Page 163 of The Last Syphon

“Yeah.” Another shrug. “I tell it what to do, and it listens. I picture what I want it to do in my mind, and it does it.”

He looked around again in amazement. “Fascinating.” His eyes flicked down to her, lit with fire. “I wonder what else you can do.”

She smirked. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Yes. I would.”

There it was again. That fucking moment humming between them. They were so close it would take nothing at all to be in his arms. Her gaze roamed his face. Fuck. He really was nice to look at.

Silence stretched between them, and their gazes didn’t move, her studying him and him studying her. She felt almost drunk off the look he was giving her, that bright, vibrant violet of his orbs drawing her completely in.

Their hands brushed. Electricity shot through her. He sucked in a harsh breath. So did she. Her heart beat so wildly in her chest she feared he would hear it. Was his heart beating just as fast?

“We should continue.” He grunted, voice rough and thick.

“Yeah, we should.” Yet, they did not move.

What would happen if she did it? If she stepped even closer? Would he push her away? Would he be shocked? Horrified? Excited? Inara thought she had gotten pretty good at reading him, but right now, she had no idea what he was thinking, what he was feeling. And it fucking killed her⁠—

She felt a harsh pull from the bottom of her shield. It was sharp. Abrupt. Nothing like the slow, gradual drain she’d been experiencing since stepping foot in Tolanaa. She looked down at her feet, whatever spell that had ensnared her and Prince Walder breaking.

“What?” he asked, concern flitting in his voice.

“I…don’t know.” She squinted at the ground, her head cocking to the side.

Crouching low, she studied the black soil. Inara couldn’t put into words what it was she was feeling. Just that something was not…right. Something was attacking her shield, pulling more and more energy from it as each second passed. It was coordinated. Directed right at her.

She moved as if in a trance, her hand hovering over the ground. Why did she feel compelled to touch it? Allured? She knew what it was trying to do to her. She knew it was trying to drain her of her energy—most likely her magic, too—and yet, this sensation overtaking her, overwhelming her would not relent.

A small section of her shield disappeared, just enough for her to fit her hand through and touch it.

Prince Walder tensed beside her. “What are you doing?”

What was she doing? She honestly did not know. All she knew was that there was something calling to her. Reaching out to her. Inara’s mind screamed at her stop, but no matter how much her mind tried to reason with her and tell her this was not a good idea, she was powerless to stop herself. Almost as if she’d been put into this powerful, hypnotic trance. As if she did not have control over herself.

As if…

Someone else did.

Her hand touched the cursed land. A pulse of pure golden power exploded out from the contact, spreading out in a wide circle and racing across the ground, stretching far and wide, until it washed completely out of view.

Whatever hold that had taken over her vanished.

Her body sagged. What the⁠—

She snatched her hand back.

“Did you see that?” she asked, looking up to Prince Walder.

“See what?”

That would be a no, then. Before she even had the chance to gather her wits and figure out what the fuck just happened, she felt it.

Another…presence.

This presence was unknown to her, and yet entirely familiar all the same. She jumped to her feet, searching the area but seeing no one.

Prince Walder grew agitated. He gripped her by the arms roughly, and the contact was enough to shock her out of her own thoughts. “Will you tell me what the fuck is going on?!” He seemed…worried. Almost scared. For what? For her?