Darcy rose from my lap, leaving me on my knees, her gaze settling on Lavinia, a dark strength about her that set my pulse pounding. She’d just been beaten to the brink of death, and resilience still lived in her. Trying to snuff out her light had only made it blaze brighter than ever. She looked down at me, offering me her hand and I wrapped mine around hers, our bond alight. I rose to stand at her side, the two of us glaring at our captor, all the injustice of the universe making the air thicken in my lungs.
