Page 39 of Contested Crown

“Yes,” Cade said.

“Can you do that?” I asked.

Cade swallowed. He looked down at his hands. His mouth went firm. “Yes.”

“Cade…” I drew out the word.

“Miles, I know my limits,” he snapped. “I’m not foolish enough to go over them.”

Prickly and snappy, I knew I had better luck petting a fox in a trap. Still, I reached out and held his palm between my own.

“You’ve been overusing your magic since Dos Lunas.” I tapped my finger in the center of his palm. “What happens if you overuse it too much?”

“I’ll be fine. The magic will return eventually.” He closed his hands to hide the tremble of his fingers.

“That wasn’t what I asked.” I put my hand on top of his, the warmth of his skin suddenly making me suspicious. Was ittoowarm? Was he running a fever? “You overuse your magic and…”

“I’ll befine,” Cade snapped.

“Hey,” I said. “I’m your partner. We need to figure this out. If you drop dead in the middle of our escape, that’s not good for either of us.”

“Certainly not good for you,” Cade said. He glared at me. “That’s what you’re really concerned about, isn’t it? You should just leave me. I can handlemyself.”

I let out a frustrated hiss, dropping his hand. “What the hell? Do youwantto leave? How often do I have to tell you that I needyou, not what you can do for me?”

Cade jerked, retreating until his back hit the sink. He raised his chin. “You don’t need me. You’re fine on your own.”

Everything about Cade screamed that he was scared. His breath was coming short, his eyes wide, his body a tense line. And I heard the words under the ones he’d said as clearly as if he’d shouted them.You need to be safe, because I can’t be the reason you get hurt.

“I’m fine on my own,” I agreed, stepping forward. “But Ineedyou, Cade.”

The reality of it hit me hard. He wasn’t wrong. On my own, I would be faster, more efficient, certainly have less of a target on my back.

But I wouldn’t have Cade.

Something about that sat wrong in me. I wouldn’t haveCade.

“So tell me what happens if you overuse your magic.”

Cade let out a breath, and I reached out, touching the warm skin at his neck, drawing myself closer, almost into an embrace. He shuddered into my hand, and I didn’t know why I kept coming back, except every part of him was starting to feel like home.

He was the planet I couldn’t stop orbiting, and I knew I couldn’t give him up.

“I’ll go into shock. It’s like any muscle. If I overwork it, I’ll be useless. Unable to help at all.” His breath brushed over my throat. Tilting his head, he seemed to invite a kiss.

I bent low, unable to resist the tug of his lips. I let myself take, just enjoy the press of his body against mine, the explosion of pleasure of his lips against mine.

Part of me wanted to blame it on the adrenaline, but I knew better. This was Cade. This wasus.

“You’re sure you can do this without overworking yourself?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said.

He was forcing the confidence into his words, and I could tell, but we didn’t have many options. If we didn’t lose the mages after us, we were in trouble.

“What do we have to do?” I asked.

“I’ll be tagging everyone with a little bit of my magic. If they’re tracking us from the hair and skin cells in our car, my magic on other people will mean that their spell will get confused and tag everyone as me.” Cade opened his hand, the black tattooed lines swirling around his fingers. “I’ll have to get close to them. Touch them.”