Page 61 of A Fractured Song

With that in mind, she dropped the volume of her voice. It was a natural instinct to sing loudly when trying to wield magic more powerfully, but it wasn’t actually necessary. In fact, if a singer had sufficient training to handle the magic with the finesse needed, it was much better to sing quietly. It would help the actual voice endure for longer before physical exhaustion forced the song to stop.

Marieke’s whole world narrowed to the sound of her own voice, the feel of the magic passing underneath and through her, and the steady presence of Zev following her. Those three things were all her mind could comprehend—she had to just trust her body to do the actual climbing from instinct. The climb felt interminable, her energy depleted long before she could admit it to herself. But eventually, the edge of the cliff came into view above. Marieke’s voice wobbled with relief, and she had to remind herself to hold steady. For some time, she’d been feeling the sheer power of the magic lessening gradually as the chaotic canyon floor drew further away. It wasn’t a problem. In fact, the smaller volume of magic was a more familiar tool, and easier for her to control. But she’d still like to reach the top before there was a moresignificant drop.

To her immense relief, her song was still holding steady when her fingers grasped the very top of the cliff. She pulled herself up the incline, getting a final burst of energy that brought her knees up and over the lip. Zev pulled himself up behind her, his clothes filthy from climbing on his belly up the whole height of Sundering Canyon.

Marieke’s voice wobbled again, but she kept singing feebly as she crawled further from the edge. Zev followed her, and only once they were a few yards from the drop did she let her voice go silent. It was a good thing they’d moved, too, as the rocky ground shifted a final time before their eyes, the edge of the cliff moving outward as the slope went from inclined to sheer once again.

Marieke’s eyes found Zev’s, reading in his gaze a reflection of both her current relief and the mark left by the tension that had led up to it.

“We did it,” she whispered, barely able to hold her head up. “Do you think we’re safe from the elves up here?”

Zev didn’t immediately answer. As she watched wearily, he pulled himself toward her across the grass. She didn’t even dream of protesting as he pulled her into his arms, pressing her securely against his chest.

She let her eyes drift closed, her cheek against the gritty fabric of his dirt-covered tunic, and her ears full of his rhythmic heartbeat. She could feel his warmth seeping into her, calming her own frantic pulse.

“Yes.” His low voice sounded in her ear in belated answer to her question. “You’re safe, Marieke. I’ll keep you safe from everything.”

She didn’t doubt it. His arms around her were the strongest thing she’d ever felt, and in the safety of their circle she just let her mind drift, not trying to hold on to awareness of anythingin particular, allowing her stretched senses to resettle after the mammoth task she’d just asked of them.

She didn’t know what exactly had just happened. But one thing she did know. She and Zev were in it together, as entangled by the strange movement of the magic as they currently were by his arms.

And by her heart, over which his hold was becoming more irrevocable by the day.

Chapter

Fifteen

It felt like an eternity that Zev lay on the grass, Marieke’s sagging form held in his arms. And yet, it was over far too quickly.

Marieke seemed to have relaxed completely, but Zev’s heart was still hammering when she started to stir. The climb had been terrifying enough in itself, but more alarming had been the visible waning of Marieke’s strength as he shadowed her up the cliff. He’d been afraid every moment that she would suddenly pass out and peel off the surface, dropping like a stone before his helpless eyes.

When Marieke started to push backward, Zev loosened his grip at once, trying not to let his reluctance show. Much as he wished she’d stay in the safety of his arms forever, the last thing he was trying to do was hold her prisoner.

Marieke pushed herself to a sitting position, running a hand over her eyes.

“Are you all right?” he asked, as he also sat up. He brushed grass off his legs absently, his eyes on Marieke’s face.

“I will be,” she assured him. “I just need to rest. I’m very weak.”

He gave an incredulous laugh. “Whatever else you are, you’re not weak. Marieke, that was unbelievable. I can’t believe how much strength you have.”

“I don’t, though,” she said, shaking her head. “I know the limits of my abilities, and that was far beyond them, trust me. I don’t know what happened, but it was something unnatural, even in magical terms.”

She leaned back on her hands, her eyes closed as she lifted her face toward the sun. Zev stared hungrily at her features, willing her to speak the truth when she said she’d be all right. Her lovely face was paler than he’d ever seen it.

Not that it did anything to lessen the perfection of the features he’d come to see in his dreams as clearly as he saw them before him now. The straight nose, the high cheekbones, the frame of dark hair—albeit currently disheveled and full of gravel. The soft lips, parted slightly as she breathed in the fresh air of his homeland.

“It’s not the climbing that weakened you, is it?” he asked gruffly, trying to redirect his thoughts. “It was your songcraft that used all your energy, right?”

“Hmmm.”

Marieke kept her eyes closed as she considered her reply. He could almost see her skin soaking in the sunlight, his eyes riveted to her face as he reveled in the rare opportunity to study her unobserved.

“It’s not that I spent too much energy on songcraft, exactly,” she said. “It’s more that the volume of magic I just manipulated was too much for my body to handle.” She opened her eyes at last, blinking rapidly as if trying to clear stars from her vision. “Even the memory of it is overwhelming for my senses.”

She gave him an apologetic look. “I don’t think I can move from here anytime soon. I passed out when I fought the fire, and this was more intense than thatin a lot of ways.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Zev assured her. “But I do think we should move further back from the canyon. Do you object to me lifting you?”

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