Page 39 of Burdened Bonds

I pull my coat more tightly around me, balling my cold hands in my pockets and trying my damn hardest not to imagine what it would be like to get naked with this man.

I can still feel the presence of those magical families on the periphery of my senses, but they’re far away now and I’m not worried until a loud scream screeches through the trees, bouncing off the trunks and disturbing the sleeping birds that flap up into the air in alarm. The noise is followed by bangs and more screaming.

I freeze and look at Renzo.

“Those children!” I cry and then I’m picking up my feet and running in their direction.

“Little rabbit!” Renzo yells. “Little rabbit!!” He’s after me in a flash, catching my arm and yanking me to a stop. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“They’re under attack,” I pant. “We have to help them.”

Renzo’s face contorts like I’ve just asked him to walk over hot coals and shoot himself in the head. “Helpthem?”

“Yes, can’t you hear?” I yank on his grip, the screams becoming more desperate. “They’re under attack. We need to help them.”

I yank again but all it achieves is a tighter grip on my arm. “No, we don’t.”

“Renzo Barone, stars help me, if you don’t let go of my arm right now, I will be the one knockingyouunconscious!”

“Fuck yes,” he says, his eyes wild.

I growl at him. “I freaking mean it, Renzo!” And to my utter surprise, he lets go of my arm immediately. For a moment, I just stand there stunned, but then there’s another scream – this one undeniably belonging to a small child – and I’m running again in the next, Renzo close behind me.

We crash through the trees. The screaming has turned to sobbing, and a desperate lump forms in my throat.

What the hell is happening? What the hell will we find?

I run hard and soon we can see them in the distance, the scene lit up by hovering balls of light. Four new men stand in front of the families, they have a hold of two of the women. The man from before rests on his knees, blood dripping down his face, and the children are huddled together, crying. I gasp, picking up my pace, but Renzo is faster. He thrusts Pip into my arms and races ahead.

Magic flashes in the darkness. There’s more yelling and screaming. I see the family fleeing through the trees and when finally I reach the place they’d just occupied, I findRenzo facing off against the four men. I sprint to his side, dropping Pip to the floor and raising my arms.

“Who’s this?” one of the men says with a curious grin. “Who’ve you got with you, Barone?”

“No one,” Renzo says, pushing me hard on the shoulder away from him; so hard I almost stumble to the ground.

“A girl?” The smile on the man’s face widens and his gaze flicks to his companions. “Notthegirl. Are you bringing her in? You know the reward for her has quadrupled.” He meets the eyes of his friends. “Maybe we could take that reward for ourselves.”

“She’s not the girl.”

I straighten up. The balls of light have extinguished and I’m forced to squint through the darkness at the men. They don’t look like the soldiers that ambushed me at the graveyard or those that attacked the academy. No, they look like the men who surrounded the man in black all those months ago. Lowsky’s men. The Wolves of Night.

“Then who is she?”

Renzo opens his mouth like he’s going to answer their question, and the men almost lean forward, eager for his answer. But he doesn’t speak, instead he sends a barrage of magic crashing unexpectedly their way.

The men swerve, block and duck it, firing their own magic back at us.

“Don’t hit the girl!” the first man says. “She’s wanted alive and unharmed now.”

His words only seem to make Renzo madder. He flings magic at them, wild and crazy, and this time it’s too erratic for them to dodge. One man’s hit in the chest, falling to his knees. Another cries out as a bolt knocks into his hip.

“Hand her over, Renzo,” the first man says. “You’reoutnumbered. You’re not going to win this battle. Hand her over and we’ll let you go!”

“Let him go?” another of the men hisses. “Are you crazy?”

“How aboutyouturn around and leave,” I call out and the attention of all the men is drawn back to me, “and we won’t hurt you?”

The second man laughs.