“I will find it when I join my mind with hers, nemyslí??” I clenched my jaw, my mind working in preparation for what I was suggesting.
“This is ridiculous, Ilyan,” Thom pleaded. “’Jít tam. You would only be stuck in there. Dramin has seen her wake. We just need to wait.”
“Wait?” I scoffed at Thom’s reasoning. A few minutes ago, I had been content to do the same. But I could not stand by while she was being tortured. I couldn’t let that happen to her.
“Two hours there for every twenty minutes here. She has been trapped in that prison for six hours. They have broken her leg and hurt her enough to make her bleed internally. I can’t leave her in there. Who knows what else they have done, or are going to do? I don’t have time to try…”
“I can’t let you do this, My Lord.” I turned at the sound of Dramin’s voice, the desperate plea catching me off guard.
“I don’t know what else to do. You are her brother, Dramin. As her brother, what would you have me do?” I didn’t need him to understand, I could do it on my own. He was one of the first of his kind and Joclyn’s blood.
“He’s her brother…” Thom said just as the thought crossed my mind. I could see what he was thinking, I knew where this was going, and I didn’t like it.
“No, Thom,” I said sternly, hoping to stop the thought in his mind before he found his voice.
“It’s what our father is using to control the nightmares, correct?”
“Yes, but...” I began, but Thom swiftly cut me off. I could feel my spine prickle at the lack of respect, but I ignored it.
“Then it must be what he is using to control the T?uha.” Thom’s face was growing in maniacal intensity. I watched him closely, knowing I would have to put a stop to it soon.
“Using a blood connection is not an option,” I hissed through gritted teeth.
“I don’t see why not, Ilyan. It’s what Edmund is using against her. So, we can use the same technique to save her.”
“No, Thom. I won’t let that happen, not ever. It’s wicked, evil. Do you understand?” I spoke deeply. Blood magic was dangerous. The cutting open of hearts and souls to create stronger ties or to strengthen the bonds of what was once a simple magic was inhumane. She had already worn dark magic around her neck for months. I wouldn’t let her be objected to any more, not if I could help it.
I knew Thom wouldn’t understand, he had lived under our father’s rule for centuries, his viewpoint would always be somewhat skewed.
“It’s just a blood connection, Ilyan. It is how Edmund is able to control Joclyn’s dreams. They have Sain, but we have Dramin…”
“No, I will never allow you to cut open my heart or sever my soul in an attempt to save her. This is madness, Thom.” Dramin’s voice was panicked and scared. He knew what was involved in blood magic. There was a reason it was never done; a reason it was so terrible that Edmund had used it against Joclyn, that he had used his own son to perform it.
“It’s the only way,” Thom begged, his energy fading, if only slightly.
“No, Thom. You would mutilate her soul and mine and destroy Ilyan’s heart for only a minimal chance to save her. I can’t let you do that.” Dramin placed his hand on Thom’s arm, but Thom pulled away.
“It is not futile. I have done it before,” I balked at Thom’s words, this fact about Thom disgusting me. To willingly use a blood connection... it was despicable.
“It’s the only way.”
“No.” I spoke hard, my power flowing over him as he sunk away.
His shoulders sagged, my magical barrier freezing his logic in place and allowing his better logic to finally be able to take over. I drew my magic away from him when he had obviously calmed, my jaw clenching that it had come to that in order to control him.
“Then what do we do?” Thom whispered, and I relaxed.
“We wait,” I said, knowing there wasn’t another option. Not anymore.
We looked at each other, each one knowing it was the only option, but none of us willing to say more than that.
I nodded once before moving away from them, my body taking me right to Joclyn’s side without a thought. My fingers ran over the lines of her face as my magic swelled through her, my touch moving over eyes, her cheeks, and across the soft skin before her ear. I lay down next to her, my body pressing up against hers, as it had only an hour before. The warmth from her skin counteracted the chill from the stone and caused my muscles to tense at the differing temperatures.
I pushed my magic into her, confident that I would not hurt her. For the first time in my life, I would not kill someone by filling them with my ability. I felt her magic push against mine, but the strength of it still seemed to be missing. It was still a substance within her, and the substance was healthy and alive, but there was not much more than that.