Page 30 of Starting a New Life

There were more people coming, more shifters.

“I’m not doing anything, I swear,” I said, my voice still raspy and weak.

“Stay back,” the shifter, Rhett, demanded, signalling me to stop, even though I hadn’t even tried to stand up.

“Nix?” Levi seized the opportunity to wiggle free from his mate’s grasp and immediately rushed to my side, his eyes wide with worry. “Holy shit. Are you okay? What was that? What did I do?”

He grasped my arm again, but this time I was prepared and quickly created a shield on my skin to keep his magic from flowing into me again.

Levi furrowed his brow, his face contorting with confusion. He’d clearly expected a different outcome.

“What are you doing?” he asked, his voice small. “Why does it feel as if… as if you’re repelling me? Wow. That’s a weird feeling.”

Fuck.

I took a deep breath and briefly closed my eyes to focus on the shield I’d created on my skin. In my hurry, I’d gone a bit overboard and created a barrier that not only kept his magic from reaching into me but also created a shield that was supposed to withstand attacks and repel everyone who tried touching me.

A quick check into my well told me I had a bit less than half my magic back, which was more than I’d had in weeks. Perfect. Inhaling deeply, I toned down the shield, moulded it into a simple barrier, and directed bits of magic through my body, nudging it to heal faster. Then, I opened my eyes and gave Levi a tentative smile.

I didn’t feel like smiling at all, but I needed to calm him down because he was obviously freaking out, his eyes wide, swimming with unshed tears, his skin pale.

“Better?” I rasped.

“Yes.” He nodded, then blinked. “Wait. No. What was that? What did you do? Why does it feel like… wait… your skin feels a little like the barrier.”

“That’s because I put up a barrier between us so your magic can’t crash into me again; you already gave me plenty.”

“His… magic?” his mate said, and I flinched.

Fuck.

I shrank back against the wall and shut my mouth.

For just a moment, I’d forgotten all about where I was and who was here aside from me and Levi, and now I’d said too much.

“What do you mean by his magic?” the shifter pressed again, his voice rising in agitation.

My heart started pounding in my chest, my mind screaming at me to flee.

I could probably make it out if I wanted to.

More people filtered into the hall in front of my cell, though, all of them unmistakably shifters.

Could I get past them all?

I wasn’t sure.

My stomach dropped as they eyed me with varying degrees of apprehension, some bordering on hostility.

I shrank back even further, my palms sweating as I scrambled to put more distance between us by moving along the wooden bench until my back hit the corner of the cell, and I let out a small breath of relief.

Yeah, I might be literally backed into a corner, but for a mage fighting against non-magic users, this was a prime spot. I could see everyone approaching, and I only needed to create a shield that went from wall to wall, which meant using up less energy.

Levi shifted with me, his hand around my wrist like a vise.

“Look at me,” he said, his tone gentle, face full of compassion. He then turned his head and glared at his mate. “I know you’re worried, but you’re freaking him out. I’m okay. Use the bond; you can literally feel that I’m fine.”

I swallowed, looking between the two. Levi had a shifter as a mate, and he was okay.