Page 101 of Shifting Hearts 1
“Tell that to the thing that tried to rip your spine out,” I bite back. “Sorry. I know soul magic is forbidden but that clearly didn’t stop someone from summoning this thing.”
We follow the trail deep into the woods behind the falls.
I keep my energy low, and my spell work shielded. Lucian stalks ahead like a shadow with teeth, his every movement controlled, silent, and deadly. I don’t ask how he moves so quietly for someone his size. I’ve seen him fight before. I know what he is when he’s angry.
And right now? He’s fucking furious.But not at me. No, his anger is aimed at the thing that is hunting us. And at the bond. Perhaps even at himself. Right now, he is angry at everything except me it seems.
The trail stops at the ruins of an old chapel, half-swallowed by ivy and stone. The air here is heavier. Sickness clings to the moss-covered walls like mold. I almost gag from the magical pressure alone.
“This is it,” I whisper. “The summoning site.”
Lucian crouches beside a blackened sigil etched into a rock. “This symbol…”
“Isn’t wolf,” I say, cutting in. “It’s void born.”
His head snaps up, his gaze connecting with mine. “What the hell does that mean?”
“It means whoever’s behind this has been to places wolves don’t go. Places witches only whisper about.”
His eyes search mine. “Can you stop them?”
“I can try.”
“But?”
I inhale shakily. “But the cost might be more than just blood.”
He frowns but remains silent. Neither of us say as we walk back to town. Not until the lights from the town glow in the distance.
“You should’ve told me,” Lucien says, breaking the silence.
I blink. “Told you what?”
“That you were strong enough to burn this place to the ground.”
I snort. “Would it have changed anything?”
“No.” He stops. Looks down at me. “But I wouldn’t have left thinking you were weak.”
There’s no venom in his voice. Just regret. He sounds old and tired. But for once he also sounds real. And it’s that truth, not the rejection or the pain, that splits something open inside me.
“I didn’t need you to believe I was strong,” I whisper. “I just needed you not to leave.”
He steps closer, heat pouring off him like a damn furnace. His eyes burn with an emotion I can’t place. I can feel the restraint in his bones, the tension in every muscle. I know he wants to close the space between us, and I know he’s fighting it.
And I hate that a part of me wants him to lose the battle.
“Emilia…”
“No,” I say softly, lifting a hand. “Don’t. Not unless you mean it. Not unless you’re ready to face what this bond really means.”
He stares at me for a heartbeat too long before he turns and leaves. Again. But this time, I don’t cry. I just watch the shadowsswallow him whole and wonder how much longer either of us can survive pretending we don’t already belong to each other.
SIX
The Heat Beneath the Skin
Lucian
