Page 65 of Hunted in the Shadows
Jon kicked free of the ice building on his left boot, but the right one caught. His stance wavered, cemented where he stood. I refocused on the left again, fastening that one, too. This strategy had held Gwen in the woods, and maybe it would save my life now.
Spots danced in my vision, briefly making my magic flicker and falter. I was teetering toward magic exhaustion. He knew it as well as me—I could read it in those smoldering brown eyes. I grit my teeth, conjuring a slender blade of ice from the structure at his feet, guiding it at an angle toward his throat. I let it move slowly, let panic build on his face. It was horrible that a piece of me purred at the sight of his fear. The most intimidating hunter I’d ever met, the terror of Elysian legends, dominated at my own hands.
Jon’s gaze snapped up, and he wound back, hurling the iron bar straight at me.
“Fuck!” I screamed, my heart pounding as I swooped my flight low. Air rushed against my hair as it narrowly avoided the spot I’d occupied moments ago.
CRACK.
Jon was stronger than Gwen—without more reinforcement to the spellwork, my ice couldn’t hold him nearly as long.The ice shattered with a deafening series of cracks as he broke free, like a thousand glass shards exploding. One of the thicker pieces slammed into my stomach, knocking the wind from my lungs.
As I flitted back up to gain control of my flight, cold metal grazed my shoulder—the end of a low-hanging chain.
An agony that was not of this world tore through me like wildfire and stole my senses. My vision blurred. Jon’s hand wrapped around my waist and pulled me out of the air.
I was on my back, pinned under his palm on the damp wood. The pressure was not crushing but frightening all the same. The gem shard pulsed in my pocket, but I couldn’t hope to reach it now. I struggled to pull in a full breath as Jon knelt over me, our wide eyes locking.
It was over.
The iron bar hovered excruciatingly close to my chest, prepared to deliver the same soul-sucking pain that throbbedthrough my shoulder. Even the crowd fell into murmurs of anticipation. Looking him straight in the face, I desperately attempted to summon ice, to rip his hands apart if I must. But I couldn’t. Not with the iron brushing against my blouse.
Jon’s heavy breaths became visible puffs. I couldn’t create searingly cold gales or icicles, but the air was freezing, clouding our world. He blinked hard as if in realization.
“Missed,” he whispered.
I grimaced, staring up at him without comprehension.
“Missed.” His voice was rougher, like an order.
Was he seriously mocking my missed shots right before he dealt the final blow?
Then, it hit me—mist.
I could hide us. I forced power behind what remained of my magic, teetering on the edge of consciousness as my iron wound burned in protest. The cloudiness thickened around us, obscuring our surroundings until it was just us two.
He inched the iron toward my exposed navel. My breathing turned to whimpers. In my feverish exhaustion, I was certain he wanted to kill me in private. Perhaps it served me right for not listening to him about staying away. I could only hope he would do it quickly and spare me the agony of the iron’s burn.
But there were worse fates than dying at the hands of a man I loved.
The word split my mind—beautifully, painfully bright.
Loved.
I wish I could have told him, even if it changed nothing. A breathless sob shook through me, and something in Jon’s expression broke as he read mine. He swallowed hard. The hand pinning me twitched.
He couldn’t do it, I realized.But he had to. I gave the feeblest nod of permission. If he didn’t kill me, we’d both die at the hands of those bloodthirsty onlookers.
His grip shifted, covering my arms and legs. Raising the bar high over his head, he brought it down.
I flinched.
But the pain never came. I turned my head to find the end of the iron rod grinding into the boards beside me.
I met his eyes, a conspiring sort of look filling them. He raised his eyebrows expectantly.
And I did my part—I screamed. It was the easiest thing I’d ever done. I shrieked my lungs raw, releasing every drop of fear and fury that had found a home in my bones since being captured.
My voice tapered off, followed by my magic. I fell still.
