Mallin couldn't believe he was even considering ignoring Ciprian.
Yet there he stood in the middle of the road, an island amidst a great flowing tide of people, doing his best to resist his Master's summons. His pulse raced through him as he defied the man who he never dreamed of defying until that very moment.
But bravery was new to him, and his sleepwalking had made him weak. Ciprian was not.
The more Mallin struggled against Ciprian's command for his attention, the more it sharpened into a hook in his brain, yanking on him until he had no choice but to follow it. He gritted his teeth and pushed his way in the opposite direction of the tide of the crowd while Ciprian's magic reeled him in like a fish on a line.
Was this what it meant to be favored by Ciprian…to be useful? Had his Master dragged Sacha around the same way?
