Nox finally saw me. His head snapped at the sound of my cry, and his eyes widened. “Don’t hurt him, Tessa!” he called out.
Tessa’s feline eyes found mine, and that was all it took.
Scarven pounced. His blade-like teeth wrapped around Tessa’s outstretched limb…
And ripped it clean off.
Devastation tore through my body, punching the breath right out of me.
I would never forget the sound that came from Tessa’s mouth. It wasn’t a roar, but not quite a scream—it was a ragged, guttural bellow, the kind only spawned by gut-wrenching, unexpected pain. Tessa’s jaguar form buckled and crashed to the ground, her wail morphing into a human’s cry as she was forced to shift back.
Blood flowed from the gaping hole in her arm, the wound too deep for even her Shifter abilities to heal her. She hunched over her knees in a ball as she trembled on the ground.
I had to get to her.Someonehad tohelp her.
I raced across the grounds separating us, dodging Scarven’s larger-than-life paws and keeping my sights set on Tessa’s face, which was becoming scarily ashen from blood loss.
I was almost to her when the massive, bronze legs surrounding us disappeared.
Scarven landed at my feet in his human form. Before I could blink, his hand whipped out and closed around my throat.
He cocked his head with a smirk. “Hello, love.”
His voice sent a chill through me, echoes of moments at his side whipping through my mind. I swallowed them down and met his gaze.
“We both know you won’t hurt me,” I said, feigning bravado. “Anything that happens to me, happens to you.”
“That’s true. But I’m no stranger to pain.” He squeezed harder, enough to make the muscles in my neck clench under the pressure. I watched the column of his throat as he swallowed hard, his nostrils flaring with the same sensation.
“Why are you—doing this?” I gasped, struggling to breathe.
He loosened his hold and leaned in closer, that stench of sweet, slightly soured wine bringing back all the horrible memories I tried to bury. My arms trembled, and my lungs constricted. Ihatedthe way even the sound of his voice invoked such panic.
“Because I tire of thisinsolence,” he rumbled. He swiped his nose along my jawline and into my hair, inhaling deeply. A familiar low snarl reached my ears from somewhere behind him.
“And because I know how to make it end.” His words were rushed now, heating my skin as his rough lips scraped me. “He’s always been so predictable, yourdragon. You just have to know what nerves to strike. Three, two, one…”
Before I could register his words, Nox appeared directly behind Scarven, his eyes wild with possessive rage.
It happened faster than I could draw breath.
Scarven yanked my dagger from my thigh sheath, whirled in place, and plunged it into Nox’s stomach.
77
Devora
The world tilted as I crashed to my knees.
He will heal. He will heal. He will heal.
The blade sank into his side. His lips parted in stunned silence, his eyes scrambling to find mine as two dark blooms soaked the front of his shirt.
His mouth formed a single word.
“Tomorrow.”
Our forever will start tomorrow.
