She lifted a black, ticking square. “Oh, this? This is the bomb that’s going to do the trick. It destroysmagic, and since this floor is the most concentrated with it…” She trailed off, grinning as she broke into a fit of hysterical laughter.
Panic gripped me. A magic-destroying bomb? If that thing detonated, it wouldn’t just collapse the floor. It would suck the magic right out of our bodies. Everyone inside would die—horribly. No regeneration.
I scanned the bomb. No visible detonator. Just a timer that I couldn’t see well enough to read. Shit.
“I should have enough time to take care of you first,” she snarled.
My eyes flicked back to the device. I had to get to it, but first, I needed a distraction. Regret filled me for not bringing backup.
“I don’t believe you did that to Glen,” I said, slow and measured, motioning lazily to her figure. “I mean, a little thing likeyoucouldn’t have shredded him like that.”
Her entire body jerked, her tiny wings twitching violently, then her voice dropped to a chilling rasp. “Oh. Is that what you think?”
She gently placed the bomb down in the corner and turned back to me. Good. I’d hit a nerve.
“You want me to show you how I did it? How I’ll do that toyou?”
Her body cracked as bones began snapping in unnatural ways. All I could do was watch something I’d never seen before. When supe species intermingled, they didn’t make a baby that was half one species or the other. One species always took over, and that meant that this fairy changing into a werewolf was wholly unnatural, something that shouldn’t exist.
Her mouth opened in a silent scream as her body mangled itself in what looked like the most painful way I’d ever witnessed. Her psycho eyes locked on mine, and sick satisfaction filled them as they watched me experience their transformation.
What had been a cute, unimposing fairy was now a grotesque werewolf hybrid. Her limbs were uneven, claws warped, and fur sprouted unevenly across her limbs. Her wings remained, though they were now twisted and matted with fur. She looked like someone had tried to sculpt a werewolf from scraps and failed.
“Now you understand why his mouth was wide open before I sliced it off,” she growled. “He was desperate. Lonely. He told me everything about your precious palace. Right before hebeggedfor his life.”
She lunged.
I dodged her first attack, so her claws slammed into the ground as she let out an unnatural, discordant howl that scraped along my nerves like broken glass. I clamped my hands over my ears.
While she was definitely bigger, she also was fast. She charged at me again. This time, I shot into the air, wings flaring, but she twisted mid-leap and slammed into me, knocking the wind out of me as she dragged me down.
Her claws raked across my abdomen, tearing deep, and blood spurted out onto the floor, making a slippery pool of crimson liquid.
Pain exploded as my breath hitched. My first thought was,man, that hurt like a bitch. Her claws weren't razor sharp but jagged and gnarly, ripping my skin to ugly shreds. That beast inside me rolled over, shoving the agony aside, giving me a moment to think.
I didn’t want to use my power of desire, not yet. I wasn’t sure how it would affecther, and I needed to play this smart. I had mates. A family. The Syndicate was depending on me.
Think, Aniyah. Think!
As my mind raced, I looked down to my heeled boots, the ones Ezra had given me on my twenty-fourth birthday… the ones that concealed poisoned blades in the heels.Fucking thank you, E!
Looking at the mutant werewolf, I told myself I just needed the right opening. One shot was all I’d get before those claws dug in me again.
Natalie licked her lips, her grin revealing blood-slicked fangs. “You’ve never looked worse, Miss Glovefox. Absolutely pathetic.”
I almost corrected her, almost.
Clutching my side, hot liquid seeping through my fingers, I glared. “And you look like a science experiment gone wrong. I still look better.”
Petty? Yes. But distracting? Also yes. I needed to give my body a few seconds to heal up enough for the blood to stop.
“Did you have Glen the whole time?” I asked, eyes flicking toward her blood-soaked claws. “Or did he slip past your weak little radar? Took you far too long to get rid of him.”
Her jaw clenched, teeth gnashing in anger. “He slipped away for one day. One! But when I caught him… oh, I made it count.”
She pawed at the floor, ready to charge again, and I glanced down, seeing that the bleeding had almost stopped.
She let out a savage roar, those mangled limbs bending before she lunged. She might be quick, but I could be quicker.
