The Bound (Ascension #2)(122)

Then, she felt it…like a thread that connected everything together. Her energy was depleting. She wasn’t strong enough for this. Maybe with Avoca to bolster her, she could have done it. But, now, her breathing was labored. Her body ached. A fever burned through her system. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth against the distant sound of swords clashing together.

Still, she latched on to the thread and began to unravel it. She took one piece and pulled it apart and then the next. The boat rocked, and she fell forward onto her knees. The wood beneath her fingers singed, and she gasped as she realized she had burned the wood.

Everything was relying on this one moment, and she had to keep going. She picked at the thread until she was trembling and writhing in agony, lying on her back. If she didn’t stop and let it go, she wasn’t just going to burn out her powers; she was going to die.

But there was so little left. She could do it. She could right this wrong.

She opened her eyes to try to gain just one more ounce of strength from the world around her. She tried to pull from the great giant ocean, but she had to have the energy for it. She pushed herself to her knees and prayed for this to all end.

Then, she heard a squelching sound and watched as Dean’s sword slid through Robard’s body. He dropped to the deck, and blood pooled all around him. Dean sank to his knees. She couldn’t tell if it was the rain on his cheeks or hot tears streaming down his face, but what she did know was that Robard was dead.

For an instant, she reached out toward the blood and the heat and life force calling to her on the deck. She could feel Robard and his body and the power within him. She could take it. So easily. She could use it to fix this catastrophe. She could right the world with that much power.

She breathed in, feeling the tingling subside in her body. She almost did it. She almost let go. But she knew there were consequences. Robard, no matter how awful, didn’t deserve that. He had called her a dark witch, and if she used his essence to stop this hurricane, even for a good cause, he would be right.

Forcing aside the lust of that feeling, she concentrated on what she could control, and with her last burst of energy, she pushed her magic out into the world. Her body fell back onto the deck just as their ship wrecked onto land. She went flying, but before she landed, her body gave out, and she fell into darkness.





Cyrene woke up in a dark room.

There was a torch burning in a corridor, illuminating a staircase. She felt refreshed but nervous. She almost yelled out for someone, but then she saw who walked inside.

“Viktor,” she breathed. “You’re late.”

Then, Cyrene realized where she was. The last thing she remembered was the boat crashing, but here she was, in the past, with Viktor and Serafina. Once again, she was trapped in Serafina’s body.

“Sera,” he said. He hurried forward and pulled her into his arms. “My apologies. I had to…”

“What is it?” she asked.

“Margana,” he whispered.

Serafina cringed away from him. Cyrene couldn’t believe he was bringing up his wife in front of her or that Serafina was meeting him again after he’d gotten married.

“She went into labor.”

“She did?” Serafina asked.

Cyrene could tell her heart was breaking.

“Yes, but I came anyway. I had to come for you.”

“A boy or a girl?” she asked.

“Sera.”

“Just tell me.”

“A girl,” Viktor said.

Serafina closed her eyes and breathed through her mouth. “Did you get everything?” she asked shakily.

“Yes.”

“And are you sure about this?” she asked.

He gripped her hands and kissed them hard on each knuckle. “I want us to be together. You said this would keep us together forever. That’s what I want, Sera. I’ll do anything to have that.”

“Anything but give up your family.”

“Anything but give up your magic,” he mirrored.

She pulled her hands away from him and looked down at what she had been working on. Cyrene saw the ingredients but had no idea what it could be. She worked for a few minutes in silence.

Finally, she placed a small vial in front of Viktor and one in front of herself.

“I don’t know if this is going to work.” Her hands were shaking, and it was one of the few times Cyrene had seen Serafina really nervous. “It’s only supposed to work between magical users, but…are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“Will we be together forever?”

Serafina nodded, a lump forming in her throat.

“Then, I’ll do it.”

Viktor disappeared upstairs, and when he came back down, he was holding a perfectly swaddled little baby girl.

Serafina’s eyes burned as she looked at her. “You don’t have to. It could be anyone…”

“You said it’s stronger when it’s flesh and blood and someone close to you. I could think of no one closer,” Viktor said.

Cyrene had a horrible feeling come over her. She didn’t know what was about to happen, but it couldn’t be good.

“Okay. We’ll…we’ll begin.” Serafina picked up a book and handed it to Viktor. “You know what to do? It’s different than Doma magic since it’s not inherent within you. We don’t know the consequences.”