Magic Misled (Lizzie Grace #7) - Keri Arthur Page 0,10

dribbled down my cheeks. Not tears. Blood. I had to break the connection. Now. Before it was too late.

Before the sheer force of it tore me apart.

“He’s in the ravine.” The words were little more than a ragged croak. My throat was raw and scratchy, and speaking hurt. “Directly below this point. I have to rest.”

I dropped heavily onto a nearby rock, ignored the pain that slithered up my spine, and drew my knees up to my chest. The connection to the earth snapped as my feet left the ground, and the force of it rebounded so hard, my whole body shook. A tide of weakness threatened to wash me away, and it was all I could do to remain upright. To not collapse into unconsciousness and escape the tear-inducing pain pounding through every part of me.

“Tala, Mac, go,” Aiden said. “I’ll be with you in a minute.”

As the two of them moved off, he squatted in front of me and gently touched my bruised and icy feet. His hands were so warm they felt like a furnace, but maybe that was because I was suddenly so cold.

His gaze searched my face—a heat I could feel rather than see. “What the hell just happened, Liz? Your eyes are bleeding again, and you were glowing.”

“I was using the wild magic to find your friend.”

“It was more than that,” he growled. “I’m well aware of the toll using the wild magic takes on you, but this was something else. It was almost as if you were fading in front of our eyes.”

Because I probably was. I swallowed again. It didn’t help my throat. “There’s always a price to pay when it comes to using magic, Aiden. Wild magic is no different.”

“Yes, but this—” He stopped, and sucked in a breath. “This frightened the hell out of me.”

Me too. At least it did now that I had a chance to actually think about it. I finally opened my eyes and met his gaze. “I was using the earth’s energy as a sort of magical GPS, and that shouldn’t be possible. Doing the impossible does tend to take a little more effort.”

I said the last part lightly, but he didn’t look at all amused.

“I’ll be fine, Aiden,” I added. “Go do your job. I’ll wait here until you can spare someone to take me home.”

His gaze searched mine for several seconds, then he rose, stripped off his coat, and wrapped it around my shoulders.

“You forget I’m a werewolf and can smell your utter exhaustion. I’ve also got a very high detection rate when it comes to bullshit.”

A smile tugged at my lips. “Maybe one of these days I’ll learn to lie better.”

“Or maybe just learn to stop lying.” He kissed the top of my head. “Put your shoes and socks back on and warm your damn feet up. I won’t be long.”

“But the investigation—”

“If it is Patrick down there—and I don’t for an instant doubt your certainty—then someone will have to inform his parents. I’ve known them all my life—it wouldn’t be right to give someone else the task.”

I shifted a hand and briefly gripped his. His sorrow and grief were now well under control, but tears nevertheless stung my eyes. “I’m so sorry, Aiden.”

“So am I.” He grimaced. “It’s the one part of this job that I absolutely hate. Back soon.”

He turned and disappeared into the ravine’s darkness. I tugged his coat closer, letting its length fold over my toes rather than going to the effort of pulling on either my socks or boots. I just didn’t have the strength right now. Instead, I concentrated on my breathing, drawing in the musky, smoky scent that clung to the coat’s inner lining and finding an odd sort of comfort in it. In very many ways, he was my rock, as important to me as Belle.

Belle would not only always be in my life, she was in fact as vital as life to me.

Neither could be truly said about Aiden.

It took a while for the world to stop spinning and my heart rate to calm. The eye-watering ache in my head wasn’t showing any sign of abating, but that was no real surprise given I’d pushed to the utter limits of my strength, both physical and magical.

Had I pushed beyond them, what would have happened?

Could it have actually torn me apart?

That had certainly been Gabe’s fate, but we’d always presumed it was a combination of the spell he’d been using and the forces he’d unleashed