Page 63 of Ransomed to the World
He stood still at the end of the alley, and she slowed her pace, wondering if he sensed her or something. He looked left, then right, then crouched and jumped.
And fucking leapt thirty feet straight up and sailed right over the wall.
She came to a halt at the base of the wall where he’d been standing just a moment ago. Where on earth was he going? She looked behind her, back toward the tavern, but her instincts said to follow him.
He needed her.
She thought about creating a portal, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to when she had no idea what was on the other side of the wall.
No, she’d better play it safe.
And hurry if she wanted to keep following Xander.
She brushed her fingers against the wall, able to feel the snap of magic warding the city. It didn’t want anyone getting in or out. She pushed the darkness into the stones, then more and more until the bright sparks of magic began to dim. When she pulled her hand back, it immediately brightened, so she moved it closer again.
Once the magic went dark, Annora took a bracing breath for courage and pushed her way into the wall. The pressure of the stones around her was a figment of her imagination, but that didn’t make it feel any less real. She pushed her way forward, ignoring how it felt the same as when she tried to escape her uncle but found no end to her underground prison.
The pressure around her increased as worry gathered at the back of her mind. The magic in the wall nipped at her as it sensed her intrusion and began to tighten, inch by inch.
Well, fuck.
She hurried along, her lugs aching, then burst free, stumbling as she emerged from the other side of the wall, her form taking shape as she emerged from the afterworld. She gulped, drinking down the fresh air, reveling in the night breeze, all crisp and cool against her skin. She glanced over her shoulder and shook her head. Fuck if that damned wall wasn’t at least six feet thick.
It couldn’t have taken more than a minute, but Xander was gone.
“Shit.”
She took a hesitant step forward, then stopped. If she guessed wrong, she would never find him. Pushing away her unease, she closed her eyes, her thumb unconsciously rubbing the tattoo on her wrist.
And immediately felt a pull.
Even before she opened her eyes, she took off, pulling on the darkness to hide herself in the shadows. Male voices floated in the air, and she stopped short.
Xander!
She hadn’t really expected to find him.
She approached quietly and saw him being escorted by two guys, and by escorted, she meant they were leading him away. Though they appeared relaxed, tension made the air brittle, and her unease increased.
She squinted, allowing the afterworld to cover her eyes, then had to stifle her gasp. They were gryphons! As they strode up the hillside, she kept her distance, sensing that if they discovered her, they wouldn’t be pleased.
Her steps slowed when she saw three others waiting at the peak. When they all knelt and bowed their heads, Annora stopped dead, even though she was too far away to hear what they were saying. The older female waved the other two off, and they retreated, but Xander remained on one knee, his head lowered in submission.
Everything inside her rebelled at seeing the fight go out of him. When the older woman lowered herself in front of him, Annora tensed. They spoke for a few more moments, until Xander nodded. The woman embraced him, and Annora stifled a growl as a wave of possessiveness threatened to consume her. Her feet twitched with the need to charge up there and yank him away.
The only thing stopping her was that Xander didn’t object.
Moonlight gleamed off a piece of metal in the woman’s hand, and Annora’s stomach dropped in dread.
A knife.
Without hesitation, Annora grabbed her blade, and cursed the distance separating them.
She was too far away.
Desperation threatened to choke her as the woman raised the blade over Xander’s unprotected back. Darkness surged around her, soaking the knife until it glittered in the night.
She had one chance to get this right.
