Page 41 of The Bound Blood
Barely.
Her fingers twitch. Her head rolls weakly against my shoulder. Then—magic lashes out.
A burst of raw, crackling power flares from her skin, snapping like lightning and catching across my forearm. I grit my teeth as it stings deep, sizzling along old scars. She’s not conscious enough to control it. It’s wild and panicked andalive.
I don’t let go.
Another arc of power lashes across my ribs, pushing me back from her a fraction—but I hold her tighter.
“It’s me,” I whisper, voice low and useless, because I know she can’t hear it. “It’s me, Sunshine. You’re safe.”
The next wave of magic hits Nolan square in the shoulder. He stumbles back, wincing.
Raiden braces a hand on the cracked floor, growling low under his breath—but he doesn’t move toward her. Neither of them do. They don’tdare.
Because they see what I do.
She’s glowing like magic made flesh.
Hair tangled and matted with sweat, cheeks streaked with ash and tears that fell before she was unconscious, veins lit from within. She’s a sun forced into human skin, unraveling at the seams, possibly going super nova.
Another pulse.
This one doesn’t lash out—it trembles, then collapses inward like a breath held too long. Her brow furrows, body twitching like she’s caught in a dream. Another soft whimper that makes the three of us tense.
And then she blinks. Slow and unfocused. Her eyes find mine.
I don’t breathe.
Not until she opens her mouth like she’s trying to say my name—and the spark in her fades to something softer. Somethingher.
The magic settles like dust. And I let out a breath that feels like it’s been trapped in my chest for a lifetime.
She’s here.
She’sher.
I curl my body around her just a little tighter. And whisper, “I’ve got you.”
Because I do. And I won’t let her go again—even if she doesn’t realize that yet.
Her lashes flutter, barely open, and her voice is a ghost of itself. “I didn’t let them bind me,” she breathes. “Like you said.”
The ache in my chest cracks open, something sharp and almost unbearable. I blink fast, swallowing the knot rising in my throat, and let out a short, shaky breath that might be a laugh.
“You didn’t,” I murmur, brushing her damp hair back from her temple. “You made one hell of a mess.”
A whisper of a smile curves her mouth, then fades. Her eyes are still fogged, still heavy, but they flicker—searching, trying to make sense of the wreckage around her.
“Kael…” she whispers again. It’s not a question. Just a confirmation that I’m real. That I’m here. That I came.
“Right here, Sunshine.”
But then she shifts in my arms—only slightly, just enough for her gaze to drift past my shoulder.
Her breath catches.
“Raiden?”
