by Tasha Black
Maybe I could do better, too.
The bear lowered himself to the floor of the cave and tilted his velvet muzzle up to me, as if to indicate that I should climb onto his back.
I obeyed, as carefully as I could with only one hand, since the other was still cupping my fading light.
Please last until we get out of here, I pleaded with it.
Reed’s fur was warm and soft. I had been afraid to rest my weight on him, but once I was seated, I realized immediately that he was so huge he probably barely registered me at all.
His muscles rippled between my thighs as he rose and began to lumber toward the water’s edge. I clung to his ruff and closed my eyes, not wanting to watch.
We hit the water with a terrific splash that had me half-soaked even up on his back. He began to swim, pushing the water swiftly with those massive paws.
It was cold, but his warmth was keeping me together. I was just starting to feel comfortable and enjoy the adventure, when something stung my calf.
I yanked my legs out of the water, in too much pain to scream, and rested them crisscrossed on his back, using my light to examine my injury.
The pain was so intense I expected to see blood. But there was only a strange mark that looked almost like my own blood had been suctioned to the surface of my skin in tiny red dots, forming a strange and almost recognizable shape.
Reed groaned beneath me, and I realized that whatever had done this to me was probably attacking him too.
I turned back toward the shore, but my light wasn’t strong enough to show me how far we had come, or how much further we had to go.
I could only see the black water all around us.
Reed moaned again and I lowered my face to his shaggy head.
“I know it hurts,” I told him. “Do you have the strength to turn back?”
But he only redoubled his efforts to go forward. I hoped it was because we were closer to our goal than to the shore behind us.
I could already feel his strength flagging, and his body twitching all over from whatever was attacking us.
He was struggling.
And if he surrendered, I would be plunged into the cold, dark water, too.
It occurred to me that I might die here in this underground lake. That wasn’t really part of my plan.
“Reed, you can do it,” I murmured to him. “You’re so strong. Just make it to the other side and we’ll figure out how to get out of here.”
He had been moving so slowly, but his ears perked up at my words, and I felt his pace pick up slightly.
A few endless minutes later, we reached the island.
He reached for the land, his claws scrabbling for purchase for a moment, and then pulled us out of the water.
I scrambled off his back and held my hand out to examine him with the light.
“Reed, are you okay?” I moaned.
He was limp on the ground, rivulets of water pouring off him. I couldn’t see any injuries, but he was so shaggy that it would be hard to spot any markings on him like the one on my leg.
“Reed,” I moaned, resting my forehead against his.
The fur beneath me was cold and wet.
And then it wasn’t fur anymore.
“Reed,” I breathed again, pulling back slightly.
He was in his human form again, his face drawn in pain.
“Get the beetle,” he gasped.
The words didn’t make sense to me at first. I was so focused on him and the agony on his face.
“If you don’t get it, this was for nothing,” he groaned.
I moved my hand slowly over his body, but there wasn’t a mark on him.
“Go, Cori,” he growled.
I scrambled toward the pile of rocks at the center of the little island, smashing my toe against an outcropping I hadn’t seen in the circle of my swiftly fading light.
The first rock lifted easily but there was nothing underneath. I hobbled to another and lifted it.
Something skittered out and I snatched it before I could change my mind.
It was a pale red beetle with strange pinchers. Its legs waved frantically, but I had no choice but to wrap a tissue around it and tuck it into my pocket, zipping it up afterward, just to be safe.
I snagged a few more, added them to my zippered pocket, and then turned back to Reed. He had pulled himself up to a sitting position, but his face was still drawn with pain.
“Did you find it?” he asked.
“I think I got enough,” I told him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he lied. “It’s just that my strength is sapped.”
“You’ll feel better in a bit,” I told him. I knew from school that shifters had excellent healing abilities. At least he wouldn’t suffer for long.
“I don’t know what it is,” he said, shaking his head. “I don’t have a mark on me, but I’m not healing, either.”
So much for that idea.
“We’ll wait for help to come, then,” I suggested.
“Does anyone know where you went?” he asked.
I sighed.
“No,” I said. “Of course not. I’m an idiot.”
“That may be for the best,” he said gently. “You wouldn’t want your friends getting hurt in that water trying to find you. Give me a little time. I’m sure I’ll get my strength back.”
“You can’t go back in there,” I said, horrified.
“We have no choice, Cori,” he told me. “We can’t stay in here forever.”
He was right. But I had no idea how we were going to make it out.
“Look,” he breathed, pointing to a ripple of movement in the water.
I shone my light, pushing it outward a bit, using up some of its precious energy. I could barely make out the dark outline of something moving under the water. Several somethings, actually.
Then my light went out.
18
Reed
Her light went out, but she didn’t cower or scream.
My own night vision was excellent, so I saw every expression that crossed her exquisite face. For a moment, despair and determination battled there.
And determination won.
