Eyes of Ember (Imdalind Series #2)(53)

He smiled as I squirmed underneath his hold. I wanted to yell at him that he was wrong, that Ilyan was helping everyone, but I couldn’t get Ryland’s words out of my head. I knew he was manipulating me, like his father did in my dreams, but I couldn’t get enough oxygen to even attempt to rebut him.

Ryland released his hold enough to give me breath, but not enough to move. I let my magic swell at my increased freedom, only to have Ryland amplify his hold again. I groaned as he slammed my head into the house, the impact ricocheting through my skull. He smirked at me and my heart thumped. The look was the same one he used to make when he was teasing me. But there wasn’t any love for me in him anymore, not in his eyes, nowhere.

“Stop trying to fight me,” he snarled, slamming my head against the house again. “After all, there is nothing you can do. You see there?” Ryland decreased his hold on me again, my head spinning from lack of oxygen and the aggressive impact, only to force me to look toward the side of the house. Four Trpaslíks had gathered in the shadows, out of Ilyan’s sight, their hands against the house.

“And there,” he moved me roughly, this time to the other side of the house, where even more Trpaslíks stood.

“They are going to blow you and this house clear into the sky, all while your dear Protector is in battle, too busy trying to kill Cail to save you.” Ryland said, his black eyes shining. I stared at him, my jaw working independently of my mind. It was as if it was trying to bite the oxygen out of the air around me.

I could feel the house vibrate under me, the joined magic of those below congregating beneath us. The vibrating house continued to shake as he held me against the side of it, my body barely getting enough oxygen into my lungs. I gasped for a desperate breath, in my attempts to yell, to scream, to fight him, but my voice was caught, my magic a limp spark. It wasn’t enough.

“Oh, and I have a riddle for you. Straight from Sain’s own mouth.” I froze. My Father?

“‘Two brothers stand beside you, both know of your true fate. They both have love in their hearts, but different needs to gain. One seeks power, the other light. The one with light in his heart may love you more, but he is the foolish one, the one who will die first.’ I will give you one guess as to who that one could be,” he said, releasing my throat as the vibrating reached its peak.

I gasped for breath again, trying to regain use of my magic, knowing there was only a matter of seconds before the house exploded.

“Ilyan!” I screamed with all the air I could gather, hoping that he would hear my call or feel my pain in his magic that pulsed through me. What I didn’t expect was Ryland’s answer.

“Correct.” My eyes widened, as Ryland’s smirk increased. I didn’t get a chance to ask him what he meant before Ryland pushed away from me to escape the impeding blast.

I fell to my knees as the house begin to collapse on itself and tried to push myself into the air, my body too weak to answer my call. I felt Ilyan’s arms wrapping around me as the house imploded below me. The heat of the explosion on my feet burned as the blast grew, the sound of destruction ringing in my ears. I looked back and knew we couldn’t escape it.

“Hold on to me, Siln?, and whatever you do, don’t let go.” I looked up at Ilyan’s face as his hold on me increased.

He wrapped his body around mine, his hold tight as I felt his magic rush into me with more pressure than he ever had used before. The pressure broke through my barrier, but instead of making me feel as if I was going to explode, I experienced the exact opposite. My body was squished even further against Ilyan as our bodies were pressed together.

The pressure melded us together. The air was pushed out of my lungs, and my body felt as if I was being forced through a toilet paper roll. I tried to scream but no sound came out, the last of my air leaving my already deprived lungs.

I could feel everything. For one moment I was convinced that the blast had found us. Until suddenly, the sensation left. My body crashed against Ilyan’s as we fell to the ground, his arms going limp and falling away from me.

Frigid air swirled around me, snowflakes flying around while my hair and clothes were whipped through the winter storm.

I sat up, my body beginning to shake in the cold air. I looked around in a panic, confused at the mountain landscape I was surrounded by.

“Ilyan?” I asked, my body beginning to shake with cold. “Where are we?”

I looked at the tall snow covered peak that towered over us, my eyes scanning for some form of shelter. I turned toward Ilyan when he didn’t respond, and my stomach dropped into the icy landscape I was surrounded by.

Ilyan lay still, his body surrounded by snow. His blond hair whirled in the air, but he didn’t move. His lips and eyelids were tinged with a sickly shade of blue, his body limp and still. I began to shake in fear as I saw him there.

“Ilyan?” I couldn’t stop the panic that seeped into my voice. I pressed my hand against his cold cheek, surprised not to feel the warmth that usually lay right below his skin.

I moved my hand to my shoulder, trying to focus on his magic inside of me, but all I felt was a weak and dying pulse of latent energy. I pressed my hands against his skin, pulsing my magic into him, trying desperately to figure out how to help him, how to heal him.

“Ilyan!” I yelled, desperate to get his attention. “Ilyan, wake up. Please. Ilyan, please don’t leave me.” I continued to yell at him, my fear having turned into a full blown panic. Ilyan was the last person I had. Ryland’s mind was still trapped, my Mother was dead, and Wyn had been captured and taken who knows where. I screamed as the reality of what was happening hit me and everything came crashing down around me.