down the hallway.
She gasped as he pinned her with one hand, pushing so hard that she couldn't breathe. She felt her ribs crack, and she grabbed his leg, fighting to hold on, to stay conscious, to stay alive.
She raised her head and looked back to see Catherine reaching for her through the bars. Regret filled her heart. She couldn't leave her sister behind. Cat didn't believe, and would never be able to save herself. "Cat! Don't give up!" Then Deathbringer turned a corner, and Catherine vanished from sight.
Chapter Eighteen
Forcing himself to stay calm, Ian closed his eyes. He focused all his energy into his body, sending healing into all his cells. He could feel his muscles trembling as they tried to fight off the spell that had immobilized them. He concentrated even more intently, drawing upon a lifetime of trying to fight off the spell that had haunted him for so long. Magic sucked, but there had to be a way to defeat a spell as simple as this one.
His little finger twitched, and triumph shot through him. Come on! He drilled down harder, willing all his focus into his right hand.
His thumb moved.
Then his index finger.
Then—
Ian! Alice's desperate plea burst through his shields, and he faltered, his mouth going dry at the desperation in her voice. The shields he'd erected against her so carefully shattered, and her anguish filled him.
He couldn't stop his response to her, and he didn't want to. Alice! What's wrong?
Cardiff has me— A wave of her pain washed through him, and a dark sense of fury rose through Ian at the thought of that bastard with his hands on Alice.
With a roar of rage, Ian broke through the spell in one swift, violent move. He leapt to his feet and immediately opened his mind to Alice, latching onto her through their blood bond. He knew instantly that she was three floors down and moving quickly up the stairwell.
Cardiff was bringing Alice to him.
Ian bolted over toward the doorway that Cardiff had sprinted down previously, and he lined up beside the open door. He called out his maces and gripped them, ready to take him out.
The clatter of hoofbeats was getting closer, and Ian readied himself. Stay low, Alice— Before he could finish his warning, Deathbringer burst through the doorway. Ian instinctively swung, aiming for Cardiff's chest. But as he moved, he realized that Cardiff had Alice in his arms and was using her as a shield to hide behind. He'd put her right in Ian's line of attack.
Alice's face went white with horror at the sight of Ian's mace heading toward her chest, and Ian swore as he fought to alter his trajectory. Alice! He threw every bit of strength into his blow, dragging his mace to the side just as the trio blew by him. His mace slammed into the stone wall with a brutal clatter, missing Alice's face by a fraction of an inch.
"Jesus." The terror of what he'd almost done tore through him, and Ian staggered as the image of Alice's bloodied body filled his mind. For a second, he was frozen, overwhelmed by what had nearly happened. He couldn't move as Cardiff reined in his mount, spinning the massive beast toward him, Alice still locked in his arms.
All Ian could do was stare at Alice. Her face was streaked with dirt and taut with fear, but there was a fire blazing in her eyes. A courage he hadn't seen before. And as he stared at her, he felt his heart stutter. The woman who he'd blocked from his heart only moments ago filled him, and suddenly his world became only about her. No one but Alice.
"You're free." Cardiff whipped out his wand, but this time, Ian didn't hesitate. He dodged the beam of light from the wand, circling the horse as he tried to get closer to Alice to pry her out of the bastard's arms. But the horse was too quick, and there was no way to free her. It was a standoff, because Ian wouldn't strike for fear of hitting Alice, and he couldn't afford to have Cardiff die until the curse was lifted.
Then there was a shimmer of low pressure in the air, and Ian grinned as Kane appeared at his side, accompanied by six members of the Order of the Blade. Gideon Roarke, their interim leader. Quinn Masters. Elijah Ross. Zach Roderick. Gabe Watson. Plus their deceased leader's young son, Drew Cartland. Ian swore when he saw