Page 31 of Commanding Blood And Bonds

I shoved the burning curiosity away for later.

When Alvara straightened, satisfied with our work, our motions synced, and the doors clunked shut. She strode to the driver’s side, a deep scowl carved into her face.

This time, she reached through the shattered window and pressed her fingers to the man’s temple. He was young—late twenties, maybe. His face was twisted in terror, but buried in his wide eyes was something unexpected. Guilt. Guilt settled in the shadows of his expression.

And that’s when I realized what Ally hadn’t said.

He knew. He’d known he was reckless, knew he was rushing on those winter roads. Known and done it anyway, impatience nipping at his heels.

She connected with his mind, embedding her commands into his consciousness. I used the moment to brush glass from the woman’s exposed skin. Alvara’s glare flicked toward the young man one last time before she jerked her head toward our van. I followed without question.

The instant our doors slammed shut, time snapped back into place.

The truck lurched forward. Their screams filled the air.

I turned to Ally. Her expression was carefully schooled into shock and awe—an eerie mirror of my own. Wordlessly, we stepped out of the van for the second time.

Later that night, Ally pushed open the door to Kingsley’s silent safe house. The overhead light flicked on with a click, illuminating the sleek A-frame structure. The exterior was a modern gunmetal gray, with an onyx-black metal roof and copper-trimmed windows.

Inside, it was just as polished—an industrial escape in the woods. Kingsley might have been the most connected to the earth and his elements, but his taste was top-tier.

“You can still smell him,” I noted. “They literally just left?”

“Probably around the time we set our intention to come here.” She waved a hand, and the logs in the wood-burning stove ignited.

“But you think they’ll come back.”

“When he realizes we made it through his wards and are using the safe house, he’ll come back.”

I knew better than to challenge Ally. She didn’t even have to clear the house like we were trained to. She had already watched the visions. Already knew the outcome. Fucking remarkable.

“So,” I said, leaning against the doorway, “when exactly were you going to tell me you can…stop time?”

A startled laugh escaped her before she clapped a hand over her mouth, her dark lashes lifting as she met my gaze.

“I didn’t know,” she admitted. “Not until…”

“The visions showed you.”

She nodded. “And then I just…did it.”

“That’s a nice trick.”

“I don’t think it was all of time, though, if that makes sense. Because you came with me. I’ve heard of souls with super speed. We thought Alec was the fastest, but I guess…”

“You’ve got a new trick to show him when he catches up.”

She exhaled sharply. “Yeah. If I can do it again.” She hesitated, her voice quieter. “All I could think about was getting to those babies. And then, when I was able to freeze their momentum, I just tried to leave it as explainable as possible.”

“Makes sense.”

I smirked, but the absurdity of it all finally hit me. Time freezing. Visions. Elemental magic. After everything I had seen—living in a different dimension, wielding power, fighting demons—you’d think nothing could shock me anymore.

And yet, here we were.

Laughter bubbled up, unstoppably. Slowly, Ally’s nervous chuckles turned real, and before long, we were sprawled out on the hardwood floor before the hearth, hands intertwined at our sides, free palms clutching our aching stomachs.

Eventually, I turned onto my side, propping myself on my forearm to look down at her. Tears of laughter streaked her cheeks. Strands of hair had long since come loose from the wind. Black mascara had smudged beneath her eyes.