The Binding Stone by Lizzy Gayle

Author:Lizzy Gayle
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-64898-047-3
Publisher: City Owl Press

36

The Command

“Sophie’s been taken,” I say. There is no sense in sugarcoating it. Jered must be told. He must lift the command and allow me to find her so that I can make things right.

Jered’s face grows pale. He sinks to the couch.

Gabe strides toward me, his long legs filling the gap in seconds.

“By who?”

“Taj and Mira. They are using her as bait to lure Jered to their master.”

“I suppose you want me to stay here while you swoop in and rescue her?” Jered asks.

I dig my nails into my palm, reminding myself that he has been tampered with. “No,” I say. “We have a better chance of saving her if we go together. But there is more you must understand.”

“What’s that?” he asks. It seems my answer has thrown him off-balance, so I take my best shot.

“Achan, your father, he did something to you when he was ‘teaching’ you magic. He opened a doorway in your aura. It affects your emotions. You are growing unstable, and this cannot be fixed without his help.”

“That sounds nasty,” Gabe says.

“It is,” I agree. “But we must first take care of Sophie.”

“I wish I knew if I could trust you.” Jered’s words sting, but he couldn’t look more miserable. His sandy-blond hair is mussed and sticks out in all directions. Dark circles grow beneath his sunken eyes. Even his aura is flat, a mixture of varying shades of gray.

“What does your heart say?” I ask, crossing to face him and kneeling, both hands on his knees. He looks at me like a lost child. “I trust your heart, Jered.”

He sinks to the floor before me, cupping my face in his hands. A tear escapes and flows down my cheek and over his fingers. Butterflies stir in my chest. Again, it is more than just my body responding to his touch. I do not try to hide my smile as he leans forward to kiss me.

“Um, little sister kidnapped by evil sorceress,” Gabe calls.

Jered pulls away slowly, some of the color flooding back in his aura and his face.

“My heart tells me to trust you,” he says, eyes locked on mine.

It is impossible to hold back the sigh of relief. I will not let him down. I will not fail again.

“I love you, Leela.”

“You are experiencing stronger and stronger emotions,” I say, brushing his hair back from his face.

“This is something I’ve known for a while.”

“I will not hold you to it.” I stand and help pull him to his feet. I won’t even pretend to believe it. That would hurt far worse than admitting my own emotions to myself. At least I can prevent any illusory expectations that he could possibly feel the same.

“How do we find them?” Jered asks.

“We use the app,” I say. “I can trace the source of the magic while it is in use. But as soon as we turn it on, they can also trace our location.”

“Then we should do it while we’re moving,” Jered says.

“Of course!” I say.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.