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Naya paused and exhaled. The fabric had to be magical in nature, and magic held her against the wall. Maybe the room was filled with this type of resistant magic? Sucking in a breath, she pulled her arm away from the wall again, feeling the band tighten around her arm until she ached. But she kept going, gasping, until the top of the fabric cut into her skin.
Shock jolted her. Blood oozed out of the wound, spreading into the bands. Fabric had cut her. Who would create something like this? She’d visited prisons all over the Known Lands. No one used this.
Unease slid into her, coating her lungs with every breath she took.
Sending out her awareness, she extended her will and called on magic. Pain shot through her, vibrant and strong, fizzing around her senses before petering out at the edge of her awareness.
What was that? Trying to stay calm, she tried again and winced. The same thing happened. Hadn’t magic been behaving strangely before she was cornered?
It had something to do with the Alpha. She didn’t know how he’d stopped her in the forest, but her magic had slipped away. And it was happening again. Did that mean she wouldn’t be able to use magic?
She called on it again, only to have it fizzle out, leaving a dizzying nausea. For the first time, a small bud of fear about her situation bloomed. Magic was behaving differently than it should. The magic across the Known Lands may feel different in places, but it was predictable and plentiful. Whatever the Alpha had done, he’d disrupted it so she couldn’t exert her will on it. It was clever, but her awareness extended farther than most people thought.
She focused her mind again, this time sending her awareness in all directions, trying to feel where magic had pooled, but there was either no magic in the atmosphere around her, or the magic had a completely different identity and behaved differently.
Naya's eyes snapped open, her heart quickening. Being out of reach of magic couldn’t be possible. As part of her training, Papa had been pedantic enough to put her in scenarios where she was forced to wear a magic-restricting bangle that completely cut off her access to magic and restricted her powers.
He’d forced her to develop her problem-solving, combat and logic skills to use anything at her disposal to conquer her situation, be it her sword, her negotiation skills, or fighting as dirty as she could. She wasn’t completely helpless without magic, but this was different.
Wearing the bracelet was like being unable to take a deep breath. Like suffering from a cloying sticky-mouthed thirst with a goblet of water at your lips. It was torturous in a way those who weren’t Omegas couldn’t understand. But this wasn’t that.
Everything felt normal when she tried to access magic—it just didn’t respond the way it should.
Naya swallowed and tamped down her fear. Panicking wouldn’t help her. Focusing, she sent out her will farther than she ever had before, searching for even a sliver of magic she could control. A wild spark shot through her and she reached for it with an iron grip.
Movement stirred in the far corner of the room. Naya’s heart jumped into her mouth, shock twisting her stomach. A huge figure rose from behind the table. Someone had been in the room watching her this whole time!
She kept her breathing smooth, trying not to show her shock. It was best to act as a blank slate until she knew what this person wanted, but apprehension pricked the hair along her upper arms. She'd read about wars and battles, particularly what happened to women during disputes between rulers. It was difficult to be emotionless when she was in so much pain and pinned to a wall.
The figure made its way around the table, and her horror twisted into a raging indignation inside her stomach as the small glow of light illuminated them.
It was him.
Her fear conceded to a rapidly building anger and her eyes darted to his forearm and his knee, both of which were bandaged. But he didn't look particularly well rested. In fact, he looked even more agitated than when he was chasing her. Good.
She didn't say anything, just watched him. He crossed his arms and did the same. The dim orange light cast a shadowy glow on the left side of him, and even standing motionless, he looked just as wild as he had in the forest.
His hair hung loose, thick and wavy, framing his face. A heavy beard spread across his jaw and around his mouth. Loose rings of metal gleamed from both of his thick wrists, and dark clothes helped him blend into the darkness around him. But it was his eyes that captivated her. Fierce and piercing, with a dark glare that burned.
He didn't look like the kind of man who could be reasoned with.
Silence hung around them as they studied each other. He held a large dark stone in his hand that had scattered lines of glimmering blue light all over it, but it didn’t look familiar.
His eyes darted to her wrists and feet, as if wanting to ensure that she was secure, before skipping back up to meet her eyes.
The thick definition of his body implied he was warrior, one who trained enthusiastically. Such a man would fit in among the dedicated Alpha Lox warriors, and yet Naya sensed an additional intensity that simmered beneath the surface of his movements. An untamed, aggressive energy with the way he carried himself—a raw, impulsive force. Something about that appealed to her. This was a man used to fighting—a man unfamiliar with losing. A beast of a warrior who could not be controlled by disciplined training.
So when he took a step forward, she tensed, her whole body preparing to fight, instinctively calling on magic even though she’d just established she couldn’t control it.
He stopped a foot away. "Stop doing that.” His voice rumbled throughout the room, rich and heavy. “Magic cannot help you here.”
She didn’t recognize his accent and didn’t know how he knew she was trying to access magic, but it was better if she gave the orders. "Take me home. Now.”
He watched her mouth as it moved and then looked back up at her eyes, but said nothing.
"My father will not pay any ransom. The best chance you have of surviving when he comes for me is to release me now and pray he doesn’t find you."
The man watched her mouth before returning his gaze to her eyes again. "I am not concerned.” Deep and raspy, his voice beastly like the rest of him.
