Page 85 of Ties of Dust

“Flora?” Cassius sounded anxious, and she flapped a hand in reassurance.

“I just need a minute, then I’ll continue. Can you give me that rope again?”

He passed it up, squeezing her ankle bracingly in the process. Taking heart from his support, Flora swapped hands, letting her favored arm have a rest from the agony of movement while she swung the rope with the other hand.

The rope naturally had greater force than the jacket, so was better suited to the next part of her task. It took more effort than ever to harness the magic, and a whimper escaped her at the thought of what it would cost her physically and mentally to shape the magic into a strong enough enchantment. Cassius’s hand flew up to grip her boot at the sound, and she pulled herself together. She would just have to do all she could, and trust him to see them the rest of the way.

She applied the magic to the boulder, forcing it forward against the bars. It strained into the iron with unnatural force. Her breaths came in pants as she poured all her effort into it, modifying the enchantment to strengthen the rock so that it didn’t give way before the bars did.

Her persistence was rewarded. With a groan, the iron gave way, bending before the inexorable passage of the boulder. She kept pushing the rock, forcing it all the way through until it started to teeter on the edge of the window opening.

It had left a boulder-sized hole in its wake—hopefully it would be enough. She was wobbling dangerously, unable to hold herself up any longer. With an intake of breath, Cassius jumped backward just as the boulder fell.

Flora fell, too, but strong arms caught her and held her as she passed in and out of awareness.

“You did it, Flora. Flora?”

Cassius’s voice sounded like he was on the other end of a long tunnel. She heard him just fine, but she didn’t try to respond. That would be beyond her.

The next half an hour was very hazy for Flora. She didn’t fully lose consciousness, but her mind was foggy and her body as useless as a rag doll’s. She followed only vaguely as Cassius made use of the rope still threadedthrough the bent bars. There was an extremely uncomfortable patch where she seemed to be upright and felt herself scraping along stone, and at one point an invisible pressure threatened painfully to crush her shoulders even though she was nowhere near the bars. But soon after, she was breathing in the fresh scent of a wooded night, cold air touching her face.

She felt herself gathered into Cassius’s arms again, and they were moving. His chest rose and fell laboriously under her cheek, and she allowed her eyes to drift closed, listening to the steady rhythm of his heart right beneath her ear. The warmth of him cut through the chill night air.

She wasn’t sure how long had passed before they came to a stop, and she heard a knocking sound from the other end of the tunnel. She barely followed the exclamation and shocked conversation that came next, but she did notice when warmth enveloped her, and the breeze disappeared altogether. Cassius stumbled forward and laid her on a chair, his breaths coming rapidly.

Blearily, she watched him conversing with a stunned farmer in his nightclothes, and saw the prince hand over a golden chain for some reason. She longed to sleep, but didn’t dare to when Cassius disappeared from her view. She felt that she should go after him, but she couldn’t. The smallest exertion made her mind scream as much as her body still did, and she knew instinctively that she would put herself at serious risk of harm if she tried to use any energy. She simply had none.

Within minutes, Cassius returned. He collected her into his arms again, and they made their way back into the night air. She found herself being placed carefully on a horse, the prince springing up behind her. They lurched forward, his arms reaching around her to grasp the reins.Relieved, she leaned her head back against his chest and let herself succumb fully to sleep.

When Flora came to, the sun had risen. They were stopped in some kind of clearing. She was still atop the horse, but Cassius was on the ground alongside the creature, attempting to ease her off.

She stretched her limbs, trying to shake the fog from her mind.

“Good morning.” There was a smile in the prince’s voice that instantly lifted her spirits.

“We’re alive,” she said.

“We are.” His voice was solemn, but his eyes danced.

“We’re free of Sir Keavling and the others.”

“Yes.”

She eyed him, holding on to the last delicious trickle of the dopiness that had carried her through the last several hours.

“You carried me a long way. You’re very strong.”

His face broke into a grin. “I did. And I like to think I am.”

“But seriously.” Flora straightened in the saddle before allowing him to slide her off. “You must be exhausted and in a great deal of pain.”

She landed neatly on the ground, trapped between the horse’s flank and the prince’s powerful frame. Fortunately the mare was a placid creature, not bothered by their proximity.

Cassius ran a hand through her tangled hair, his palm coming to rest on her cheek and his eyes impossibly captivating as they held hers.

“I’m well,” he said. “You’re safe, and that’s all that matters.”

Heat crept over her, pleasant and tingling. She slid a hand around his neck, pulling him in.

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