The blue orb bobbed behind her, lighting up the tangled branches on either side of them.

The Alpha’s face slowly illuminated, along with the rest of his body.

Naya’s dread returned, more terrifying than before.

His dark eyes struck her first. They shone with anger, indignation, and a disturbing enjoyment, as though he was taking pleasure in this chase and had no fear he was going to lose. He was huge—bigger than she’d imagined.

Long dark hair whipped behind him, propelled by each forceful step. A snarl twisted his mouth, baring gritted teeth in a squarish, bearded jaw. His nose was just a little too wide for his face, but it suited him.

Everything about him was charged with dark, sinister intent.

Naya swept down the passageway ahead of him, pushing harder to encourage the forest to close quicker behind her so he’d be caught in its branches. But he ran faster, his whole body in furious motion, face contorting with the effort. The way he moved was captivating. He was like a force unto himself, just as wild and natural and unstoppable as the forest magic itself. Naya could help but watch him, excitement infusing her fascination.

He slipped a hand down to his hip and then held something up in front of him.

Suddenly, her grip on magic slipped.

Her back slammed into a tree, a sickening crack shuddering through her body. Her breath tore out of her lungs and a sharp agony carved through her body. Dazed, Naya dropped down to her feet, trying to blink away the blur in her vision.

The Alpha approached her, his chest heaving. He lifted her chin and examined her face. Naya tried to push him away, but pain seized her. Her whole body felt like it had been battered repeatedly against a wall.

The darkness in his eyes deepened. “Hhe rimarta shti, tmot zmia.”

Naya frowned. That language didn’t sound familiar. Dizziness took hold of her and she blinked rapidly trying to clear it. He uncurled his hand to reveal a strange type of rock, and he continued murmuring.

The trees behind her disappeared and then she was falling.

Naya hit the ground. Heat enveloped her and a bright light seared her eyes. She squinted, groaning at the pain. Maybe she’d broken her ribs. Turning, she dug her fingers into the dirt to drag herself along the ground, away from her attacker, but her fingers burrowed into something hot and silky and smooth. She lifted a handful of dirt and watched gold spill through her fingers. Sand?

His massive hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her around onto her back. He stood over her, slightly shielding her from the bright light behind him. Sand and Light? Where was she?

Bending down slightly, he pressed an acrid-smelling cloth to her mouth, sending a sharp kick to the back of her throat.

Naya fought, clawing at his hand and trying to drag herself away along the sandy ground. But within moments she was choking, and the dizziness worsened until darkness rushed in.

CHAPTER SIX

Pain held her in its grip, joints stiff, limbs achy, torso shredded. Her head throbbed and her neck hurt. The pain was too severe to be from sparring or training. It felt like her whole body was screaming.

Naya cracked her eyes open and then widened them in shock.

She was suspended against a wall, her whole body pressed again it with her feet dangling and her elbows bent, arms by her head. Her robe and shoes had been taken, but she still wore her night tunic and undergarments. That was a relief.

Thick strips of fabric had been wrapped from her wrists to her elbows and around her neck, and another wide band of the same material had been wrapped around her upper torso and hips. The fabric pinned her against the wall but she couldn’t tell how.

Her memory of the man who’d chased her came rushing back. He had somehow taken her out of the forest and then drugged her.

She scanned her surroundings but it was too dark to see much of anything. A small ball of light flickered a few feet away in a strangely designed lantern carved with intricate patterns in an unusual style. It sat alone on a similarly designed wide table.

Wherever she was, it was too quiet. No wind or carriage wheels or voices; the air was warm and thick, like Vamore in summer. Maybe that’s where she was?

Peering at her forearms, she tried to examine the fabric. Bands were wrapped repeatedly but with no obvious tie-off that she could grip with her teeth. She pulled her arm away and found a powerful resistant force pulling on her arm to keep it in place. At the same time, the fabric tightened the farther away she pulled.

Naya paused and exhaled. The fabric had to be magical in nature, and magic held her against the wall. Maybe the room was filled with this type of resistant magic? Sucking in a breath, she pulled her arm away from the wall again, feeling the band tighten around her arm until she ached. But she kept going, gasping, until the top of the fabric cut into her skin.

Shock jolted her. Blood oozed out of the wound, spreading into the bands. Fabric had cut her. Who would create something like this? She’d visited prisons all over the Known Lands. No one used this.

Unease slid into her, coating her lungs with every breath she took.

Sending out her awareness, she extended her will and called on magic. Pain shot through her, vibrant and strong, fizzing around her senses before petering out at the edge of her awareness.

What was that? Trying to stay calm, she tried again and winced. The same thing happened. Hadn’t magic been behaving strangely before she was cornered?

It had something to do with the Alpha. She didn’t know how he’d stopped her in the forest, but her magic had slipped away. And it was happening again. Did that mean she wouldn’t be able to use magic?

She called on it again, only to have it fizzle out, leaving a dizzying nausea. For the first time, a small bud of fear about her situation bloomed. Magic was behaving differently than it should. The magic across the Known Lands may feel different in places, but it was predictable and plentiful. Whatever the Alpha had done, he’d disrupted it so she couldn’t exert her will on it. It was clever, but her awareness extended farther than most people thought.

She focused her mind again, this time sending her awareness in all directions, trying to feel where magic had pooled, but there was either no magic in the atmosphere around her, or the magic had a completely different identity and behaved differently.

Naya's eyes snapped open, her heart quickening. Being out of reach of magic couldn’t be possible. As part of her training, Papa had been pedantic enough to put her in scenarios where she was forced to wear a magic-restricting bangle that completely cut off her access to magic and restricted her powers.

He’d forced her to develop her problem-solving, combat and logic skills to use anything at her disposal to conquer her situation, be it her sword, her negotiation skills, or fighting as dirty as she could. She wasn’t completely helpless without magic, but this was different.

Wearing the bracelet was like being unable to take a deep breath. Like suffering from a cloying sticky-mouthed thirst with a goblet of water at your lips. It was torturous in a way those who weren’t Omegas couldn’t understand. But this wasn’t that.

Everything felt normal when she tried to access magic—it just didn’t respond the way it should.

Naya swallowed and tamped down her fear. Panicking wouldn’t help her. Focusing, she sent out her will farther than she ever had before, searching for even a sliver of magic she could control. A wild spark shot through her and she reached for it with an iron grip.

Movement stirred in the far corner of the room. Naya’s heart jumped into her mouth, shock twisting her stomach. A huge figure rose from behind the table. Someone had been in the room watching her this whole time!