Diana had not returned to our room until I had been fast asleep. I had pinched my thighs to stay awake until her arrival, but I was too exhausted. Whatever had happened with my hand had left me feeling drained. Had I done it? I had focused my energy on my broken hand but had never been gifted with healing magic. Was it because the hot spring was a supernatural conduit that I could heal myself? Or was it the water that had magical properties, as Silas had said? I didn’t know the answer to that. But when I woke the following day and noticed Diana sleeping on the other side of the bed, I pounced on her and shook her hard. She looked at me through sleepy eyes, and I recounted the night’s event. Once I was done, she sat straight up and inspected my hand with intrigue. “Have you tried to use magic with your hand?” I frowned at her question. No, I hadn’t thought of trying. I pulled the sleeves from my shirt up and swirled my wrist, concentrating on creating a surge of magical current a

Diana recounted her conversation with Xander while staying at the baron’s guest house. She explained she thought of a hypothesis explaining how magic wielders came to this world. She thought they originated from the Faiths themselves, mixed with human blood—something that was not meant to be created. I pondered over her words. It still didn’t explain what the old man had said. He had clearly gone mad throughout the years. “I don’t understand why he called me Aeternum or mentioned I had to find a binder. What in Faith’s name is a binder?” I shrugged exasperatedly, slouching inelegantly on the library chair. “I can’t speak for the Aeternum part. The poor man looks half delusional, but I think he is right about you being bound. I noticed your vibrations were muffled when you used your magic; not all of it can come through. We need to find the person who did this to unbind you. But why would someone bind you? Most importantly, binding magic has been lost for hundreds of years. Who woul

Xander POVThe ale served at our table was questionable. It was warm and left a bitter taste in my mouth.“It shouldn’t be too long now,” I said while skimming over the crowd gathered in the tavern.Corbin Hawk was sitting impatiently on the other side of the table, his left leg bobbing up and down. He was making me nervous. The fact that the hunter had been silent during our investigation also was very unnerving. He only grunted and gritted his teeth—this was the extent of his muted vocabulary.I had been running in circles throughout the city, dodging the rebels and misleading Mr. Hawk for over a week. Gideon had sent word of a warehouse that housed some goods I could find and destroy without damaging the rebellion. The plan had been perfect, but the hunter was as relentless as my father, making it hard to stick to what I had planned. I had to tip my hat to him. Hawk was highly dedicated. Once he had a scent, he didn’t back down. This also made me wary of him. He had a keen sense

I opened my eyes to a sleeping Diana. Her upper half was slumped beside me while her legs seemed to lie on the floor. Had she been praying?I moved around to remove the covers and let my limbs breathe. It had been so warm under there. On the night I collapsed, I felt tremendous heat wafting out from the mate bond, so to shield and help Xander, I took some of the heat from him. However, I wasn’t expecting it to burn this much—I had fainted from it. I did it without even knowing if I would survive. The only thing I kept repeating was that Xander needed to live, whatever it cost. I couldn’t imagine my life without him being in it.Diana stirred from my movements and lifted her head off the mattress. When she saw me staring back at her, she almost threw herself over me, but she quickly recomposed herself and helped me out of bed, mumbling some sort of apology. I chuckled at her, then winced at the stiffness of my body.“Ach, I feel like a runaway boulder hit me. How long was I out?”“Lo

I tried to reason with Xander for the better part of the night. If he attacked Silas, who knew what would happen to us. Clearly, Silas had acted alone. The rebellion leaders would have never sanctioned such an assignment. I thought I was too valuable for them to do something that would put me at odds with their cause. Yes, some still wanted me to renounce my engagement to my fated mate—even going as far as suggesting finding a way of removing my mark. But I knew they would condemn Silas’s action. Still, I thought leaving Starling Castle for a while would be best. We made for the underground tunnel, and I guided Xander through its labyrinth. Although Xander worked for the rebellion, he had never come to Perch, so this was his first time walking on rebellion territory. Once we arrived in my room, I quickly closed the door and gestured to some of the men's clothes I had brought. Xander took a pair of pants and pulled his legs into them. They fit… but barely. Diana arrived moments la