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Before she’d lost her memories, the mating bond had clicked into place. Then it had disappeared when her memories had been taken by the Witch of the Woods. The moment her memories came back, the bond had settled in her chest once more.

“I can scent it on you,” Breckett said. “The mating bond.”

Arabella crossed her arms. “That’s gross.”

The erox rolled his eyes.

“Elias got my memories back,” she said. It wasn’t a question. Somehow, he’d done something to return her memories. As she spoke, her eyes never left Breckett. “How?”

“Magnus.”

Of course.

There was no bargaining with the Witch of the Woods to get her memories back. So, to free them from one of the most powerful witches on the continent, Elias must have sought out another magic wielder—one strong enough to simplytakethe memories from the witch.

“If I know anything about Elias, he would have given his freedom in exchange for Magnus’ help to return your memories,” Breckett said. “Magnus would have accepted nothing less. He’ll likely be…” He swallowed. “Performing research.”

Tears welled in her eyes, and the castle entryway’s stone walls swirled around her as though she stood in the center of a tempest.

Something hard cracked against her knee, and she realized her legs had given out and she was kneeling on the stone floor. It felt as though a great weight had settled on her. Taking a single breath felt like an insurmountable impossibility. She brought a hand to her chest, pulling her leather jacket open. Her hands shook as she tried to loosen it.

“I… can't… breathe…” she managed between labored gasps.

The agony that had been flowing down the bond crescendoed. For a moment, she thought she could hearElias’ scream. The soundless cry pierced her thoughts like the fracturing of the night sky. It was ragged and infused with desperation.

“The bond.” Breckett’s voice echoed as though he spoke from down a distant corridor. “Whatever is happening to him, she feels it, too.”

She clawed at her corset, desperate to get a full breath as her heart pounded. Her entire being felt as though it was entwined with his and submerged in flames. She could sense his emotions and the endless tides of agony. With sudden clarity, she knew Magnus was pushing Elias to the brink of what his body could withstand.

Please,she thought desperately.Let it stop.

How long would Magnus torture him? Surely, he knew Elias couldn’t take it much longer. If he didn’t stop, he’d kill him. Would that kill her, too? Did one mate die if the other perished? She had no idea.

But in that moment, it didn’t matter.

All she knew was Elias’ terror and pain, and her own desperation to protect him.

Tears fell onto the stones beneath her. Her shadows rippled, twisting and agitated, clawing at anything that drew near.

She had to do something. Her mate was in danger.

Shadows sunk barbed vines into the walls, sending pebbles clattering to the floor.

Suddenly, Jessamine and Cora were before her. Their lips moved, but she couldn’t hear their words. Cora clutched one of her hands, but Arabella couldn’t feel it. Her body was no longer in this castle. She was leagues away—trapped, tied down, and unable to run away as a sorcerer plunged something into Elias again and again.

A shriek pierced the air. The sound was like the tolling of broken bells.

The castle trembled as though it felt the agony interwoven into that cry.

It was then she realized the sound was coming from her.

More shadows erupted.

Inky blackness cascaded in the entryway, as wild and untamable as the forest itself. Chunks of stones fell from the walls and the ceiling.

Let all who walked upon the earth feel fear for what was being done to her mate. She would take down the sky itself to get him back.

She was the wild shadows.