The moment they moved together, the room reacted.
Creatures peeled from the walls in jerking spasms of stone and shadow, rushing them from every angle.
Gavriel met them head-on, blade flashing, body bruised and burning with effort. His calf was still bleeding from the echo corridor. His arms were scored from the chute.
Then he felt a weird sensation as Serena snapped a shield around them. It was warm. Internal. The feeling of something being drawn from his chest, pulled outward through his skin and into the air.
Rook: This is correct. Mate pulls magic from us.
She blinked a few times, stunned, then turned to him. "Gav, you—"
"Oh, right. I'm magical now too," he said with a shrug.
"Since when?" she asked.
"Unclear. Possibly since the coma. Possibly since we landed on this volcano island. Possibly since birth and I just never noticed."
"I didn't mean to pull from you. I don't know how or why—"
"I can't control it, Serena. Pull from me all you want. I'll be your battery."
