Page 91 of Stolen Threadwitch Bride
“You will let Lysander and me go, immediately, safe and unharmed.” My voice shook the floor. Dust hissed from the ceiling. “You and your minions will never bother us again. You will never speak our names again.”
As I spoke, my arms grew heavy, like I’d spent hours hefting rolls of fabric. But there was more; I had to ensure Ly’s safety from Goren forever in every possible eventuality. There could be no wriggling his way out of this.
“If you find yourself within one hundred yards of either of us, you will turn and walk in the opposite direction.” My legs trembled, but my voice did not waver. Darkness threatened at the edge of my vision and grey spots overlaid Goren’s frozen face. “You will never lay eyes on us again.”
Swaying, I caught my breath. I needed to finish this, seal the spell, but every muscle burned and my face tingled like I hadn’t eaten in days.
A warm, familiar touch landed on the small of my back.
I swallowed and nodded a silentthank you.
I inhaled once more. “It is so.”
The world spun, and a pair of strong arms slid around me.
Then darkness swallowed me up.
The Happiest Creature in all of Elfhame
Ididn’t dream, didn’t feel, didn’t think, but eventually I woke. Limbs heavy, I took a deep, sweet breath and stretched across the glorious softness of a thick mattress. I could just go back to sleep, back to—
A low gasp came from somewhere nearby. “Ari?” Ly’s voice… and that had to be his hand covering mine.
I dragged myself to full wakefulness. “I’m here.” My voice was dreamy and distant.
“Good gods, youare.” His face swam into view, brows creased in undeniable concern.
“Obviously.”
“Ari”—a sternness entered his voice that made me rub my eyes—“you’ve been unconscious forthree days. After you used so much magic, I thought…” He shook his head like the end of that sentence was impossible to state.
“Three days?” I blinked and pushed myself upright.
“Three days.” He bit out each word. “I thought you weren’t coming back. I’ve been losing my damn mind.”
“Huh.” I frowned and scrubbed my face, energy creeping back into my muscles, the grittiness from my eyes fading.
Beyond him, moonlight streamed through the windows of my chamber.
The last thing I remembered, it was the middle of the night or maybe the small hours of the morning and…
So much magic. My magic. My words. It flooded back, every moment before the darkness had engulfed me.
Using more magic than you had energy for carried a hefty price—death of the body or mind—and I must’ve come close to paying it. I gave a shaky exhale, rubbing my chest. “I remember. I remember it all.”
The silver web under my control. The fear of him dying. The need to save him.
WhyI needed to save him.
He huffed and shook his head, a deep frown forming between his brows. “Why did you come after me? You could’ve died. That—what you did, it was impressive, incredible, but… you shouldn’t have have risked your life like that. Why would you come after—?”
“Because I love you.”
His mouth hung open, mid-word.
My heart leapt to my throat. I hadn’t meant to say it, but there it was… The words were free, and there was no magic to them, but…
I gulped and suddenly found my clasped hands very interesting. Well, at least I’d admitted it. And there was something else I still needed to admit. “I… I made those gloves for you originally.”
