“Are you alright?” Ilyan’s panicked voice broke through my thoughts and I turned to face him.
“A little beat up, but what’s new?” I tried to laugh but my lungs ached from the large bruises I was sure I had.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I didn’t give him a response. I wasn’t sure what needed to be said.
Ilyan’s magic flowed stronger through me as he checked for more injuries, his face growing hard at what he found. Part of me wanted to push him away, but I was grateful for the comfort his warmth provided me. His arms around me a reminder that at least here I was safe.
I leaned into him as he held me, healed me, and flew us away from the man I loved.
The man who hunted me.
Eleven
We flew in silence for almost an hour. I drifted in and out of sleep while Ilyan held me, and each time I awoke my body felt better. The bones in my wrist had begun to fuse themselves together when I woke the last time, the pain masked by Ilyan’s magic. I was still very tired, but the temperature was dropping the longer we flew, and without my hoodie, my teeth had begun to chatter a bit.
“We are almost there, Siln?.” Ilyan pressed me closer to his warm torso, my magic surging in an effort to keep me warm.
I placed my head against his chest and listened to his heart thump for a minute. The rhythm never changed, the comforting beat steady and strong as it echoed through my head. I felt myself falling asleep again but shook it off. It was too cold for me to sleep without risking hypothermia.
“I’m sorry, Ilyan,” I whispered into him, sure he could hear me.
“For what?”
“For ruining our noncommittal night out to dinner.” Ilyan laughed and I couldn’t help but smile a little. “I wish Ryland couldn’t track me so easily. I wish he...”
I stopped myself. We had been over this before.
Ilyan sighed heavily and ran his hand over my bare arm.
“At least we know how fast he can track you now.”
“Which is?” I didn’t want to hear the answer, but my curiosity won me over.
“Too fast for me to be comfortable.” He said and I knit my shoulders together, that didn’t sound promising. I was going to be locked away in hiding forever.
“I am sorry you got hurt. I should be there to protect you at all times. I shouldn’t have to fight them every time they come after you. I didn’t know how many there would be, or how well Ryland could track you. I failed you.” He ran his fingertips over the tender skin of my wrist, his magic flowing through my skin to check the healing bones.
“Does it hurt much?” Ilyan asked.
“No.” I watched as he traced over the bones, his touch soft against my skin.
Ilyan didn’t respond, he only wrapped his hand around my wrist as his magic surged. I watched as the surges of his power began turning into something tangible. A sturdy cast formed over the broken bones, immobilizing my wrist.
“You should heal faster than before, now that your own magic flows through your veins, but this will help to speed up the process.”
I looked at the cast Ilyan had placed over my wrist, the heavy plaster still pulsing with Ilyan’s magic. It was odd to think that something so simple and rudimentary was still needed, even with the magical possibilities that were available to us.
“Thank you.”
“Why did he do this to you anyway?”
I looked at my wrist, his long fingers were running over the skin of my fingers that peeked out above the cast. It didn’t hurt anymore, but just like when Ryland dug the knife into my chest, I wasn’t sure I would ever forget it. Every time Ryland hurt me physically, he scarred me internally too.
“His magic didn’t work against me,” I said. “I only absorbed it. He never actually did any damage.”
“What?” His voice was alarmed, putting me on edge.
“I felt the pain initially, but it would disappear. The same thing happened at the... the... party.” I struggled to say the word, surprised at the fresh wounds the memories still held. “Every time he attacked me, nothing happened.”
“And what about him, does the same thing happen to him?” Ilyan asked, his words hard and controlled.
“Yes. In the end he didn’t even react, that’s why I pushed him off the roof with the air conditioner.”
“This is bad,” he said, his arms tightening around me.
“What? Why?” I tried to twist around to look at him, but his arms held me in place.
“First and foremost, it is limiting you. Ryland will always go after you. He will never choose to fight me. He will seek you out until he kills you, and if your magic will not work against each other you are even more limited in your ability to fight him. Ryland would gladly enclose you in a fiery building or drop a semi-truck on your head. But would you do the same to him?”