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“I don’t know much about mate bonds, but I know what it was like watching you and Thane together. He felt he loved you before he even met you. They’re strong, powerful, and I’m sure hard to resist.”

“Well, I love Thane. There’s nothing to worry about.”

“Have you two been heating up in the bedroom again? Perhaps sneaking off?” Piper grew a mischievous smile. “That kiss at the ball was pretty scandalous if I’m being honest.”

Layala tossed another throwing star. “The kiss was all there was.”

“And here I thought thePalenor Scrollwas simply gossip. Seems there truly is trouble in paradise.”

Both Layala and Piper whirled around to find Hel with a smug, arrogant smirk. He snapped his fingers and the throwing star from her belt appeared in his fingers. “You’re good with these. But you need to practice magic. We’ve missed a few lessons recently.”

“As you can see, I’m busy.”

“Not anymore.”

“Fine. Not here.” The last thing she wanted was to be embarrassed in front of the soldiers when Hel made her look like an amateur.

“No, I thought we could try something different today.” He grabbed her arm and suddenly everything was dark; she lifted off the ground and immense pressure crushed into every fiber of her being. She couldn’t draw breath and just when she thought she was going to pass out, her feet hit solid ground and she greedily sucked in air.

“You could have warned me!”

The waterfall roared, cascading over the edge of the rocky gray cliffs below her feet. She was at its edge and the height, staring down at the seventy-foot drop, made her woozy. They stood on a wide patch of craggy ground. One side was a steep cliff and the other the river raged.

“What are we doing up here?”

“Training.”

She turned and glared. “And that needs to be up here?”

He stepped closer to her, and she moved back, the rocks shifting under her feet. This was much much too close to the edge, and it brought flashbacks of falling off the cliff inside the prison cart. “That demon prince will rip off your head for stealing his ring and the gods only know what else he brought with him. You must become Valeen again.”

“I can’t.”

“I’m going to push you off unless you tell me about the cliffs of Amonlee, in five.”

“Are you insane?”

“Four.”

“Don’t you dare!”

“Three.”

“Stop it! Stop counting.” She held up her hands with magic flaring, and stepped hard to the right toward the river. She could get across the water with her vines.

“Two.”

Vines appeared over the water like a bridge and as she made a run for it, he grabbed her upper arm and swung her back around, and she suddenly couldn’t move. His magic snaked its way through her body and held her to his will.

“One.”

“Hel!” she squealed.

He backed her to the cliff’s edge and shoved her. A scream caught in her throat until his hands closed around her wrists, dangling her upper body over certain death. The wind whipped up around them, blowing her hair wildly. Sprays of mist wafted all around. Her heart crashed in her ears. His hold on her was the only thing keeping her from falling.

“The cliffs of Amonlee, Val.”

“It’s where we met up alone for the first time!” she shouted over the cascading water and wind.