Page 13 of Magic Hunted
“That’s because they were. They hadn’t seen what Titan made me do,” I said. “That’s why you have to command me to Change. I don’t know how because I’ve never shifted into a panther before you set off the magic when you touched me. You have to believe me when I tell you magic is making you feel something you don’t want.” That was all truth.
“Why tell us any of this? If Titan set us up, why put yourself in danger?” Savvas said.
“I was trying to get away, and you messed up my one and only chance. I gave you the perfect excuse to let me go and you fucked it up. You could have returned to Titan, told him I’d gone over the waterfall and disappeared,” I said, ignoring the way Dias’ gaze bore into me and the throbbing mess inside me as the bond fought to join us. The only thing standing between their fates being tied to mine was a thin barrier between our soul-lights that I would fight not to break.
“Or that fish ate you,” Savvas said.
I ignored the spark that danced in his eyes and the way I itched to crawl into his arms. Dangerous. “He might have been suspicious but you could have convinced him. He would trust you eventually because you have so much more to lose than me.”
Reminding them that they had bigger things to worry about than me. Guilt ate like acid in my stomach because not only were they at risk, now the whole panther pack was.
“What of the magic in the forest? I felt it, and it wasn’t Titan’s. How do you explain that?” Dias said.
The surge of magic had been powerful enough to kill and ithadcome from me. It felt different from the brilliant golden bubbles I’d seen welling from within the ground that had connected to the grimoire inside me. It had reactedthroughme. Comingfromme.
Dias sensed it.
And I didn’t know where it came from.
I opened my mouth to deny the magic had been mine, but my blood fizzed with razors. I groaned, digging my fingers into my ribs with the pain. Why couldn’t I stop this damn shaking?Because it hurts to lie to them. Hurts to push them away and the bond doesn’t like that.I gritted my teeth and forced the pain away. I was more than the grimoire. And so were they.
I swallowed hard, fighting the bond inside me that made me want to break down and give in. I would not. They could never know because then they’d never be free and neither would I. “Titan experimented on me. They saw him turn me into a…shifter. He wanted me to Change back and I couldn’t. He thought…the magic didn’t work. That magic must have sparked from me because what he used was strong.” Truth. He’d Changed me into a wolf to deceive the wolf shifters. Truth. He’d Changed me many times after failed attempts until he’d perfected the magic. I’d woken up dumped in the corridor outside his rooms after my body had eventually given out before he’d sent me to them.
“So he threw you out like you were garbage?” Savvas sprang to his feet and paced from one side of the cave to the other before reeling around, his eyes wide and dark. My gut sunk inwards at his hollow look.
“Then that’s why you didn’t die. Because of his magic,” Dias said.
“Because of magic. Yes.” The grimoire trembled reacting to the bond, reaching upwards to force itself out. I flinched as the magic surged, tingling through my veins. I gasped, my vision tunneling to white pinpricks as I fought to keep it locked down. “Everything I am is because of magic. Everything you feel is because of magic. That’s why he’ll want me back. He won’t stop trying to find me. And now he’ll want you too.”
I cried out as the grimoire’s magic surged. It wanted me to bond. Didn’t understand why I was fighting instead of fucking. Golden bubbles rose like acid drops through my blood, too strong to hold back. It fizzed from my skin, rising onto the rocky ceiling of the tunnel before disappearing.
“That’s the same magic and it’s nothing like Titan’s,” Savvas gasped.
The ground rumbled, shaking the floor. Tiny stones fell around us as the shaking grew worse.
The side of the tunnel burst, exploding rocks, as massive antlers appeared through a hole. Rocks scattered to the ground enough for me to see that they weren’t antlers at all, but giant pincers that ended in razor sharp points. Whatever was behind those pincers swiped sideways, cutting through rock as if it were as insubstantial as sand.
“Run!” Ashir bellowed. The breath whooshed out of my lungs as he picked me up and bolted into the tunnel.
“Leave me,” I gasped.
His biceps bulged when he crushed me against his chest. “Not on your life.”
“But it will be at the cost of yours,” I whispered.
His grip only tightened. We dashed past the hole and I glimpsed a large beady black eye tracking us. An angry dry rattle sounded as we passed. Chunks of rock exploded, the boom echoing through my head. The moss threw off enough light for me to see an enormous bug scrambling from the hole and across the scattered debris. It lifted its pincers to the ceiling. Its multifaceted eyes locked on us and its antenna fluttered about as though tasting the air. The creature’s dark armor reflected the luminescent moss in a dull blue as it leveled its pincers toward us.
It emerged from the hole, bearing a thick, triangular-wedged head. A solid thorax five times the width of my body supported four legs. Two large back legs sprouted from its abdomen, its knee joints scraping the ceiling. The giant bug was as big as the tunnel and I hoped the thing would be too large to get through, but then my hopes were dashed when it cracked the end of its pincers together with a sharp snap and charged.
Chapter Seven
Ashir bolted into the semi-darkness, his arms tightening around my waist and crushing me against his hard body. The tunnel swallowed us. Thank the gods for the soft glow of the strange luminescent moss, otherwise we’d be lost by impenetrable darkness. Ashir’s muscles bunched as he moved, racing over uneven rock with Dias and Savvas close behind.
The bug’s tarsal claws scratched the rocks as it scrambled after us. Each click of his armor plating against the rock was a shot through my brain. The tunnel closed around us the farther we ran into it. I hoped it would be small enough to stop the bug, but rocks exploded with a thunderous clap that scattered smaller debris over us as it forced its way through.
I slipped against Ashir’s sweat-slicked skin. “I’m slowing us all down.”
I wrenched myself from his grip. Ashir’s hand clasped mine in a clenching hold as we bolted down the endless passageway, Dias and Savvas on my heels. My fingers subconsciously tightened around his and the warm wash of comfort momentarily kept my panic at bay. The bug rattled its dry raspy sound tinged with anger. It was a wrong move to glance over my shoulder because a person couldn’t run forward at full speed and hope to stay on their feet.
