Shadows and Light by Cari Z

Author:Cari Z [Z, Cari]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Erotic Romance Fiction
Publisher: Totally Entwined Group Ltd
Published: 2016-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

“Xian—no, we need him to—” Rafael finally found his voice, too late to do any good.

“No, we don’t,” Xian assured him, stepping over to Mina and kneeling beside her. Her skin had gone gray, her eyes had rolled back into her skull and she was trembling unstoppably. “If we were to try and bring her out with hypnosis, yes, but we aren’t. There is a simple spell that can break this, with enough power behind it.” Taking up his athame, he sliced a thin line over the back of his hand. “Give me the quill from his desk.”

Rafael handed the plume over and watched raptly as his master dipped the pointed nib into his blood, then raised it to Mina’s face. He drew dark lines beneath her eyes and across her temples, a thin one down the length of her nose and over her lips, and after another dip he drew a circle on her forehead, thick and heavy. “Get out the blood.”

Erran’s blood. Rafael hated to touch it, but he withdrew the vial from where it was secured. Xian handed him the quill. “Put one drop on the end of this, then put it away. Carefully, pet.”

Rafael worked the edge of the stopper up, prying at the lead until there was a small hole. The scent of immortality filled the room, celestial flowers and warmth and love and the sharp acridity of suffering. Rafael touched the edge of the nib to the vial and watched a drop of silver liquid adhere to it. He handed it hurriedly to Xian, then folded the lead down again, securing the precious liquid as best he could before returning it to its pocket beneath his tunic.

Xian took the quill and dropped the dot of Erran’s blood in the center of the circle on Mina’s forehead, then placed his hands on her cheeks and kissed her lips, whispering something into her mouth. The marks glowed brightly for a moment, illuminating both their faces with a pale radiance before dying out. As the light disappeared, so did the blood itself, until all that was left was Mina, lifting her head and looking at them in confusion.

“What… Rafael?” She made as though to lift a hand toward him, then looked down where her wrists were still tied. “What happened?”

Xian cut the ropes holding her down and Rafael helped her up, bringing her quickly into an embrace. “You were taken by an enemy, but you’re fine now,” he told her. “We have to get you back to Feysal.”

“If we want to avoid another conflict with Myrtea, we’ll have to go fast,” Xian said, glancing down through the open window. “She’s nearly finished with Daeva.”

“I thought he was dead!”

“Just broken, after that fall, and not even that would keep him from her at this point. He has to respond. She built that fail-safe into him years ago. Myrtea has always had a talent for planning ahead.” He turned back to Rafael. “You keep the girl safe, I’ll cut us a path out of here.

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