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Back Unbound: A Fantasy Romance Save as PDF
Chapters (49)
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25
  26. 26
  27. 27
  28. 28
  29. 29
  30. 30
  31. 31
  32. Chapter 32
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39. Raith
  41. RAITH
  42. 40
  43. 41. Raith
  44. RAITH
  45. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  46. A NOTE FROM PENELOPE
  47. BEHIND THE MAGIC: READER EXCLUSIVES
  48. SNEAK PEAK: UNVEILED
  49. MORE BOOKS FROM PENELOPE

"Find us when you're ready," Milena says. "When you've seen the truth of what they are. What they've done. Find that you’re not as alone as you think. We can be a family for you, Nessa. A family of those who truly understand you. Who won’t fear you. Won’t try to cage or use you."

Lorkan gestures and I sense magic gathering in the air around me like prickles across my skin. I brace myself for destruction. For oblivion. When I think about what I just helped Lorkan do, part of me almost welcomes it. Part of me almost hopes I’m about to be destroyed.

The last thought in my mind before the magic hits is of Raith, of wishing we’d had more time together before it all came crashing down around us.

41. Raith

41

RAITH

I can’t even feel the fucking tether anymore. The absence is a black void in the center of my chest, an aching awareness of what was there. What was lost.

He got to her. I don’t know how I know it, but I do.

Voss.

I can feel it in my fucking bones.

I drag myself from the bed in the private healer’s area I’ve been confined to. I ready myself to challenge the guards at the door, to demand release.

But I try the handle and find it’s open.

Three days of confinement to this fucking room and the door is just… open?

I limp into the hallway, shirtless and bandaged, but knowing nothing is going to stand in my way until I find Nessa. I can feel fear, confusion, hurt, and betrayal through the tether. But it’s all so faint and distant. One moment, she was resting like she has been since we returned, and the next there was so much emotion.

The thought of her being in danger and not being able to help is unbearable, a knife twisting in my gut. If anything happens, I'll tear this entire fucking academy to the ground. I'll hunt whoever took her to the ends of the earth.

Students roam the halls, all smiles and relaxed laughter as they enjoy the brief weeks off before next year’s classes begin in earnest. They slow and stare as I pass, glaring at anyone who gets in my way.

Pyrin follows me, his concern mirroring my own.

She feels so godsdamned far away. But I’ll find her. I don’t know how. I don’t know where she is. I just know I won’t stop until I’ve found her.

I keep replaying those final moments together in her room before the Crucible. Seeing the look of hurt on her face when she learned who I really was. Feeling the slight withdrawal and the questions running through her mind. Did she really know me at all? Could she really trust me?