Chains of Silver (Alchemy Empire Book 1)

Chapter 24b

I'm actually posting TWO chapters this week, because this one is very short. :-) So do not despair--just keep reading... :-)

Dedicated to Brynn_Blue. 

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That night, I waited until the Guild members had completed their rehearsal and left the main stage. There wasn’t a sound as I walked down the thickly-carpeted aisle toward the dark form sitting motionless in the front row. He was hunched forward, elbows on knees, head bowed as if in prayer.

“I’m here,” I whispered. I could almost hear my heart beating in the stillness.

He lifted his head. His eyes met mine, and they were deep, hypnotic. Gone was the young man who had playfully flirted with me earlier today. 

This was the brilliant, powerful director whose magic even now filled the space between us. This was magic whose limits had not begun to be tested. I wondered—did he realize how strong he truly was? I had not sensed the fullness of it, had not let myself sense it, until this moment. 

But now, it overwhelmed my senses. I breathed it in, felt it flowing over my hands, my face—this knowledge of his power, the awareness that he was so much more than the carnival master could ever be. 

This was the magic, the power I would have to give myself over to in order to save Nadine. The one thing I swore I’d never do again, and here it was before me. 

My breath quickened. The blood beat in my ears and throat. This was madness. 

He stood. 

I stepped back, hoping he wouldn’t notice my fear.

He untied his cravat and unwrapped it from his neck. His fingers slid under his shirt collar and pulled out a finely wrought silver chain. It slipped over his head, and he held it to unclasp one half of the chain from the other. 

My throat felt parched, burnt like ash. 

He refastened the remaining chain around his neck and held out the other half to me. 

The carved and gilded walls of the theater rippled like the surface of a pool. 

His sister’s chain. I took it with trembling hands. There was no possible way I’d be able to fasten it around my neck—I shook too hard. I settled for looping the chain around my wrist, like a bracelet. 

It seemed to smolder against my flesh. 

I felt as though I should tell him thank you for giving me one of his dearest treasures, but the words wouldn’t come.

My own magic flowed into the chain, rushing and tumbling like a river unleashed from its channel. It poured out, greeting his with a thunderous roar that filled my ears and made the room spin. 

Ready? His voice thrummed, not in my ears but in my mind. 

My heart hammered against my chest, a prisoner begging for relief. But there would be none. No escape, no mercy. 

Are you ready? he asked again.

I stared into his eyes and pulled his magic around me. Was I ready? Never.

Yes.

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