The Faerie Prince (Creepy Hollow, #2) by rachel morgan

partner, V. I wouldn’t just leave you here.”
    We stare at each other for a moment before I wriggle some more and say, “Well, are you going to get me down from here or what?”
    He crosses his arms and tilts his head to the side. “I’m actually rather enjoying this.”
    “Dammit, Ryn, I am in serious pain here!” I shout as tears begin to prick the back of my eyes. The skin around my hands and wrists is screaming out for relief.
    “Sorry,” he says, hurriedly swiping his hand through the air. The vine connecting me to the ceiling is severed. I drop swiftly. Ryn steps forward and catches me easily, as if catching falling girls is something he does all the time. With the vines gone, I feel an immediate return of my power. The burning ache around my wrists and hands lingers on, though.
    “That looks nasty,” Ryn says as he places me on the floor.
    I look up and notice a shimmer in the air over his shoulder. A person exiting the faerie paths. “Hey—”
    “Got you!” Savyon says. He steps deftly around Ryn and seizes me by the wrist. He grasps Ryn’s wrist in his other hand. A crazy second passes where we all seem to freeze, then Savyon jumps away from us. Feeling something cold on my arm, I look down. A band of metal encircles my wrist.
    “No!” I shout, balling my fists in anger as I recognize the metal. “Dammit!”
    “Fun, aren’t they?” Savyon says. “I found them hidden in Zell’s quarters at the Unseelie Palace. Seems my little brother has been hiding many fun toys from me.”
    Furious at having to endure one of these magic-blocking bands for a second time, I pull my non-guardian knife out of its strap on my thigh and stab it into the side of Savyon’s neck without a second thought. He’s clearly so shocked I can do anything without magic that he barely manages to retaliate before Ryn kicks him hard in the chest.
    “Is this what I think it is?” Ryn demands as Savyon crashes into one of the couches.
    “If you’re thinking that you’re now magic-less, then yes.” I dig my nails into my palms and kick my stupid dress away from where it’s getting tangled around my feet. Crapping hell! How are we supposed to get back to the Guild now? How are we supposed to finish our assignment?
    Blood gushes from Savyon’s neck as he climbs to his feet, splattering dark crimson patches on the white couch. He yanks the knife from his neck and holds his hand to the wound. His voice is dangerously low when he speaks. “You just made a very big mistake.”
    “So did you,” I say through gritted teeth. “You’ve now made it very hard for me to return to the Guild and complete my assignment. You just got between me and the top graduating position, and you have no idea how furious that makes me.”
    Before I can make a move, one half of a broomstick flies through the air toward Savyon, followed closely by the second half. The two pieces of wood proceed to beat Savyon up as they screech wildly. “I’m kind of furious myself,” Ryn says. He looks at me from the corner of his eye. “Although I seem to be containing it better than you.”
    The broomstick pieces come flying back at us, and we duck out of the way. Savyon vanishes the same way his mother did, then reappears right beside Ryn. He jabs my knife at Ryn, but I push Ryn out of the way and the knife slices across the top of my right arm.
    Great, that won’t be healing for a while.
    Ryn spins around and lands a punch to Savyon’s stomach, then gets forced back by a giant bat conjured up by a single word from Savyon. The bat flaps wildly around Ryn’s head as Savyon comes after me. He pins my arms to my sides just as I bring my knee up as hard as I can. His face contorts and he groans in agony, but doesn’t let go of me. He twists me around so my back is against his chest. He loops one arm around my neck.
    “Mother thinks you must be important somehow, so I’m not allowed to kill you,” he breathes into my ear. “But that doesn’t mean I