“Vincent!” Anna cried as we emerged on the other side, but she immediately halted at the sight of Zephyr.
“Johnson!” I called, and the doctor immediately rushed over with two more nurses.
“Get him on a bed!” Johnson ordered, and Vincent and I grunted, shifting his weight toward the closest one, the nurses helping lift him up as we laid him down as carefully as we could.
Johnson took over, shouting orders to nurses, the room descending into chaos. Vincent and I stumbled back, chests heaving as we struggled to catch our breaths. Anna ran to Vincent, wrapping her arms around him. Her relief washed over me as Vincent embraced her, murmuring soft words of love to her.
I wanted to linger, wanted to make sure my brother was okay, but I looked to the dark void connecting us to The Complex. Cassie was still out there somewhere; Barrett was still out there. I turned, heading back toward the shadows, Vincent telling Anna he would be back. I glanced over my shoulder to see her clutching his sleeve tightly, shaking her head as she begged him not to go.
“Cassie and Barrett are still out there,” he said, and she stilled.
Anna’s wide eyes found me, and I couldn’t hold her gaze. Guilt sank into the pit of my stomach as I asked her to risk the life of her mate for the sake of mine. I stepped toward the darkness as Vincent gave her a quick kiss and hurried to my side.
“What happened?” I asked as he reached me. “Where’s Cassie and Barrett?”
“We got separated on the fifth floor. Got hit by a horde of them. They could be anywhere by now.”
My heart stammered.
Where was my mate?
47
CASSIE
Zephyr hadn’t looked good when Vincent pulled him out. Had he been...
No, I couldn’t allow myself to think that, but the fear had taken root, my breaths coming in short bursts. Darklings poured out of the rooftop doorway like a swarm of roaches, and I stumbled back, fighting to steady my pounding heart.
Barrett widened his stance beside me as they charged for us.
“Light these fuckers up, Cas!” Barrett shouted, flames coming to life in his hand.
I calmed my racing heart, sinking into the warmth of my own skin, sparking that heat until it ignited in my hands. I fanned out the flame in a wide arc in unison with Barrett, sweeping across the wave of darklings.
They descended into dust, but more emerged through the mist of ashes. I ripped one of my daggers from my thigh, swinging it through the air at one of the creatures’ chests as I ducked beneath its grasp. The darkling howled as it crashed to the rooftop behind me. I whipped around as it twisted onto his claws and feet, snapping its torn jaws at me. Barrett’s back met mine as he held off other darklings that came for me. The only sounds were his grunts and the hisses of the darklings falling to his blade.
They surrounded us, forming a massive arch as they drove us to the edge of the rooftop. I shot flames out as two darted for me from the mass. Through the thinning horde, I caught sight of more climbing onto the roof from the far wall. God, how many were there?
Barrett and I pivoted, backing against one another as we faced off against the onslaught. I panted, my heart pounding. How much longer could I hold them back? The climb up the stairs had left my legs shaking and my lungs struggling to pull in the bitter winter air.
“So, I hear you’ve been doing good in your flight training,” Barrett said before he slammed his dagger into another darkling.
“I don’t think this is the time for chitchat,” I ground out, slamming a fistful of fire into another darkling’s face, the creature lighting up in flames the second my hand connected with it.
“Nonsense,” he grunted as he took out another darkling. “It’s always a good time for chitchat. If you can’t talk while fighting, you’re—” He slammed another darkling onto the roof. “Not in good shape!”
Another darkling turned to dust on my blade, and I stumbled back, chest heaving. I couldn’t keep this up—that invisible limit was approaching. I tried to reach out to Damien again. We’d run out of time. We needed to get out of here.
Damien! Did you get Johnson out? Is everyone out of the building?
There was no response at first, and I faltered as another darkling lurched for me. I lifted my hand, shooting a blast of fire into it. It shrieked, falling onto the ground. Why wasn’t I able to reach him? My thoughts flitted to Lucia’s memory, to when I hadn’t been able to contact him. Were the darklings somehow interfering? Was he hurt?
Cas? Thank the Gods. Yes, everyone is out. Where are you?
Relief washed over me at the sound of his voice.
“Get back, Cas!” Barrett shouted, pulling me to the edge as flames erupted from his palm in a wide arc, more powerful than before, engulfing a mass of the darklings in a wall of fire.
