Ryland, no, no. Ryland!” He didn’t move, and he didn’t react, he just lay there.
The prospect of losing him clicked something together in my brain. I was instantly consumed with panic-stricken desperation. I called his name over and over as I pushed him, prodded him and even slapped him across the face. He didn’t react to any of it. My movements became more desperate as the seconds clicked by in my mind.
I could hear the yells and screams of the fight that surrounded us, feel the rattle of the building as it was rent with explosion after explosion. I stopped hitting him, stopped screaming at him; I just sat there, staring at him.
He could have been sleeping. The way his hair fell across his face, the way his arms lay lifelessly at his side. I watched him, expecting him to grumble something in his sleep and roll over the way he always did; my heart almost willed it to happen. I traced the dark purple circles of his bruise, let my fingertips run the length of the healing scar across his face. He was in pain.
My voice howled in agony as I fell onto him, my arms wrapping around him. My magic rushed into him, glad to be home. I felt it swirling within him, mingling with the flaring embers he had kept hidden inside himself. I cried into his chest, feeling the connection grow within our bodies. His arms reached around me, his strong arms clenching me against him.
“Ryland?” I pulled myself away from him, my magic pulling back into me as I moved. I looked up into his face expectantly; my hope shattered at the black eyes smiling back.
“You are exquisite, aren’t you? No wonder this body seems to want you so badly.”
My heart screamed inside my chest at the deep voice that came out of him. I wrenched out of his arms and scurried away, my feet slipping against loose rocks that littered the slick marble floor.