Page 59 of Twisted Bonds

Before I can respond, he cocks his fist back. My eyes widen slightly in surprise as I duck the blow. “Not man enough to use Chroma against me?” I ask, despite knowing it will only infuriate him further. I can’t help it. He’s so fun to piss off. The way the veins in his neck pop out and his face turns the color of beetroot.

Another fist flies to my gut, but as I’m moving from it, something distant demands all of my attention. The blow lands as I double over, gasping for breath, but I don’t even care. The wards around my home are ringing in my mind. An outsider is here.

Knuckles meet my jaw with a grunt, and I watch a trickle of my blood splatter across the white marble floor. Sending all of my Chroma out in one burst, I knock back Callum and Mira, but more importantly, I send the creeping sensor throughout the many levels searching for the intruder.

Climbing to my knees, I don’t pay attention as Callum raises a foot to kick me back again.

There.

Two bodies on the floor of the main level. My two guards. The intruders are ascending the stairs at a breakneck speed. Racing to us. Someone is in my home, here for my prisoners for certain…

Malicryn. I’m too late. Panic seeps into my bones with the realization. She’s here to take Mira.

“Mira, run,” I tell her, but they can’t hear me. They’re arguing as his foot continues to pound into me. My vision darkens.

“Callum! Stop!” Mira’s voice permeates the blackness. Another kick to my ribs. Blood is pooling on the white marble floor beneath me.

Malicryn’s here to take her to Yurghen. In an instant, my decision is made. The one I’ve been wrestling with since her arrival. I push Callum back once more with a blast of my magic, just enough to get his attention. I don’t want to hurt him. He’ll need to fight for her. To protect her.

“Run!” I scream at them. This time, they hear me. The blows stop.

Chroma swirls around me, ready to pull the stone down on top of Mal and her companions. Instead, my access to the source is severed as Mira casts a shield around me.

My focus is yanked back into the study to find Mira kneeling in front of me. Her soft hands touching my face. Somehow, the gentle heat of her skin on mine hurts so much more than everything else right now. “Someone’s here for you. You must run.”

My words are mumbled, but a broken jaw is the least of my worries right now. She gasps, looking to Callum. I try to climb to my feet, but the sharp pain is too much.

“It’s a trick.” His gruff voice is thick with disdain as he spits on the floor beside me.

I summon all my strength to roar at them. “Leave now! Get as far from here as you can.”

I close my eyes, resting my head against the cool floor, waiting for them to comply. Instead, a small trickle of white Chroma flows between Mira and I. She’s- she’s healing me. With white Chroma no less.

A sense of relief floods inside me. She has a chance.

“Go now. Before it’s too late.”

It’s comes out like a desperate whisper hoarse from pain. It hurts to breathe. Broken ribs.

“Back up, Callum. You’ve done enough.”

The ferocity in her voice takes me by surprise. Almost as much as her channeling white Chroma. Incredible. I blink at her as the pain in my body subsides just enough for me to climb to my knees.

“It’s okay,” she whispers to me as the magic seeps into my body, slowly re-knitting my jaw. I try to push her off, urge her to run, but my efforts are futile.

And now it’s too late.

The door to my room bursts open again, two figures shadow the doorframe. How did they ascend so fast? I throw myself to my feet, despite the burning pain. Then Mira shrieks with delight, running to them.

“Bobble! Sunder!”

I blink as Sunder scans the room for threats while Bobble lifts her into his arms.

My insides are a deflating balloon. I pull myself fully upright. I won’t let them see me like this, but Callum’s foot finds my back, knocking me back to the floor. Raising my hands in mock surrender, another shield, Sunder’s, falls over me.

They’re going to kill me.

The two new Shards move into the room. The ginger moving with feline grace as he spins her around, happy tears falling down her cheeks. My eyes rip away, repelled by their little reunion.