Page 83 of The Warlock's Kiss

“So…so what are you going to do? Just…die?”

Adalynn stared at her brother, but for a moment, she didn’t see him. Her mind went blank as her stomach cramped and a feverish flush swept through her body, carrying with it a fresh wave of fear and anxiety.

On its heels came an icy certainty.

“Addy!”

She started, blinked, and focused on Danny. There was fear in his gaze.

“It’s happening, isn’t it?” he asked, tears filling his eyes.

“I need to go.”

She stepped around him and strode down the hall. Everything around her was a blur, a haze, as it spun and shifted without regard for the laws of physics.

A hand closed around her wrist as she reached the top of the stairs, dragging her to a halt. She looked back to find Danny behind her, his eyes huge and awash with tears, his skin pale.

“What the fuck do you meango, Addy?”

“I need to leave here. Now.”

He tightened his grasp on her, adding his other hand to her arm. He didn’t seem to notice when a massive crash from downstairs shook the floor beneath them. “Youcan’tgo, Addy. We can take care of you. Merrick hasmagic. He can help!”

“Not without hurting himself. No, Danny. I won’t let him do that. I…Ilovehim. I don’t want him to die because of me. Please, just let me go, while there’s still time, and promise you’ll stayhere.”

Danny’s tears spilled down his cheeks. “I’m not letting you go out there by yourself. People can’t just…let go, Addy, that’s not how it works. Youknowthat.”

Adalynn faced him and placed her hands on his shoulders. She squeezed, harder than she intended, as her stomach cramped, and nausea made her unsteady. She doubled over slightly, holding onto him for support as she struggled to keep her breathing slow and steady in the hopes of pushing the nausea back. “Youhaveto. Do you remember what happened to mom and dad? Do you want that to happen again? It won’t bemeanymore, Danny! I won’t be able to stop myself from hurting you once I change. I need to get far away from you.”

Danny shook his head. “No. No, I won’t let you go. You need to be here.”

“Danny, please. I don’t—”

Crippling pain blacked out her vision. Adalynn screamed, hands slipping from Danny’s shoulders. Only his arms looping around her prevented Adalynn from tumbling down the stairs.

He laid her on the floor as her every muscle contracted and spasmed; her body was no longer hers to control. Something warm seeped from her nose, and she tasted blood in her mouth, but the agony in her head demanded her attention above all else. It felt simultaneously like her skull was being split in half and crushed in a vice, and the pain spread outward to permeate her entire skeleton, dominating every inch of her body.

“Merrick!” Danny screamed. His trembling hands smoothed over her. “Hold on, Addy. You’re gonna be okay. Please, justhold on.” His hands lifted away; she was only vaguely aware that he’d left when he called for Merrick again and his voice sounded distant.

Adalynn clawed at the carpet with stiff, curled fingers, battling the pain. She was used to feeling it in her head, in her stomach, but this waseverywhere, like her sickness had forced its way into every cell of her body in response to Merrick’s attempts to eliminate it. The room spun, and her vision faded, but she was still aware—aware of the blood, of the agony, of everything she wished she could have said and done, of her fear of what she’d become once she died.

Rage-infused magic swirled around Merrick,enveloping him in electric heat. It insulated his fury, allowed those uncontrollable, untethered emotions to echo and amplify, to feed into themselves and expand the mana storm surrounding him. Blinding blue energy had become his world, dominating all his senses. Nothing remained but magic and rage.

No, that wasn’t right. It wasn’t that simple; he could still recognize the truth of it, even in this state, though his thoughts were sluggish, hazy, and dampened. His rage was underscored by quieter but more powerful emotions—sorrow; loss; pain. Helplessness. But those emotions constantly sank under waves of rising magic, each of which was stronger than the last.

Magic…

Yes, there was only magic. Nothing else mattered.

Merrick’s magic flared, tearing apart another chunk of the room. Deeper, more potent energy crackled through it, ancient beyond imagining, charging him with explosive force. It was thrilling to feel that power, tousethat power, thrilling to unleash his fury and frustration.

And that power seemed to thrill in being used.

Merrick opened himself to it further, expanding the channels torn open by his overwhelming emotions. The power flowed through him, crackling across the fibers of his being. His heart sped, but it seemed to pump blood no longer—it pumpedmanathrough his veins, pure and exhilarating.

Let go. No troubles. No pain. Onlypower.

He could become one with that energy. He could be free of pain, worry, frustration, and rage. Free and powerful.

---