Page 151 of Balance

My pulse began to race at his closed-off expression.

“You’ve taken the potion. Until it wears off, your fate is left to my discretion. You’ve ignored our bond long enough, and now you’re asking for my help. I need you to prove to me that you’re ready.”

“I wasn’t ignoring you!” I clenched my fists, trying to hide my shaking. “It just wasn’t the right time.”

“You need to learn to take risks.”

“We couldn’t have done anything even if we did try.” I could feel the panic rising, threatening to swallow me whole.

“No,” Tu agreed. “But you wouldn’t have been alone throughout it. It’s sometimes difficult to remember that we’re not meant to shoulder the burden on our own.”

“I don’t have any burden.”

The second the lie crossed my lips, I knew I’d messed up.

“Well.” Tu blinked at me. “In that case, you’ll be fine for your shadow work. If you succeed, we’ll be ready.”

I stepped back—this wasn’t a part of the deal. I was supposed to take the potion, and I’d have access to the memories and abilities that enhanced my powers.

There was no need for shadow work.

“Wait…” I really wasn’t ready at all. Bianca was waiting for me, and we were alone in the wood’s miles and miles from civilization. This was not what we needed right now.

But there was no use protesting. Tu had already vanished. The copper mist scattered and the darkness moved in, blanketing the ground and cloaking everything in night.

It fell over me, taking away my breath and thought. Terror consumed me, and my throat closed as everything good in this world fell into the abyss.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Bianca

Balance

Miles had stopped his dry heaving rather abruptly, falling forward unto the ground in a dead faint. Normally, I would have gone to him, but the second he fell, a stillness fell over the space and his expression had changed from disgust to peaceful serenity.

Wherever he was, it seemed pleasant.

A brownish-tan light had slowly filled the finger-drawn runes, and there was an ethereal quality to the space around him. The flames caused shadows to flicker over his form. He seemed to be sleeping.

If this was meditating, it was certainly more appealing than the options that Finn had given me. And when compared to Finn, Miles was certainly a lot more interesting to watch.

Because I’d been studying him, I saw the instant his expression changed.

“Miles?” My skin tingled as I edged my knees to the outside of the circle.

The relaxed lines of his face had hardened, and his neck curled forward as his shoulders tightened. I pressed my fingers into my knees, biting my lip as my attention moved between the runes—which still seemed to be the same—and the witch.

“Miles…” I tried again, whispering. The air was gradually becoming thicker, and the knot in my chest grew larger. “Do you need any help?”

I wasn’t even sure what I could do, so I had nothing really to offer. However, even though he’d said he could do this on his own—at the next sign, I’d go right into that circle…

A ripple pressed against my knees, and I tore my attention from Miles’s unraveling form to glance at the runes.

The carved symbols caused the ground to bleed—or at least that’s what it looked like. The brightness faded and a crimson wetness seemed to be spreading from the symbols. A tendril brushed only lightly against my knee, feeling as light as a feather’s touch, but then retreated, as the magic moved around me and reached past my seat.

They moved inward too, toward Miles, who, as moments passed, dove deeper into distress.

His nails dug into the ground and his chest heaved as he remained under the influence of the potion.