The Bound (Ascension #2)(97)

She would rather live, truly live, with him for even a short life than live without him for eternity.

And then she heard a scream, as if it were ricocheting throughout her skull, and the bond that tethered her to Cyrene exploded. Avoca broke from Ahlvie’s lips and nearly fell over as she gasped for breath.

“What? What’s wrong?” Ahlvie asked, reaching for her.

“Cyrene,” she whispered.





Cyrene grabbed at the door handle and pulled with all her might. She rattled it, using her weight to try to wrench it open, but it was no good. She couldn’t open the door. Alise and Robard had locked her inside a dark room in the middle of who-knows-where in the palace.

“Help!” she screamed at the top of her lungs.

She screamed and screamed for someone to find her until her entire body ached, and her voice was hoarse. If she kept this up, she would lose her voice, and then no one would ever find her.

This couldn’t be happening. She had been so tuned in to what was happening to Avoca that she wasn’t even paying attention to Robard.

Creator! I am such an idiot.

She hadn’t felt comfortable with Robard, yet she had allowed him to lead her. Of course, Alise was in league with him all along. She had thought that Alise was angry and bitter, but she had thought that it was over. Cyrene should have known that Alise was plotting while she was silent. She didn’t even know why Alise hated her so much!

Is it simply because I am an Affiliate? Or is it something more…something to do with Dean? It couldn’t just be that she was overprotective. There was protective, and then there was locking your brother’s girlfriend in a dark room, away from the rest of the palace.

Cyrene’s frustration built. She could not stop here and let herself waste away in this stupid room until someone stumbled upon her. Alise didn’t know whom she was messing with, and Cyrene had every intention of proving it to her.

Her magic tingled under her skin. Fear pricked at her. Without Dean, there was no way she was going to be able to control this. Her whole body quaked as she opened herself up to the infinite power. It was too much. She knew already that she couldn’t do anything in small doses. The energy swelled in her. With this much, she could destroy this whole room. With much more…the whole palace could come crumbling down on top of her head. She wasn’t focused on an enemy, as she had been in the past.

She steeled herself and bit back a sob. She was going to hurt someone. But she didn’t know if she would ever find a teacher to tell her how to control her magic. She would just have to figure it out on her own. If she didn’t use her magic now, she would never get out of here.

Cyrene took a few steadying breaths, trying to remember Avoca’s meditation practices in the woods. But she couldn’t sense anything around her. Just stone and more stone. Nothing to grasp on to. Nothing to tether her to the world, except the pulse of her magic within her and the bond she shared with Avoca.

Reaching for the bond, she stretched her hands out toward the door. Through the pain of the energy filling her up to the brim, she released her hold on everything but the bond.

The wall in front of her exploded with such force that Cyrene was knocked off her feet and whooshed back against the far wall. Her head cracked against the sandstone wall, and she slumped on the ground. Dust was everywhere, and she ached all over.

She held strong and fast to the bond with Avoca as dizziness crashed over her, and she felt herself slipping toward unconsciousness.

Her fingers went to her head. A huge knot was already forming where she had crashed against the wall. No wonder she was almost losing consciousness.

Avoca.

She called to Avoca through their bond but had no response. She had no idea if it was even possible for Avoca to hear her. Still, Cyrene tugged on the bond and hoped Avoca would hear her.

Cyrene pushed up onto her feet and stared down at her ice-blue dress in dismay. It was covered in dust and torn at the bottom. Nothing she could do about it now.

Cyrene lurched out of the room and stared at her handiwork. A giant crater was carved through the wall of the room and barreled through other rooms as far as Cyrene could see. She shuddered at the full weight of her power and continued down the hall. She put her hand on the wall for support, trying not to lose consciousness.

Cyrene turned the corner and saw two women striding toward her. “Help me!” she called to them in a hoarse whisper.

They looked at each other and then curiously back at Cyrene. One of them nodded to the other.

“Yes, I see her,” the other woman said.

“Please help,” Cyrene said again.

“Serafina, what are you doing, roaming the castle grounds?” the woman asked. She was about medium height with brown skin and long spiral, curly black hair.

Cyrene startled. “What?”

She turned to the woman standing next to her, who looked very similar to the other woman. A little bit taller perhaps but with the same dark skin and black hair in slightly looser waves with so much body and volume that it almost looked out of control.

“What have we told you a hundred times over? You can’t just wander around the grounds at night. You’re more closely connected to the elements on holidays, and it’s even worse for someone like you.”

Cyrene stumbled forward. “What…what did you call me?”

“Serafina, you need to be careful,” the first woman said with a shake of her head. “You can’t use yourself up. We heard the commotion. We know you’re struggling again.”