Page 98 of Realm of Wind and Vines
There’s a sharp tug on the mate bond, and he jerks back slightly as he no doubt remembers what we shared the day I last called him that. Panic flashes across his face once more. I press my advantage.
Summoning my magic, I draw forth that massive inferno of love that I feel for Draven.
And then I shove it straight at him, attaching that emotion to his chest.
It makes the intensity of it decrease in my own chest as Draven instead feels half of that love that I feel.
He gasps.
“Remove it!” he blurts out, panic and dread flashing like lightning in his eyes.
“No. This is half of the love I feel for you. Half. And you love me just as much.”
“Remove itnow!”
“Fight, Draven! Goddess damn it, fight back!” Desperation bleeds into my own voice as I scream the words up at him. “Fight for me! Fight for us.”
My magic continues pouring into him, forcing him to feel all the endless love that I have for him.
There is another violent yank on the mate bond.
Terror washes over Draven’s features. Still straddling my chest, he tightens his grip on my wrist as he pins it harder against the ground. “Stop it!”
“No.” I stare up into his panicked eyes. “I will keep my magic connected to you like this every second of every day for the rest of my life. I will force you to feel what you really feel!”
The mate bond pulses hard inside me.
It feels as if there is a rope attached to my chest on one side while the other side is hanging down inside a dark abyss, and someone is trying to haul himself back up that rope.
No, not someone.
Him.
Draven’s chest heaves as he shakes his head at me while anger and panic and hatred and fear fight like wolves behind his eyes. “Cut off your magic right now.”
“No.” It’s a simple word. Full of defiance. Full of challenge. Full of threats.
“Cut it off!”
“No.” I keep my love pouring into him through my magic. “Since your heart is still lost, I will make you feelmyheart for the rest of our lives. My love is strong enough for the both of us.”
“Then I will cut it out!” he screams at me, his voice almost breaking from the panic that fills it.
His desperate eyes are wild and full of insanity as he yanks the blade down from my throat to instead press it against my chest, right over my heart.
“I will cut your fucking heart out,” he snarls at me. “So that I never have to feel it again. So that I never have to feel likethisagain.”
“Then do it!” I scream back at him.
Yanking up my free hand, I grab his wrist. He jerks in surprise, but I keep my grip firmly around his wrist and use that to press his knife harder against my chest. My heart beats out of control as I hold his knife hand steady there, one simple push away from killing me.
“Do it!” All the weeks of loss and pain and agony come crashing down on me at the same time as I scream up at Draven in defiance and challenge. “Cut it out! Rip my heart right out of my chest. It’s yours anyway, so do whatever the hell you want with it!”
Anger roars through his eyes.
Yanking his wrist out of my grip, he raises his hand above my chest.
A scream of fury rips from his throat and splits the world around us as he rams the blade straight towards my heart.
