Before she could stop him, he stepped out from their cover, facing the oncoming guards. His voice, when he spoke, carried a power she had felt before.
“Kill each other.” The phrase was simple. Elegant. Unavoidable.
The effect was immediate and horrifying.
The guards turned on one another, their expressions blank as they obeyed without question. Gunfire erupted once more, but this time directed at their own ranks. In seconds, the tunnel was quiet again, save for the moans of the dying.
Nadi stared at the carnage, stunned despite knowing what Raziel was capable of.
She had seen it herself. Sheknewwhat he could do. But to just…see it done like that. So effortlessly? The ease with which he had condemned those men to death?
“Don’t look so shocked.” He shook his head. “They would have done the same to us.”
Before she could respond, another figure emerged from the shadows ahead—a guard who must have circled around to cut off their escape. He raised his weapon, aiming directly at Raziel’s back.
“Raziel!” Nadi lunged forward to push him aside.
The gun fired, the bullet grazing her arm as they both tumbled to the ground. Raziel rolled, coming up in a crouch, then launching himself at the guard with inhuman speed.
The fight was brief and brutal. The guard, though skilled, was no match for a vampire of Raziel’s power. Within moments, he lay broken on the tunnel floor, his neck twisted at an impossible angle.
Raziel turned to Nadi, his eyes wild, fangs extended in rage. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, clutching her arm where the bullet had grazed her. Checking it, there was blood, but not much. “It’s nothing. Just a scratch.”
He was beside her in an instant, examining the wound with gentle fingers that belied his ferocious appearance. The contrast was jarring—this creature who could command men to slaughter each other, now tending to her injury with caution.
“It’s already healing.” Clearly fascinated, he watched as her fae physiology closed the wound before his eyes. “It must have been a struggle to pretend to be wounded after the wedding.”
“It was a serious pain in the ass, actually.” She chuckled weakly.
“You continue to surprise me, little assassin.”
His proximity was intoxicating, the adrenaline of their escape still coursing through both of them. Nadi could feel his breath on her skin, could see the hunger in his eyes—not just for blood, but forher.
“We should go,” she said, her voice unsteady. “Before more guards arrive.”
Raziel didn’t move away. Instead, his hand slid to the back of her neck, fingers tangling in her hair. “Tell me what happened between you and Braen. Every detail.”
“Now’s not the t?—”
“Would I see bruises at your throat, if it weren’t for this magic of yours?” He backed her slowly into the wall. “Bruises fromhishands on your body?”
“Yes…”
“Did you like it?”
“No.”
He slid his hand to her throat, his fingers taking the place where Braen’s had been only so many short minutes before. “Why not?” He pressed her gently to the wall. It was such a familiar situation—and yet so different than it had been with the other vampire.
She felt like she couldn’t breathe. “Raziel, we need to g?—”
“Answer me. Why didn’t you like it?”
“He was going to hurt me…”
“And you don’t think I will?” His hand tightened just a little. “Do youtrustme, Nadi?” His question was almost breathless—filled with disbelief.
