Chapter 29

29

MINA

"Oh, God."

All of a sudden I went from being a creature of light, staring at a creature of darkness, and then my knowledge of my own existence and mortality hit me like a freight train. I had an ocular migraine at once—flashes of light hopped around in front of my eyes like grasshoppers—and it felt like a team of dwarves was mining inside my mind.

I groaned, and Sylas put a hand out for me—not to steady me, but to sweep away something from beneath my nose.

Snot? Cerebrospinal fluid?

I touched the spot he'd just touched, then looked at my fingers.

Blood.

"Sorry, I thought my period wasn't due for another few days," I joked, then pinched my head and tilted it back. When the lights in my eyes stopped and my headache went away, I figured it was safe to stand straight again. I licked a corner of my sleeve to wipe away the smear beneath my nose I was sure was there, while Sylas eyed me .

"Sometimes you are very strange," he said.

"Yeah, you too," I muttered, hoping I'd managed to get myself clean.

He looked different over here. Over in Timelandia, his presence had made sense—and just like the light coming from me, from my heart to his—I felt a draw.

But now that we were standing together in front of my friend, he felt cold again.

Though wasn't that what I wanted?

If I didn't want his pity, I couldn't very well want his heat.

I took Ella's hand in mine. "I'm gonna get you out of this mess, okay?" I leaned forward to kiss her forehead. "I mean it," I swore, then looked around at the ground around me. "Am I safe? Or should I walk out of here like I'm doing a heist in a museum?" I glanced back at Sylas and found him looking confused. "You know. Jumping over the red lasers?"

"Ahh," he said, getting my gist at last. "No. I will protect you," he said, sweeping forward to pick me up.

I bit back a scream. "What are you doing?" I asked, as I struggled in his arms. I didn't feel actual muscles, but I felt safe and supported, even as I thrashed.

"I can flow around the magic. You cannot," he said, as he carried me toward the doorway.

"And the people in the hall?"

"I'll slow time for them," he said, like it was easily done—and then he did it, until we were outside in the sun.

He set me down and I dusted myself off. "I can't believe any of that happened," I said, looking back .

He flickered himself back and forth several times. "The magic surrounding her fades out here; I cannot trace it further."

But for the first time, I had an actual clue—and hope.

"Mina—remember, I need to know everything," he said, the second my attention was his.

"Yeah. I'll tell you now," I said, nodding deeply. "But not here."