the irises. He said, “You took the blood.”
I was mesmerized. I whispered, “Yes.”
His lips pressed hard, crushing soft flesh against unyielding teeth. Lightning in a bottle, electricity crackled across my lips. The ground shifted and I could have cared less, lost in the rapture of the kiss. The sensations spiked, threatening to overwhelm me. Then, he pushed deeper. His fingers tangled in my hair.
“You’re mine, sword-bearer,” the monster whispered.
I shoved at Vane’s chest and pulled back, managing to add a few inches between us. “I don’t belong to anyone.”
Hard green covered his irises like a shield. “Did you kiss him yet?”
“Why do you care?”
Vane’s lips twisted into an icy smile. “You’re the sword-bearer. The fate of this world rests in whoever controls you.”
I gasped. I couldn’t help it. The cruel words ripped at the core of all my fears. My hand shot out to slap him. He caught it before I could connect with his cheek. His other hand tightened in the tresses of my hair, making me wince.
He growled, repeating, “Did. You. Kiss. Him?”
“None. Of. Your. Business.”
“Good,” he replied, seemingly satisfied.
I scowled.
Green receded from his eyes and he released me. “Put on the necklace. I’m not close to you and you don’t have Excalibur. Channeling my power is not going to be easy.”
“When is it ever easy with you?” I muttered.
A finger slid along the line of my jaw. “It could have been.”
He snapped his fingers again and limbo began shifting. Fluffy bits of white cloud rose around me and hardened into forest-green hedges. The world darkened and we stood, once again, in the maze on Aegae. I gazed at Vane. The words we said—the decision I made when I didn’t choose him—throbbed within the confines of the hedges. Silent shadows haunted the air, oppressive mournful shapes that threatened to swarm me, sucking the life from my bones.
Vane smiled. He was torturing me and he knew it.
Leaning down, he whispered into my ear, “Do you regret this yet?”
Tears prickled in my eyes, which I closed to hold back. To shut him out. I fought to keep holding on to myself. To survive this. To survive him.
I opened my eyes to find I was back on the mountain.
Matt stood in front of me. The mountain shook. People rushed by. I couldn’t hear any sound beyond the pounding of my heart. He silently handed me the necklace. By the odd expression on his face, I wondered how much he’d seen despite being banished by Vane. I didn’t have the courage to ask, and as soon as I snapped on the necklace, I didn’t have the strength. Vane’s magic flowed through the necklace with reckless abandon.
I dropped to the floor with a strangled gasp. My hands touched the wounded surface of the mountain. I shuddered under the onslaught of a foreign power. Unfiltered, raw, angry magic threatened to tear me apart. Above us, the clouds thundered. Lightning flashed between them and heavy rain poured down in sheets. People cried out in further dismay, fearing a living dragon spewed fire off the mountain summit.
“Help her, Merlin,” Vane commanded in my head.
I barely noticed Matt drop to his knees behind me. His arms wrapped around my body and Matt took control. Somehow, he directed the magic into the ground, and the earth soaked it up like it did the rain.
I managed to stay strong for another few seconds until the mountain calmed.
***
“Vane, I pegged a deer. It’s in the woods. Fifty paces in that direction.” The little princess stood at the mouth of the cave, pointing outside.
A chilly breeze blew in. Under a warm, fur coat, I barely felt its sting. I’d never worn anything so warm before in my life. I could get used to it. I looked at the tiny girl, her gold-brown hair clumsily plaited and tied to keep it out of the way. I’d plaited it for her after some persuasion. With a sigh, I tossed kindling into the fire I’d just started. “Why didn’t you bring it with you? I hope you didn’t leave it alive.”
She wrinkled a pert nose. “It is dead, but I’m not touching it. You made me do the kill. It’s yours.”
I stood up, sword held casually in one hand, and walked closer. I loomed over her. “I made you because we have no other food.”
“It watched me. Sad and not…” Her piquant face looked down at the ground. “It was an easy shot. It walked in front of the arrow.” Lifting her head to