Page 115 of Primal Bonds

Kneeling next to him, she slid an arm under his shoulders and lifted him so he could drink. He drank greedily and she realized with a pang that she should’ve gotten him water sooner. He’d lost so much blood.

But at least she’d retrieved his quartz. She turned her body so that Tyrus couldn’t see and slipped it into his palm.

Jace stilled, and then his fingers closed on it.

Her neck crawled. Tyrus was still watching her. Any minute he’d figured out she’d stolen back the quartz. “Hurry,” she whispered to Jace.

His chin moved in a slight nod. He didn’t move or show in any way that he was drawing on the quartz, but she saw the glow brighten between his fingers. She set her hand over his to cover it.

A minute passed, then another. When she flicked a glance at Tyrus, his eyes were closed again.

Jace’s breath altered. It was deeper, more powerful. He nudged her hip. “Help me,” he mouthed.

Of course. She mentally smacked her forehead. She was an amplifier; she could help Jace heal himself.

Tyrus might have weakened her, but nobody got the best of Evie Morningstar. She set her hand on Jace’s stomach and focused with everything she had.

Chapter 35

Jace hurt in every bone of his body. But that was nothing to the pain and fury he felt when the night fae went for Evie, and he was too fucking weak to help her.

He ached to get her out of here. If he thought it would do any good, he’d humble himself, plead with Tyrus to let her go. But he knew Tyrus would refuse. It must be a rare treat for the prick to be able to feed on another fae’s energy, even a part-human like Evie.

At least Jace had had the chance to tell her he loved her, that she was his mate. The bond had sprung into being. He had to believe that was a good thing, that together, they were stronger than either was alone.

Evie moaned, and Jace cursed Tyrus, dark and vicious. The wound on his neck spurted blood, and he blacked out. He came back to consciousness to find he was trying to sit up, attempting to get to Evie.

Another harrowing minute ticked past before the night fae released her. She crawled back to Jace and huddled next to him, her body trembling.

He might have gone for Tyrus anyway but the fucking fae had his quartz. The pendant wasn’t alive. It didn’t know it was being used to control Jace. It just called mindlessly to him and he was forced to obey.

Fury condensed in Jace, cold and grim. Tyrus’s plotting made sense now, but he’d miscalculated one thing.

Jace would never harm Merry. He’d kill himself first.

But first, he had to save Evie. He tucked her close to his body, comforting her the only way he could. Tyrus dozed off and Jace forced himself to relax and conserve his energy. He must have drifted off again, because he didn’t realize Evie had left his side until she was lifting his head, urging him to drink.

He eagerly gulped the water. It was cool and good, soothing his parched throat. “Thank you,” he rasped.

Then she slipped the quartz into his hand. He went rigid with shock—and admiration. How the hell had she managed to steal it back?

Hope surged. Maybe they had a chance after all.

He gripped the quartz and drew on its energy with everything he had. The crystals’ song was high-pitched, agitated. Drawing on the quartz so hard was dicey—he risked blowing it out— but he had no choice.

The first thing he did was close the wound on his throat. Replacing the blood loss would take hours, but he could stem the flow. Next, he pushed energy into his body—a quick-and-dirty fix. It would take the place of the blood he’d lost, but only for a short time. But he only needed a few minutes to take Tyrus down.

And he would take Tyrus down. Failure wasn’t an option.

Sweat beaded on Jace’s temples. He drew harder—and hit a brick wall. He hated to ask Evie for help—she was already drained from Tyrus—but he might only have a few minutes. Night fae usually slept in the day, but Tyrus was running high from feeding on them.

“Help me,” he whispered, and Evie gamely added her own energy to his. Pride filled him. His mate had a spine of pure steel.

Tyrus started awake. His eyes gleamed red in the darkness. “You stole from me.” His tone was surprised—and cold as only a fae’s could be.

Jace swore under his breath. “That’s enough,” he told Evie. It would have to be.

“You’re…okay?” She collapsed onto the floor without waiting for an answer, her chest working.

---