flood my mind, drowning me in his sorrow and worry. He’s terrified.
I stretch my arms toward him, beckoning him closer. I don’t care if it’s dangerous; Beck is alive. He’s alive and he’s here. With me.
You’re safe, I say in my mind. A cry rips from my throat. It’s insane, but all I want is to run away with him. Right now.
Run with me? I ask.
He shakes his head and turns his face from mine. I can’t.
He moves deeper into the fold behind Eamon. I blink, trying to understand what I’m seeing. Did he really turn his back on me? Did we just communicate, after months of nothing but static? Does he hate me? Was Mother telling me the truth?
Two hands grab me from behind and pull me down. “Your Mother said to stop,” Dawson says.
“Let me go!” I kick at him, but he continues to hold my arms down. I can’t move my arms. And if I can’t move my arms, I can’t do magic.
Damn it. Damn it. Damn it.
“Beck!” I scream. “Come back! Please.” Not even the roar of battle muffles my sobs.
Annalise materializes next to us. “Get her out of here. She’s going to ruin everything.”
While still holding my arms, Dawson transports us away from the battle and into my office at the State’s building.
“Let me go!” I sputter as Dawson releases me. “I could have had him! Eamon was right there.”
“And so was Beck. You were headed into their trap.”
I cross my arms and clench my jaw. “There was no trap.”
“Have you forgotten that no one can kill Beck without harming you? Eamon is using him as a shield. If we moved against him, he’d most likely kill Beck and in turn, you.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. How did I forget that? All this time, I’ve been worried that he’s dead. But of course he’s not. Because I would be dead, too.
Which means, there’s still the possibility he isn’t here willingly.
I pound the side of my head with my palm. What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I remember anything?
Annalise and Oliver materialize, one after the other, into my office. Their eveningwear is splattered with mud and jagged holes line Annalise’s dress. She glares at me. “You stupid, stupid girl. Are you trying to get killed?”
“I’m…” My voice trembles. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize—”
Annalise’s lip curls. “You didn’t realize what? That running into a battle with no training is a completely idiotic thing to do?” She rips her torn skirt in half and tosses the rags into the fire. “You’re not ready for that kind of fight. Not yet.”
“But Ryker—”
“Is a trained State assassin. He knew what he was doing. Unlike you who thought it was a good idea to run into the middle of the fight and fling magic all over the place. That woman you nearly killed is one of Malin’s advisors. She’s with us.”
My mind spins. “Ryker is an assassin?” I manage to choke out.
“He’s an Enforcer. That’s his job. To kill people. Humans. Light witches. Splinter group. It doesn’t matter. If they threaten the State or you, Ryker takes care of them.”
I press my fingertips into the bridge of my nose. “He doesn’t work in correspondence deciphering wristlet communications?”
My voice sounds pathetic, even to me.
Annalise’s thin laugh fills the air. “Of course not. Why do you think he took so many extra classes?” She shakes her head at me. “Malin would never allow him to be your mate if he was only a low level clerk.”
I sit on the edge of the sofa. The tattered, dirty bottom of my dress brushes my bare feet. Ryker is a State Enforcer. I knew this. Back at school, he let everyone around him know it was his career choice. But I had no idea he was training to be an assassin. To kill enemies of the State…like Beck.
The two of them are out there right now. Only Ryker can’t touch him, because doing so will hurt me. At least for a few more days.
Then it’s open season on Beck. And me.
I drop my head into my hands. Nothing makes sense.
I remember the way Ryker looked at me, when I told him about our binding. He grabbed my arm and told me he was loyal. To never, ever forget.
He was warning me.
His loyalty is with the State. Just like mine should be. And when the time comes, he’ll do his duty.
Even if it means killing someone who was once his best friend.
Tears splatter across the bodice of