The curse burned wildly within me. Infernally hot, it scalded my bones, seared the muscles of my heart. Every nerve ending screamed for me to stop, but I ignored the pain. It couldn’t kill me. Not when I was already dead.
I’d seen it happen. The king’s daughter had sliced my ring from the Night Elf’s finger. And now, I knew what they had planned.
They were about to make a terrible mistake.
So far, I was breaking my body more than the bars. Hot ichor poured from my shoulder, smoking with the curse. But I blocked out the pain, desperate to get to her. No matter what it did to me, I had to break through. My soul depended on it.
My lungs heaved as I threw myself across the cell with all my strength. At last, with a great crack, the bars broke free from their moorings, crashing to the stone floor so hard that the walls shook. I leapt over them, rushing down the hallway like a storm wind.
I knew my way around the place, exactly how to find the stairs that would lead me up to the amphitheater, and I slipped into a narrow spiral stairwell. Inwardly, I cursed the people who’d built this tower a thousand feet high. A wildly impractical testament to ego.
I was taking the stairs two at a time, flying through the darkness. Lucky for me, I no longer felt fatigue, or my muscles burning. I hadn’t felt that for eons; I could run forever.
I knew there was only one place they could have taken the Night Elf.
As I ascended, I didn’t pause to savor my freedom. There was only one thing on my mind—getting my soul back. In all the time I’d been locked in here, I had never had a reason to break free. Now, it was everything.
No, maybe there were two things driving me. That dull ember in me wanted to keep her safe, too. Even through my curse, the mating bond glowed.
I rushed up the stairs, smoky shadows whipped around me, concealing me. It didn’t matter, though. No one was around. They were probably all in the stone seats above, salivating over the thought of watching the death of a Night Elf. Rubbing their hands together with glee at her demise.
Anger coiled through me, and I moved even faster, desperate. Was I too late? This place had too many stairs by about a thousand.
If she died, would I feel it?
At last, at the very top of the tower, I slammed through a wooden door, onto the curving walkway that surrounded the amphitheater.
In the shadows above all the others, I stared out over the crowded stone seats. The last time I was here, I’d lost my soul.
This time, I intended to regain it.
Chapter 9
Ali
I stared down at the chasm, certain that I was looking into the Well of Wyrd itself.
The well was one of the few earthly portals to Yggdrasill, the great cosmic tree that bound our world with other realms: those of the elves, the giants, the dwarves, and so on. Only a couple feet of granite and a few inches of stone lip separated me from oblivion.
To fall into the Well of Wyrd would be to fall into an endless void. Eternal isolation. Certain death. Panic slid over my mind. Now would be a good time for an escape.
“Skalei!” The dagger appeared tight in my grip.
Revna raised her wand, readying another freezing spell. But this time, I was ready. As the hex hissed toward me, I ducked, jerking hard on my rope. Now it was enough of a surprise that the guard wasn’t ready, and he stumbled right into the path of the hex.
The spell hit him in the center of his back, and instantly, his body went rigid, hands unclenching from the rope. For a moment, he teetered on the brink of the well, his features fixed in an expression of pure terror. Then he tipped over the edge and disappeared into the depths, silent as the night.
But Revna wasn’t silent. No, she was screaming, trying to charge her wand.
And I was free. Already, I’d flipped Skalei around to slice through the ropes on my wrists. Its magical blade cut through them like a hot knife through butter. All around, the crowd began to shout. Were they scared of me?
Revna certainly was. She was backing away from me, heading for the stairs. I followed after her. I wasn’t sure what I