Owen used his glass turtle to reach the other magician—a woman who held another one of Opal’s glass messengers. Through this strange double link I could “see” what she did. It was bad enough to learn of Valek’s capture, but when she triggered her switchblade and advanced on my brother, I lost it.

It meaning my temper. I projected my awareness into the woman before Owen could sever the connection. Taking over her physical body, I stopped her thrust just in time. Her confusion lasted mere seconds before horror and fear flooded as she realized I had control of her body and soul.

Score one for the Soulfinder.

However what I didn’t have was time. I had expended a great deal of energy to reach her and I felt Owen’s efforts to break the link. He would soon succeed.

I turned the blade and rested the cold steel on her neck. I could kill you right now, but I won’t, I said to her. Instead, I’ll spare your life and in exchange you will not harm my brother or Valek. If they’re injured in any way while in your care, I will find you, kill you, and send your soul to the fire world. Understand?

She did.

With my last bit of strength, I sent her and the guards to sleep and tossed the switchblade to Valek. They would all wake as soon as I left, but I hoped it would be long enough to give Leif and Valek a slight advantage.

I returned to my own body with an audible snap. Exhaustion liquefied my muscles, and I slumped to the floor. We had stopped for the night in a travel shelter located near the middle of Military District 5 (MD—5) in Ixia. My old stomping grounds.

From my prone position I had an up—close view of Owen’s boots.

“That was unwise,” he said. Fury spiked his words.

“It was instinct,” I whispered.

“How sweet. But it didn’t save your brother or Valek. It angered me and now you’re unable to defend yourself. What did you hope to accomplish?”

“I liked angering you.” As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I’d pay for my smart remark.

Owen didn’t disappoint. The tip of his boot rammed into my ribs. Pain raced along the bones of my ribcage. He probably cracked a few. The whole unable to defend myself also meant I was unable to heal myself. And Owen didn’t stop with one kick. Oh no. He wanted to prove his point.

After what seemed like a lifetime of blows to my ribs, stomach and back, he did. Passing out was the best thing to happen to me all day.

#

Consciousness swelled and died. During my lucid times, snippets of conversation reached me.

“…dangerous delay…what were you thinking?”

“…can’t do anything…Selene’s terrified…”

When I no longer drifted in and out, I assessed my situation. I remained on the floor of the travel shelter with two cracked ribs and one broken. All three ribs stabbed me with white hot fire every time I moved. The bruised muscles around my torso throbbed with pain. And I didn’t have enough strength to heal myself. Not yet.

With no other option available, I kept still. I reviewed the whole encounter with the woman who had threatened Leif and I remembered Valek’s signal. It was hard to decipher through the haze of pain, but I dredged up the memories of his lessons.

Leif had been the better student, learning all the signals. I had memorized the basics—handy when we had a mission requiring silence, but now I mourned my lack of foresight.

Puzzling out the different gestures, I pieced together most of his message. He seemed confident that they would escape and he warned me about Owen lying. Not exactly earth—shattering news, but he must have a good reason to state the obvious. Too bad I couldn’t translate what Owen might be lying about.

A day passed and, even though Owen’s men gave me food and water, my energy level stayed low. The tension between the men grew. I considered ways to increase the friction, including drawing out my recovery time.

Finally, Owen knelt next to me. “We need to go. Now.”

“Can’t move,” I said.

He studied my expression. I shifted and winced as pain tore through my ribcage.

“How long?” he asked.

“A couple days.” My answer alarmed his men. Good.

“We don’t have that much time. Someone is bound to grow suspicious and alert the local soldiers.” He rubbed a hand over the dark stubble on his cheeks. White hairs flecked his soon—

to—be beard. “I’ll share my strength with you. Heal your ribs only.”

So much for my plan. Owen grabbed my hands with his, letting me tap into his considerable magic. I pulled threads of magic and repaired the damage to my body. When I finished, I yanked my hands back, but he held on.