Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2)(100)

Cail’s eyes widened in excitement before I slammed my knee in between his legs, his body toppling over me before I grabbed the pipe and hit the metal against his back with as much force as I could muster.

I didn’t wait to see if I had done any damage. I turned and ran away from him, the pipe in front of me like a sword. I was turning a corner when I felt Cail’s magic wrap around me, his power dragging me back and slamming me against a wall.

I cringed as Cail limped up to me, a string of profanity flowing from him as he rubbed his neck. His magic held me tight against the wall, rendering my pipe useless. I racked my brain as he moved toward me. I had already been trapped inside of the T?uha for the last twenty minutes by my best guess, meaning it had only been a few minutes in the real world if my math was right. Ilyan would still be sleeping right up against me. I couldn’t risk using any magic yet.

Cail came up beside me, his one hand resting against the wall by my head while the other massaged his neck where the pipe had made contact.

“You naughty little girl,” he said, his lip turned up a wicked grin. “Now I see what Ryland was talking about.”

“What? That I am strong enough to defeat you?” I raised my eyebrow hoping to sound confident but knowing that the shake of fear in my voice gave me away.

What little bravado I had used for my fa?ade faded away as Cail began to laugh, his loud voice ricocheting around the hallway.

“No,” he taunted, my muscles tensing, “that you need to be trained.”

I didn’t have time to think about what was going to happen before the pipe collided with my stomach. The impact raced through my body, vibrating up my spine and ricocheting through my skull. I screamed out at the impact as Cail’s binds left me, my body collapsing to the ground.

I didn’t have time to run or even move before the pipe impacted my spine. Once. Twice. It sent me sprawling to the ground. I screamed out and little flecks of blood flew from my mouth, splattering the ground with glistening red droplets.

“Will you look at that?” Cail mused as he kneeled beside me. “Blood. I bet Ilyan is having a conniption. I can almost hear him, ‘Oh, my love! Why are you bleeding!’” Cail’s voice went high as he mocked Ilyan, but I barely heard him. If I was bleeding in real life, Ilyan wouldn’t be by me. Ilyan would be running for Dramin.

At least, I hoped he would.

I didn’t wait to think. I focused my magic on the floor right below Cail, sending a pulse directly at it. The floor exploded at the impact, sending him hurtling through the floor.

I watched the hole in the floor for a moment before crawling away, my body slow and sluggish as it healed itself. I moved as quickly as I could toward Ryland’s room, terrified that Cail would return before I could get behind the door, terrified that I had injured Ilyan in some way.

I pulled my way through the door to hide in the shattered remains of Ryland’s kitchenette. I felt my organs knit themselves back together as I sat hiding behind a displaced cabinet.

So, fighting him may not have been such a good idea. While I was more than powerful enough to do away with Cail, I could not guarantee I wouldn’t hurt someone in the cave or collapse the cave itself. While part of me hoped Ilyan would place me somewhere logical, chances were higher that he would be so worried he wouldn’t leave my side. His instincts as my Protector wouldn’t let him. So if I couldn’t fight, then I had only one option, hide and find a way out...

“What are you doing here?” My head snapped up at the voice, relaxing to see Ryland’s frame towering over me.

“Ryland?” Everything in me relaxed until I registered the panic on his face and the anger lines on his forehead.

“You’ve got to get out of here.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me up, not saying anything before dragging me behind him and out the door.

We moved back toward the main kitchen, our feet slipping and catching on debris. Before we had gotten too close to the kitchen, Ryland deviated, pulling us out of the servants’ quarters and into the main living space.

Large rumbling bangs sounded through the house as we moved. It reminded me of the battle, when we fled this place leaving Ryland behind. I had just caught sight of the main ballroom before Ryland dragged me into a large office, shutting the door behind us.

The door had barely clicked shut before he turned back to me, the anger on his face now mixed with fear.

“What are you doing here? I told you to break the bond.” Ryland’s hand shook as he moved hair away from my face, his eyes staying on mine for a moment before darting around the room. The movement of his eyes and the shake of his hand put me one edge, his paranoia contagious.

“What do you mean?” I asked. Where was our happy reunion?

“I told you not to come back.” His hands dug into me, his grip pushing me against the wall.

“I know, I needed to see you…” I reached up to touch his face, my hand stopping half way at the look in his eyes.

“Why didn’t you break the bond?”

“I was going to, after...”

“You waited, and now it’s too late. He’s going to kill you, Jos! Do you know what I risked to warn you? What they did to me? To Wyn? To your Dad? We risked it all and you didn’t listen.” His anger cut through me. I could only stare at him wide eyed as I tried to make sense of what he was saying.

“I know! I’m sorry, alright,” I stammered.