KAZIER
I'd gotten hit harder than I expected.
My fingers come away red as I touch the line of my dark brown hair. While my magic controlled the mind, Chezarei's dealt with the body. And his magic was powerful.
Every step I take is weaker and dizzier than the last.
"Your Highness!"
A hand suddenly wraps around my shoulder, pulling back. And I instinctively reach for the knife against my thigh, the handle cold between my fingertips.
I blink, trying to clear my blurring vision.
Who...?
"Kaz! It's River."
The knife slips from my fingers. And I recognize River's dark, braided locks the same time I hear his shocked voice, his eyes wide in my direction.
"What in the—what happened?"
He grips my arm, wrapping it around his neck. My body sways heavily into his. I can feel the heat of the
