body shook under the trident’s assault. My eyes locked on Matt’s, and I knew what Vane wanted from me. My heart ached with the decision.
“I’m sorry,” I thought to Matt, and instead of holding on, I let go. As soon as I did, the lion let out a roar. Green magic greedily gobbled blue. It peeled away from me and was reabsorbed back into itself… back into its owner as Vane stripped Matt of his magic. Matt let out another pained roar, but Vane didn’t stop.
Seconds stretched into infinitely long moments of time. When Vane finished, my body shook. My palms and knees dug into the coarse fibers of the carpet. Even on all fours, I struggled not to collapse completely. Matt let out a low moan. His head lowered to the ground. I crawled over to him.
With extreme effort, I pushed myself up into a sitting position and cradled the lion’s head in my lap. His eyes were closed again. He lay still. I put a shaking hand on rough, yellow cheeks and to my relief, felt a hot, steady breath. He still lived.
“I told you he would,” Vane said, reading my mind.
I blinked away the film of tears that obscured my sight. I looked up at him. The Fisher King stood tall. The trident, which he held like a staff, rested confidently in his hand.
“Did you finally get what you wanted?” I spat at him.
Vane crossed over to me. For the first time, the ice in his eyes shrank back. Around my neck, the Dragon’s Eye heated. Ignoring Matt’s head in my lap, Vane knelt down on one knee. He caught the back of my head with one hand, his fingers tangling in the dark blond strands, tugging and straining the follicles on my scalp.
His lips twisted into a small smile. “I haven’t gotten everything. I’m working on that part.”
He jerked my head so that my face tilted up to his. He gave me a hard kiss, one that didn’t promise pleasure, only possession. One laced with icy control, except that it sparked heat wherever it touched me. My body yearned to press closer. It didn’t care that there was no respect in the act. It didn’t care that he made me betray someone I should have protected. It just craved his touch. The knowledge startled me, shamed me, and quickly sprouted into anger.
I bit down on his lip. Vane pulled back. Fresh blood beaded on his bottom lip.
I had to stop myself from putting a hand up to the cut. “You don’t own me.”
His eyes flashed. He wiped the blood with a thumb. Reaching down, he grabbed the Dragon’s Eye gemstone and smeared blood across the gem. Then with casual arrogance, he said, “It’s only a matter of time.”
I looked at him steadily. “We have a deal. It’s your turn. Save them.”
He smirked. “As you wish.”
With those words, Vane disappeared. I sat in the library all alone with Matt. I closed my eyes. Around my neck, the ruby gem of the Dragon’s Eye glowed with green magic. I realized with a sinking feeling that the amulet was still bound to Matt’s magic; and now that Vane possessed Matt’s magic, it bound me to him without any barrier. From somewhere off in the distance, I heard Vane’s dark laugh.
“Worry later, Dorothy,” he said. “Right now, you need to wake up.”
***
Opening my eyes, I found myself back on the rooftop. I was smack in the middle of the battlefield with a sudden heart-pounding jerk.
“Sword-bearer,” Hari shouted at me. “It is coming!”
Hari, Gia, Blake, Grey and the remaining fifty or so wizards all ran to the edge of the rooftops. The air shifted once again. Another eerie pall fell over the beach. Water receded rapidly in anticipation of the colossal wave. The hand of a higher power pulled back the water and became poised once again to teach us a humbling lesson. I jumped up from the cot.
“Ryan,” Matt said weakly from behind me.
I turned back to him. “Are you all right?”
He struggled to get up. I moved to help him. I touched his shoulders. He flinched. Then, with a shake of his head, he hauled himself up. He asked, “What’s happening?”
“Another tsunami,” I said.
He looked out at the ocean. His body moved sluggishly, like someone who’d just woken from a long sleep or coma. The lines on his face had deepened, making him appear older than he was. His shoulders drooped just a bit from the weight of the