It might be enough to help Aiden, though. And right now, that was all I was worried about. Keep your eyes down, Belle. The glamour isn’t quite reaching them.
Well, fuck. She instantly looked at the ground. Is it failing anywhere else?
No.
“So nice of you to join us, Lizzie,” Waverley said, so unexpectedly I jumped. “I can call you Lizzie, can’t I?”
He was, as I’d presumed, standing on the far side of the fire. Sitting on the ground beside him, his hands tied securely around a tree with a thick piece of wire, was Aiden.
He looked like death warmed over. His skin was gray, and sweat poured down his face and soaked his shirt. I couldn’t immediately see the reason, as he didn’t appear to be wounded, and other than the gash that stretched across his forehead from his right temple, there was little blood.
And then I spotted something sticking out of his shoulder—something that looked a lot like a small letter opener. One that gleamed brightly in the firelight.
Silver. It was made of silver.
No wonder there wasn’t any blood. The silver blade would have cauterized the wound even as it slid into his flesh. He was in no danger of dying from blood loss, but he certainly could die from silver poisoning.
And very quickly.
The wild magic was roiling within me, eager for release—to rend and tear. Something very strange was going on here—something that was more than mere sentience. The emotions I sensed were human, even if they were wrapped within the wilder energy of this world.
And that was not only dangerous, but there was a very real risk of staining.
I clenched my fists and silently explained to the awareness within the wild magic why its goal had to be containment rather than killing. I had no idea whether it could—or would—listen to me, but I had to at least try. The angry stirring within me didn’t ease, but it didn’t pour out and attack Waverley, either.
“You can call me Lizzie, as long as you don’t mind me calling you Waverley. Or would you prefer Frederick?”
Surprise briefly broke through the smugness. “It would appear someone has been in contact with the registrar. That does make things a little more awkward.”
“Indeed,” I said. “Especially given they aren’t exactly pleased about your exploits here.”
Aiden raised his head as I spoke. Though his expression was tight with pain, there was nothing but fury in the blue depths of his eyes.
“Fuck, Liz,” he growled. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“Saving your life.” I dug my nails deeper into my palms as the wild magic twisted and churned inside. Those ants weren’t just biting now, they were burning. Any fiercer and I’d start melting.
“Not at the cost of another, for fuck’s sake.”
Waverley kicked him hard enough to draw a hiss of pain. “Shut the hell up, my dear ranger. This conversation doesn’t involve you. Though I will admit that I am, like you, somewhat surprised at Redfern’s presence here this evening.”
Sweat glinted off Aiden’s lashes as he continued to glare at me, but a heartbeat later his eyes went wide. Belle had just told him to shut up and play along.
I stopped several feet short of the bonfire. Its heat rolled over me, a warm caress that did little to ease the growing chill in my body—a chill not even the violent presence of the wild magic could erase.
“Why? Isn’t that what you asked me to do?”
“Indeed. I just didn’t think you’d give in so easily.” His gaze narrowed as it flicked to Belle. “There is magic around him.”
I smiled, though it held little in the way of satisfaction. He might not have sensed the reason for that magic, but there was no guarantee it would remain that way. “You surely didn’t think I was going to make it that easy on you, did you?”
“Indeed, but I have measures in place—”
“Indeed,” I echoed. “But such measures were designed to render any attempt of spellwork within its boundaries inert. It wasn’t designed to counter spells created outside of it, was it now?”
A delighted smile creased his features. “Bravo, Lizzie. I’m almost saddened by the thought of having to kill you.”
“If I die, Redfern dies,” I said evenly. “And you forgo your chance of revenge.”