Page 29 of Starting a New Life

“Levi!”

The steps never faltered, but a second pair came running down the same set of stairs—heavier, louder. Probably his mate.

“Nix? Oh my fucking god, Rhett! What is he doing in a cell?” Levi’s voice was filled with concern bordering on panic. I wanted to reassure him I was okay, but the words wouldn’t leave my mouth. Hell, I still couldn’t open my eyes to actually see Levi. But I could feel him, his aura instinctively reaching out, trying to connect with me.

Bars rattled loudly, the steps stopping. Levi was close. I could feel him, his magic desperately trying to get to me, his wish to help me unintentionally fuelling his magic.

Oh no.

No.

“Open that damn cell, Rhett.” Metal bars rattled again, more insistent this time. “Why the fuck is he down here? Nix? Nix, can you hear me?”

Yes, I wanted to say. Stay away. Don’t come closer. It’s not safe for you…

I couldn’t. I was barely clinging to consciousness, the promise of blissful darkness creeping in, trying to get hold of me.

“Levi, wait, you don’t know…”

“What I don’t know is why he’s down here in a cell. You didn’t even give him a blanket. He’s shivering all over!” Levi shouted, his voice full-on panicked now. “He’s my friend, Rhett. I’ve been worrying about him for months. You’re right that I don’t know what’s going on, but I do know that he’s terrified of shifters, and I promised he didn’t need to be, yet here he is, locked in a cell. So open that damn door, Rhett. Or I swear, I’m moving back to Mave’s!”

Keys jingled.

No, I thought. No! I wasn’t strong enough to put up a shield to keep Levi’s magic from touching mine.

A door creaked. A heavy, rusty sound, as if the doors weren’t used often.

Steps.

His aura approached.

Noo…

His hand gripped mine. For a fraction of a second, his touch was warm, comforting. Then his magic crashed into me. The buzz of electricity filled my ears, a white, blinding light sprouting between us as Levi forcefully shoved magic into my body, replenishing what was missing in my core.

He was unguarded, unrestrained, not in control of his actions, going way too fast.

There was a shout, a sound of pure terror, probably coming from his mate.

I tried to stop the flow, but Levi was still holding on to my wrist, his worry shoving more and more magic into me.

The world spun around me, dizziness setting in as I tried to sort away the magic I was receiving and to set up a shield that would stop the flow, but Levi was going too fast.

And then it stopped.

His hand was gone, the connection broken.

I sat up, gasping for air, one hand clutching at my chest as I tried to deal with all the magic now coursing through my body while becoming aware of my surroundings.

Levi!

I frantically turned my head, searching for my friend, and finally found him wrapped up in his mate’s arms, who was keeping his own body between us as if he thought he needed to shield Levi from me.

When he noticed I was sitting up, his face twisted into a menacing snarl, and I quickly raised my hands, trying to convey that I wasn’t a threat.

Which, yeah, didn’t work as well for mages as it did for humans because my hands literally were my weapons. Kinda. I didn’t like to think of them as weapons, but I often used my hands to work my magic.

The snarling intensified.