Page 9 of Tino

I gasped, sitting up in a dark and foreign room. I remembered the poison. Was I dead? No, I could feel the ache in my body from the poison they’d fed me. If I’d been dead, I likely wouldn’t have felt anything right now.

I quickly scanned the small room. I was definitely in a house, and surprisingly, not a basement. I went to stand and both heard andfeltthe thick chain on my ankle.Fuck. They’d chained me to the floor.I inspected the chain and it seemed long enough to allow me full movement inside the room. It had a bucket, and once I realized what that meant, my mood soured further. They meant to keep me here for a long time, it seemed.

I hugged my arms around my middle, protecting myself as much as possible from my uncertain future here. I had no powers and now I had no Tino, either.

The tears began and I welcomed them. I needed to mourn everything that had happened. No way would the others find me in time. I had the locket, I could feel it around my neck, hidden underneath my shirt, exactly where I’d left it.

I gasped, remembering I hadn’t deactivated it or whatever Silver had said I should do when we found Tino. I pulled it out and sobbed in relief. It had a glow. I could find my way to Tino! I just had to figure out a way to get out of here and escape. The ones that took me likely couldn’t find me since I had no magic on my own, I hoped that was the case at least. Then I just needed to escape and then I’d be free.

Noise from outside the room startled me, and I quickly lay back down and pretended to sleep. I wasn’t ready to face those monstersyet. They’d taken me from Tino. They were my biggest enemies along with the leaders.

I heard the door banging open and flinched slightly from the noise before I could remember myself.

“You told me he was awake!” a man grunted and it sounded like he’d slapped someone.

“I heard the chains!” another man said defensively.

“He’s right where we left him, you idiot!” Then the door banged shut again, allowing me to breathe easier. I kept still for another few minutes, not daring to open my eyes in case it had been a trick and they were, in fact, still in the room watching me.

From outside I could hear a door open and then banging shut again. Likely the front door from the way the door to my prison rattled. Muddled voices carried from outside, there was yelling and then, to my horror, screaming. It started out with two men yelling, but then in seconds it sounded like several people were being tortured outside. I dared a look at my locket, hoping no one was in here with me, and when it glowed the same as before I released a breath. It wasn’t the others, they were still safe wherever they were.

The screaming intensified and I whimpered as I lay there on the floor, unable to stop the screams from entering my ears. I feared I was next, and that whoever had started whatever it was outside, knew I was here. Wanted me for something.

“He’s likely upstairs,” a woman’s voice spoke with conviction, like a leader. I forced myself into an even tighter ball, hoping it would make me disappear.

The door banged open.

“I found him!” she yelled out.

I held my breath and got ready to face my death.

Chapter 8

Tino

We’d been driving for hours. I’d finally slept with some help from Xarius. He’d removed my worry and filled my body with comfort and happiness, something I hated to ask for, but had desperately needed for myself to shut down enough to sleep. Silver had woken me up an hour ago, with the wonderful news that we were closing in on Altair.

“How long?” Wilston asked, standing behind Xarius as he drove.

“Ten minutes, I think,” he answered, looking over at Julie who was dozing beside him. They’d switched back when Silver woke me up, proving just how tired Julie had been.

I still had to wrap my mind around everything. I was Altair’s soulmatch. The thought made me giddy. My light, my Tair, was all mine, no matter what, we were truly meant for one another. Now I just had to find him.

“What?” Xarius muttered, bringing all our attention to the road. We were closing in on a house that lay further away from other houses, likely where they kept my Tair. But it wasn’t the house that caused Xarius to mutter, it was the number of dead mages littering the front yard leading up to the house.

“This doesn’t bode well,” Silver grimaced. I felt sick. I didn’t care about the dead bodies, I only thought about my Tair. Was he one of them? Would I have to see the light of my life lying dead on the ground next to these strangers?

I rushed to the bathroom, emptying my stomach as I tried to regain my composure. I was already reeling with everything and even though I tried to remain strong and in control, I simply couldn’t stopmy body from reacting to the sight of dead bodies, and then the fear. I’d never been as afraid as I was now.

“There!” Wilston exclaimed loudly, making me run back to them, hoping it wasn’t a dead Altair he was pointing at.

We’d reached the house and bypassed it some, when several kneeling mages came into view. “What the fuck?” I breathed, not quite trusting what I was seeing. Altair stood in the middle. They were kneeling for him?

Xarius stopped the RV and we all rushed out, Julie too, having woken up from all our excitement. I didn’t care if these mages were dangerous or not, I plowed right through them.

Altair had spotted us as we approached in the RV, but had remained in the circle. I finally reached him and tugged him into my arms, sobbing yet again.

“Tino,” he breathed, then whimpered like he was in pain. I stepped back quickly and noticed he was standing on one foot.