Void(100)

I replayed her words in my mind. I was an elemental of power. She said it was like an exhale. I opened my eyes again and steadied my heart. I went deep inside the Void with my mind, that smoky dark place that took over when I fed. It scared me, but I sunk into the darkness and sucked in a deep breath, and then let out a shaky exhale. I was terrified that my Void would take more from him in such a vulnerable position. If I did this wrong, I could drain him of power completely or even kill him.

My hands shook as I touched my hands to his chest. I had to stop thinking of my Void as just something that took. I believed the woman, which meant that giving back should come just as easily as feeding.

Blowing out another breath, I moved my hands up to cup Hyde’s cold, pale face. He was breathing, but it was like my Void could sense how depleted he was. I pushed my power at him, urging it to meet his needs. If the woman was right, then he was meant to be my mate. I could help him. I could do this.

With my hands on his cheeks, I brought my head down until our foreheads pressed together. Concentrating as hard as I could, I focused on pushing power into him rather than pulling anything away. Like a light switch that had suddenly turned on, my black smoke turned to billowing white, like fluffy clouds hanging in the sky. My heart skipped a beat, and I quickly pushed again, elated when I saw the smoke wrap around his body and finally sink into his skin. I pushed and pushed and pushed some more. I gave him everything I had. I felt my own strength waning, but still, I gave more.

Seconds passed that felt like hours, but then all at once, my Void dispersed, and Hyde’s silver eyes popped open.

His hands came up to cup my face, mirroring my hold on him, and we stayed like that for a moment, just staring.

“You know, for a zombie king, you really do have the prettiest eyes,” I whispered before blinking a few times. I felt so damn tired.

Hyde shot up and clutched his gut. His color looked better, but his eyes were wide with panic. “You did too much. I can feel you, you’re weak,” he said, but his words sounded far away.

Wavering, I felt myself grow dizzier. Each muscle in my body relaxed, like it was too much effort to sit, to breathe.

“Oh no, no, no. Hey, Dev! Keep your eyes open. Tell me how pretty I am,” Hyde instructed, his hands tapping my cheeks, trying to keep me awake. I couldn’t do it. Couldn’t speak. The words were there, but it was like my brain was empty. And then there was a shift in the air, a dark presence that fell over us. Hyde’s head snapped up, but it was a moment too late. Because the shadow cracked Hyde over the head with a long pole, making my necromancer pass out immediately and crumple to the ground.

I gasped, but the breath stuck itself in my chest. I tried to focus my eyes, but I didn’t understand when I saw the figure who perched beside my body. My lips worked to sound out my confusion and horror, but once again I was too weak, too disconnected from myself to work out the name I just knew was at the tip of my tongue.

“Hello there, Miss Cainson,” a low grumble whispered to me as the pale blonde strands of my hair were pushed away, giving my barely open eyes a clear view of his face. I wanted to glower at him, but it felt like I couldn’t. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t stop to think. A thousand questions were fluttering through my mind, and I just couldn’t choke them out.

Why? Why? Why?

His fingers dug around the floor of the crypt until they landed on what he was searching for, and with a broad smile, he pulled it up and clutched it in his fist. “Time to put your powers to good use,” he growled, and it wasn’t until my eyes were nearly completely closed that I could force myself to choke out the confusion plaguing me.

“B-Banner?”





Chapter 26





There were people laughing.

Great bursts of amusement broke through their chests and crawled up their throats. It was like chimes that wouldn’t stop blowing in the wind. I squinted, looking all around me, confused as hell.

Where was I?

I realized I was looking down at my lap. My lap that was no longer wearing my clothes I recognized. Instead, I was in a white dress that I’d never seen before, and my hair was loose over my shoulders. My right hand was picking at the red velvet armrest of the chair I was sitting on, my nail bent backwards, indicating that I must have been scratching at it for a long time without even realizing it.

My body felt heavy, yet my head felt light—like I’d been floating in a dark tide for days.

I blinked slowly, and it took great effort to lift up my head. I looked around me at the long, polished table I was sitting at. People were all around me, talking, eating, drinking, laughing. The sounds grated on my nerves, but I had no clue why.

When I felt a hand come down to touch my arm, my eyes swung over to see Banner sitting beside me in the middle of the fancy dinner party I had no memory of attending. My eyes slid around to the somewhat familiar faces, and I realized that most of them were council members.

“The complacent concoction finally wore off. I was wondering how long it would take. I had to use a lot,” Banner said with a bright smile before gripping my thigh and squeezing hard. I felt his neutralizing abilities around me like it was a swarm of bees. It didn’t feel like the calming balm of before, this time it was like an iron cage slamming down on my chest, pressing and punishing. He was keeping my power from me—leashed me like a dog.

“Where am I? What is this?” I asked before twisting my head to take in the faces around me. I still felt dizzy, and all of their vibrant expressions kept blurring into one another.