Page 55 of Unmarked Magic

Cracked open.

I understood. Completely.

“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” I whispered as a raspy caw sounded from a nearby raven. Dappled moonlight cast a wicked shadow over his face as his eyes locked onto mine, and, as if my words had somehow sliced open his heart, I saw the moment something inside him snapped.

His hand covered mine, removing it from him, whiskey-smudged irises slamming shut. He backed away, chest heaving.

Ruined. Broken.

This moment would haunt my heart for a lifetime.

Leave scars on my soul.

I shook my head, my heart filling with dread. “Don’t do it.”

He locked up. Jaw cut sharply.

Eyes like an empty grave, hollow and heartless.

“I can’t. It’s not fair,” he stammered, glancing into the darkened forest where I knew the trail led back into Cutter’s Cove.

“Don’t you fucking dare,” I said, voice cold, but my warning was scalding hot. A finger pointed at him like a dagger to his throat.

He didn’t speak. Only stared at me like he had a shovel in his hand, about to dig his own grave. If he ran, I wish I could say I’d happily dig it for him, because I’d not read his signals wrong and that would be a lie. I was too far gone to give up on him, but I would not stand here for another minute and let him embarrass me any further.

I knew in my heart what he would do next. The shadows in his eyes told me everything, and I hated him for it.

At that moment, the clouds parted completely, bathing us in moonlight. And as if the moon had summoned me, I did what he did best.

I ran.

Reid

I keeled over, my hands gripping my knees as my breath came in sharp bursts. The burn in my lungs didn’t subside, and I let out a moan of frustration into the unfamiliar surroundings circling me. How the fuck I veered off the trail back to Cutters Cove I didn’t know, but as the forest became darker with every minute that passed, it was another minute I felt less like a powerful blood mage and more like a complete failure.

I’d done it again. I’d watched her walk away hurting because I couldn’t bear to tell her the whole truth.

Coward.

As it turns out, when shit gets hard, I run — and so does she. But I couldn’t drag her into this anymore than I already had. Not when I knew what came next.

I hadn’t expected her to run. Maybe spending too much time around me had scarred her soul. My burdens, my thoughts seeping into her like paint would a crack in plasterboard.

I didn’t know how much time I had before this tonic wore off completely. It might only be hours. The thought churned my gut, twisting it into a knot. I stumbled on a tree root and my hand slammed into a tree truck, breaking my fall. I swear I’d passed that tree only minutes ago. Or not.

Real fucking smart. I was lost.

The sludgy remains of snow and mud on the forest floor was no place to spend the night. I would surely freeze. My only option was to keep walking and hope I found the trail again.

I struggled to feel the tips of my fingers. Pushing them back into my jacket pocket, I scanned the forest ahead.

You had to be fucking kidding…

In the distance looked to be a cabin. But, as I got closer, it became clear it was more of a hut, something more commonly used by hunters. I approached it, scanning my surroundings, but saw no one. The forest’s damp swallowed my footsteps as my breath billowed through the thin air in a cloud ahead of me, mingling into the night’s eerie silence. Slowly pulling open the timber door, the creak as it opened announced my arrival to anything or anyone in the vicinity.

Inside, the small hut had only the basics. A makeshift sink that was hooked up to a pipe coming from the roof. Rainwater. Wise. Not short of that around here. To one side, two large animal hides hung from a rail, and there was a tattered mattress on the floor in another corner. It would do for the night. In the morning, I would find my way back in daylight.

On a makeshift shelf sat a dusty candle that was nearly burnt to a stub. Doubting if there was even enough wick left to light, I struck a match from a box nearby. Instantly, the hut was filled with an amber glow. Lowering the match to the wick, I held it against it, fearing for my fingers as the flame crept higher. At the very last moment, it caught.