Page 117 of Serpent and Shadow

He turned, staring at me.

His gold eyes glowed strangely in the Aether space.

I could see his face past the mask he wore, probably because I wasn’t truly there, and I could see him past the disguise, but the effect was strange. The mask was still there, visible to me as a shining gold, but I could his face through it.

He looked at me like he couldn’t believe what I’d just said.

Or maybe like what I’d said struck him as unbelievably stupid.

When he continued to stare, I saw others watching him surreptitiously, their expressions visibly confused as they seemed to be trying to determine what had caught his attention. Four robed Magicals stood at four points around him, forming a strange square, and I could feel the magical barrier crackling around him, protecting him from any hostile magic that might have otherwise reached where he stood.

Guards, I realized.

They were guarding Malefic’s weapon.

He winced, almost like he heard that.

“You can’t stay away forever,” I told him, softer.

He looked away only then.

He stared out over the village below, and I could feel the fury on him, mixed with a lost, futile feeling as he seemed to be thinking about my words.

“You sound just like my father, mongrel,” he said bitterly.

* * *

I couldn’t comprehend what jerked me out until the connection snapped. I opened my eyes, confused at first, nearly light-headed.

Had Bones shoved me out?

It hadn’t felt like that.

He’d been there, right in front of me, his magic pulling on mine, winding into mine, nearly cajoling, nearly lost, as if his aura and primal operated in a completely reality than everything Bones said. I didn’t know if I should feel relieved by that, or even more worried. The selfish part of me was relieved, feeling the intensity of that need, but I could feel how dangerous it was, how easily he could tip over the edge.

He’d insulted me, tried anyway, reverting to the old standby of “mongrel.” But somehow his words felt meaningless when his magic felt entirely divorced from it.

Still, he hadn’t just been lashing out, either.

I could feel how badly he was trying to stay away from me, and while I hated it, I couldn’t ignore the desperation I felt around it.

He said he was trying to protect Archie. Was that why he was staying away? Did he make some kind of deal with Malefic to keep Archie safe?

Trying to think about it was exhausting.

I knew some of that was the effort it took for me to stay away from him, too.

I was about to close my eyes, to try reaching him again––

When someone pounded loudly on the door.

That time, I immediately recognized the sound.

I hadn’t really heard it in that other place, but somehow I knew that was the thing that knocked me out. It wasn’t the first time they’d knocked.

Wraith had been dead asleep where she sprawled over my lap, but she jumped when I did, only a lot more dramatically. She got actual air when she leapt up, all four paws splayed, and she landed the same way, each small foot gripping a different part of one of my legs. She looked up at me reproachfully and let out an indignant growl.

I rubbed her head and ear, and briefly, she looked mollified.