Pain still sang through my veins, but my heart was light as I watched my mate rise to her feet and lift her hands, palms up.
I could feel her magic, as if she had sucked something vital out of the air around us and was forming it into… whatever the sparkling glow was that swirled between her hands as if it had a life of its own.
Her dark eyes had gone blue as ice. They glowed like twin lanterns and I felt a fleeting sympathy for whatever had to face off with her now.
I glanced at the water, but it was still roiling with cursed life.
The Order of the Broken Blade had beaten us here. And they had cursed the lake. It was the only explanation that made sense. There was nothing natural about those dark creatures below the surface.
A blast of icy air whipped past me and I turned to my mate once more. But her hands were a blur now.
Winter itself was flying from her, pulling her gown with it, toward the surface of the lake.
I scrambled to my feet just in time to see the lake freeze over.
Holy shit.
Holy fucking shit.
I had seen some of the witches cast spells over the years, but nothing like this. Even the combined powers of the professors as they worked to extinguish the tree hadn’t possessed this kind of raw, primal power.
My mate was so powerful that she was practically a goddess.
But when I turned back to her, I could see she was trembling. The effort she was making was palpable. The magic was taking its toll on her.
I grabbed her hand and ran across the ice with her, not quite daring to throw her over my shoulder in case it interrupted the flow of her magic.
Beneath us, the dark things under the ice began to pound against the surface, trying to break through.
“Run, Cori,” I told her. “We’re almost there.”
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There was a horrible thud against the ice right under our feet and then a sound like a shotgun crack.
I dragged her, praying I wouldn’t jerk her arm out of the socket.
We couldn’t let them get to us. Not when we were so close.
She squeezed my hand in hers like a vice and I felt the air go colder still.
At last we reached the bank and scrambled away from the lake until I could see the door sized opening to the cave. We were only a few feet away.
But Cori’s hand was cold in mine, and the ice was crawling up the walls of the cave, up to the opening, covering it over, freezing the waterfall that hid the entrance.
“Stop, Cori,” I told her. “We’re safe now.”
But she didn’t respond. Her eyes had a glassy, faraway look about them. I didn’t think she even knew I was there anymore. And the ice kept surging. It was too much.
I lifted her into my arms and flung her through the last tiny opening in the wall that had once been a waterfall, hoping she made it out on the other side without breaking anything.
I couldn’t let her be trapped in here when she ran out of juice and the things in the lake exploded out to express their displeasure.
My heart skipped a beat, but she disappeared on the other side just before the ice closed up behind her.
Alone in the cave, I closed my eyes and waited for the inevitable, trying to gather what little strength I had left.
19
Cori
The world pressed back in on me. I had been… somewhere else. I couldn’t remember where.
Now the ground was coming up to hit me.
I was falling.
I landed hard on my hands and knees on a dirt path, in the cold moonlight.
The weight of my own body felt like it was too much to bear. I dragged myself around to see where I had come from, hoping it would bring my memory back.
But I was staring at a wall of solid ice set into a rocky cliffside. I couldn’t have come from there.
I could have fallen from the top, but I’d be seriously injured from a fall like that.
Where am I?
I stared at the solid ice and granite trying to piece things back together. Then a crack like the sound of a gunshot brought me out of my thoughts. Splinters of ice flew outward from the wall, and I put up my hands instinctively to protect my eyes.
What’s happening?
When I lowered my hands, I saw that something huge stood in an opening in the cliff face that had been revealed when the ice was broken.
A bear. It was a massive bear.
He fixed his feral golden eyes on mine and came at me fast.
I was being attacked by a bear. I was going to die.
I screamed, not knowing if there was a living soul for miles to hear me.
Calling on all my reserves of strength, I reached for my magic, but I could feel that it was depleted. Whatever I had done, it had been a big mistake. And now I was paying the price.
The bear had almost reached me, his eyes were piercing and somehow familiar, even though that didn’t make any sense. The breeze ruffled its thick pelt. I wondered what it would feel like when those razor-sharp claws tore me to pieces.
I squeezed my eyes shut and braced myself, hoping it would be fast.
“Cori,” a man’s voice said softly.
I felt big, warm hands wrap around my shoulders and I shivered with instinctive pleasure as I opened my eyes.
The bear was gone.
In his place was a man with the same fiery golden eyes. He was so handsome I might have described him as beautiful. And he looked worried.
“Cori, are you okay?” he asked.
“I used my magic,” I guessed.
“You did,” he said.
“I’m paying my price,” I admitted. I didn’t like making myself vulnerable, but this guy was definitely on my side. I could feel it in my bones.
“What is your price, Cori?” he asked.
“Memory loss,” I said quietly, looking down at my hands. “And confusion. I’ll get myself back pretty quickly, depending on what I did.”
He was silent.
I glanced up to see the tension in his jaw.
