Page 28 of The Bound Mage
“You,” she hissed. “What are you doing here? Didheleave you?”
It just flickered, its form shifting and changing as it considered her.
“I know you can talk,” Araya snapped. “I’ve heard you talk to Loren—Ispoke to you at the Shadowed Veil. So what do you want?”
It cocked its head—or what she assumed was its head—rearing up slightly. But it still didn’t speak.
Araya scowled, scrubbing the bar of soap over her skin. Dozens of tiny scrapes she hadn’t noticed stung under the thick lather, an unwelcome reminder of that terrible, frantic flight through the woods.
Loren and his shadows had saved her life.
But he was still a bastard for locking her in this room again.
Araya reached for the pitcher beside the tub, pouring the cooling water over her hair until she finally worked the last of the sticks and snarls from it. Finally feeling more like herself, sheleaned back, letting her eyes drift closed again—until a sudden, uncomfortable thought jolted her fully awake.
Loren’s shadows moved with him. He could speak to them—command them.
Could heseethrough them?
She crossed her arms across her chest, glaring at the little shadow. “Turn around.”
It ignored her.
Her cheeks burning, Araya snatched the towel from the stool, splashing water out of the tub in her haste. She dried herself in quick, brisk strokes before shoving her arms into her robe and knotting it tightly around her waist.
It followed her into the main room, its cool tendrils coiling around her bare ankles, clinging for a moment too long before releasing her with a slow, reluctant slide. It pooled in front of the fire, its form expanding as it stretched out, staking its claim on the warm stone. It almost reminded her of Loren, with its sinuous grace and the dangerous power humming underneath its silence.
Idiot, she scolded herself, yanking a brush through her hair.He locked you in this room.
She stormed over to the desk, yanking open the drawer and staring down at the list she’d started yesterday. She’d been focused on escaping and getting back to Jaxon—but now she had other challenges she couldn’t ignore.
Mainly, this bond with Loren. He was right about one thing—itwasa problem. If everything he’d said about it was true, even Jaxon wouldn’t be able to stop the Arcanum from using her as a tool to hurt Loren. Honestly, after the way they’d left things, she wasn’t sure Jaxon would even try.
Araya pressed her palm against her sternum, feeling the faint pull of the bond under her skin. There was no way she could hideit from Jaxon—not now. It would have to be dealt with before she went back.
But first, she had to find a way to convince the fae to let her go.
Araya sank into the chair, dragging a fresh sheet of parchment toward her and picking up the quill. There had to be something she could trade for her freedom. Everyone wanted something—and the fae were no exception. She just had to figure out what it was.
Hours later,the only conclusion Araya had arrived at was that she didn’t know nearly enough.
She stared down at the parchment, the ink smudged in places where she’d tapped the quill against the page in thought. She’d written down everything she could remember—everything that had happened at the Shadowed Veil, everything she had overheard, everything she had felt in the moments before the darkness had relented. But she’d found few answers, and far too many questions.
Her frustration bled into the sharp angles of her handwriting, her knuckles whitening around the quill as she glared at where she’d scrawledMATES?across the parchment in uneven strokes, the question mark heavy with disbelief.
It made no sense—but somehow, she believed it. There was no other explanation for why the amulet she’d made to test their theory had only started to work when Loren’s blood mixed with hers. It didn’t follow any rules of magic she knew, but there was no denying the reality of it.
The shadow flicked its tail, curling loosely around her wrist. Araya shook it off, gently disentangling the amorphous creaturefrom its perch and setting it back on the desk. It withdrew its tendrils, managing to look impressively affronted expression for a creature without form or face.
She smiled at it, charmed despite herself. It was hard to believe thatthiswas the same magic that had been willing to kill them all just to destroy Loren. This thing might be a spy, but it was almost…cute. She flicked a scrap piece of parchment off the desk, watching the little shadow race after it. It pounced, its wisp-like tail curling and twitching—for all the world like a strange, ephemeral cat.
But the force that had spoken to her on the Shadowed Sea had been…terrifying. She had no doubt that Jaxonhadknown or at least suspected the fae were sheltering behind it. That’s why the New Dominion was so interested in finding a way to dispel it—so they could crush the last of the resistance.
Resistance—the very idea still felt alien to her. But that’s what it was, wasn’t it? How many fae had Serafina smuggled out of the New Dominion while Araya remained blissfully unaware? All this time, her best friend had been working with the fae, and she’d had no idea.
Araya sucked in a deep breath, glancing back down at her notes without seeing them. Maybe the Shadowed Veildidprotect the fae from the New Dominion, but it had also trapped them under a blanket of near-constant darkness. Starving them and creating monsters like thezal’vorr.
Everything she knew and every theory she’d come up with suggested that Loren should have been able to call it to heel now that he was free…but he hadn’t. Because he couldn’t—not unless she accepted this bond with him.
