Eidos’s grip tightened around my face. His fingers pressed into my skin like iron bands. My vision pulsed with silver and black around the edges, flickering like a dying lantern. The valley tilted beneath me as he held me off the ground. I kicked uselessly, lungs straining for breath I could barely pull in.
He lowered his face toward mine.
“Sync to me,” he murmured.
The words were soft. They slid into my mind like poisoned silk.
Then I felt it.
A pressure that was not physical. A pull. A deep vibration that tried to reach inside my chest and weave itself through my pulse.
My heartbeat lurched.
No. Not my heartbeat. His.
Eidos’s pulse was trying to override mine. Trying to force my rhythm to match his, to bend my magic into his pattern. His frequency slammed into my skull, a cold, r