“Wh-what did I do?” I asked.
“I can’t believe you don’t remember,” he said. “It was incredible.”
“But I screwed it up, didn’t I?” I asked, sighing.
“You were amazing,” he said. “Why would you think that?”
“Because I always mess it up,” I said. “My power is too much for me.”
“I don’t think so,” he said. “You were unbelievable. I wish you had seen yourself.”
He reached out to stroke my cheek and I leaned into his hand.
“Reed,” I murmured, remembering.
His smile was like a beam of sunlight in a dark forest.
“You remembered me,” he said.
“I thought you were a real bear,” I chuckled.
“I know,” he said. “It’s not funny. You were terrified.”
“And now I’m cold and hungry,” I said, shrugging. “Life goes on.”
“And you’re soaked,” he said, in a tone that implied that he somehow blamed himself. “I have to get you back to the castle.”
Back to his bed, I remembered, surpassing a shiver of lust.
“I’m going to shift again,” he warned me.
“I won’t scream at you this time,” I told him. “I definitely remember you.”
I watched carefully, but there was only a shimmering around him as he lowered his head and his shoulders went up in transformation. In a heartbeat, I was face to face with the mountain of a bear once more.
His change seemed painless, effortless. I wondered if it was either.
The bear lowered his body and nodded to me, and I climbed onto his back, grateful that I still had enough energy to do it.
I sank my fingers into that warm, thick pelt and lay my head against his neck, wrapping my thighs around him.
I was too busy luxuriating in his warmth and the delicious forest scent of him to notice when he began to move. One moment I was cuddling into him, the next the trees and foliage of the forest were flying past.
20
Reed
I shifted out of my bear form and carried Cori into the castle and up the stairs to the tower as a man, not wanting to terrify any other students we might meet in the halls.
I found myself grateful that we didn’t bump into anyone, especially professors.
I might be her intended mate, but how could I justify carrying her home soaking wet on a cold fall night, still dazed from using her magic in such an advanced way without the guidance of a more experienced witch.
Shifters like me had our own magic - the power to change our shapes. But it was inherent in us, present since birth, even if it didn’t express itself until later. There was no price for us to pay, our magic was a part of us.
Witches, on the other hand, could wield far more changeable powers. And while the potential was said to be inborn, the practice required careful restraint. If a witch’s magic wasn’t bought by discipline, it took its own price from her.
I had just allowed the woman I was supposed to protect to expose herself to the most powerful kind of magic. And she had paid dearly for it.
I thought back to the moment she had screamed in abject terror at the sight of me.
What was the point in having a mate if I couldn’t protect her?
She nuzzled my neck as I reached the final landing.
My whole body responded, nearly frantic with lust.
But I tried to fight back my need. I had to understand what I could be to her before I bound her to me forever. I would not be a burden or a pet. That was not in my nature.
I breathed in the sweet perfume of her and exhaled slowly, opening the door to my tower room.
“I’m going to put you in my bed while I start a bath for you,” I told her.
She clung to me more tightly, as if unw
illing to let me go.
“You’re too cold, love,” I scolded her gently.
She reluctantly allowed me to lower her into my bed.
I tried not to let myself soak in the sight of her there. But it was impossible not to notice her dark curls spread out on my pillow, her beautiful brown eyes fixed intently on me.
The furs were cool to the touch, but I covered her in them anyway, knowing her own body heat would warm them.
She stretched languorously, instantly inspiring my imagination.
“Give me just a few minutes,” I whispered, uncertain how I could resist claiming her when her mere movements had me on a razor’s edge.
Maybe she’ll fall asleep, I told myself as I prepared a steaming bath. Maybe if I don’t hurry back to her, she’ll be dreaming by the time I get there and I can leave her alone until morning.
Once I had the bath steaming and fragrant with soap bubbles, I walked softly back into the room.
She was sitting up in bed, furs wrapped around her.
“I was afraid I would fall asleep before you got back,” she explained, as if she’d read my thoughts.
I could see how pleased she was at having managed to resist sleep for me. My heart was shot through with a love that felt like pain and I stopped in my tracks, uncertain I could bear it.
“Did I do something wrong?” she asked.
“No,” I told her. “Let’s get you into your bath.”
She allowed me to help her up. The furs fell back onto the bed, revealing her gown, plastered to her small, curvy frame.
I sucked in a breath, but it was laced with her scent and my body responded instantly. I paused for a moment, battling my instincts, then took her hand and led her to the bathroom.
“Oh,” she said happily as she gazed down at the steaming tub.
She tried to unbutton her gown, but her hands were trembling.
“Let me,” I offered. My voice was rough with need, I hoped it didn’t frighten her.
She dropped her hands immediately and the bear roared in my chest with satisfaction at this show of submission. I struggled to unbutton the tiny buttons with my big hands, wishing I could rip the thing off her and slam her against a wall.
