"It seems like everyone's taken advantage of me."
"I don't know how else to say this, Jonny, but that's the game we're playing."
"Game?" His whisper turned to a roar. "Is that what I am to you, Jenn? A game?"
"I didn't mean-"
He whirled and snatched her neck, lifting her off the ground. Jenn whipped out a dagger, but he knocked it away. She felt his magic swell around him, the fire in his gaze sizzling through her blood.
"Tell me where the portal is, Guardian." His voice was inhuman.
Jenn closed her eyes, struggling to breathe. Jonny wasn't trained in reading minds; his entrance into hers was like taking a machete to a piñata. Her world grew red then black while he smashed through her memories.
He dropped her finally, and she landed in a heap. Sand was rough against her cheek, and she blinked back tears and darkness. The sun peeked over the desert horizon to the east.
Jonny squatted beside her. "Where is it?"
Jenn pretended to be more disoriented than she was, wanting to catch him by surprise and Travel before he caught her. She pushed herself up to her knees. Jonny shifted away. She closed her eyes to Travel, but he clamped a hand on her forearm.
"This will keep you from running," he said. Black smoke swirled in his other hand, molding into a cuff. The Black God slapped it over her arm.
It sucked her magic out of her, storing it in the black cuff. Jenn stared at it. Jonny released her and rose.
"I'll count to three, Guardian," Jonny said. "Tell me where it is. One."
"You can't go to the immortal world, Jonny. The Others are there."
"Two."
"Whatever they told you, it's wrong. You have to trust me."
"I did more than trust you," he said, glancing at her. "This will hurt me more than it does you, Jenn."
"Jonny-"
"Three."
His gaze flashed. Pain flew threw her. Jenn cried out, her body bucking from waves of agony. They stopped just as suddenly as they started again.
"Let's try this again," the Black God said.
Jenn gritted her teeth. She'd sworn an oath to Darian, and the last thing she wanted was to return to the immortal world and wait for the Others to grab her. Of course, if Jonny had his way, her fate was already sealed.
Jonny crouched beside her. Jenn wiped her mind clean, instead thinking of Bianca, Jonny's sister. She focused hard on the image of Bianca and braced herself for Jonny's fiery touch. He touched her and withdrew immediately, cursing.