Caius whipped around with a knife in his hand, shot across the room, and rammed a knee into Gedeon’s spine. Fisting his brother’s hair, Caius yanked the Lux King’s head back, baring his neck.
Caius held the long blade to his brother’s throat and leaned forward until his mouth was near his ear. “When you’re alone in the pits of hell, wondering where you went wrong.” He twisted Gedeon’s head to look directly at Rory. “Her.That’swhere you went wrong. Touching my mate was your fatal mistake, and you will regret it every day as you burn for eternity.”
As the ache in her arms became unbearable, Rory pushed to stand, forgetting about the slippery blood on the floor, and when herfoot shot out from under her, she fell and screamed in pain as something in her shoulder ripped.
Caius turned to her, and his eyes widened with fear. Dropping the knife, he ran over and snapped Gedeon’s neck to incapacitate him. The binding shadows dissolved when Caius threw Gedeon’s body to the side to get to his wife.
Rory looked from her tormentor’s lifeless body to Caius, whose body was covered in moving black lines. The veins were a living embodiment of his emotions, and the angrier he got, the more they grew.
Was she still dreaming?It felt real, and she whimpered, unsure of her reality.
“Rory, can you hear me?” Caius’ soft voice warmed her, and he cupped her face gently. “Fuck. Hold on.”
“I can’t,” she rasped, the sound barely audible. Other than her shoulder, her physical body was fine, but the Lux King had broken her mind, and at her admission, the shadows raged around them.
“Yes, you can,” he said, inspecting the shackles on her wrists.
She didn’t know how he did it, but they opened, and her body dropped like a bag of broken bones. Before she hit the ground, he caught her and held her to his chest, rocking back and forth.
His lips murmured against her hair, “I made it. I’m here. Please, come back to me.”
She clutched his shirt and pressed her face into the crook of his neck. “Are you real?”
Smoothing her bloody hair away from her face, he gently lifted her chin to look at him. “Yes, baby. I’m real.” His voice cracked, and her bottom lip trembled at the emotions raging between them.
She dropped her forehead and cried into his shoulder. “I thought I was dead,” she rasped, anchoring herself to him.
Slowly, he moved back to look at her and met her watery eyes. “You think I would let you die and leave me here?” His lips pressed against her forehead. “TheSeraphimcouldn’t stop me from getting to you. What makes you think death could?”
The black receded from his eyes, and when he leaned in to kiss her lips, they were back to a brilliant gold. This kiss wasn’t chaste and fleeting. It was filled with love and longing. They desperately tried to make up for stolen time and the lives they almost lost. The soulscape didn’t compare, and it never would. Pressing her body against his, she tried to reassure herself he wouldn’t disappear.
“I love you,” he murmured when he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. “I can’t believe I almost lost you.”
She kissed the tear that trailed down his cheek. “I love you, too.” Her fingers stroked the back of his neck, and she kissed him again, unable to stop touching him, afraid someone would take him from her.
When they separated again, she gained her bearings and looked around. It was still dark, despite him being calm.Why were the shadows still surrounding them?“What happened to the light?”
Caius withdrew the shadows that covered the essence lights, and Rory instinctively clutched him tighter when the light bounced off the wall of knives. She turned to where Gedeon lay and froze before searching the room frantically. “Where is he?” His body was gone.
Caius stood with her still in his arms and placed her gently on her feet. “His neck shouldn’t have healed that fast,” he said, perplexed. Shadows started bumping into things, and the sound of knives falling to the floor made her yelp. “He’s probably hiding somewhere to finish healing,” Caius guessed, furiously raking a hand through his hair.
“He has his power back,” Rory said, shaking at the memory of the liquid fire scorching her skin.
Caius’ face softened, and he engulfed her in his arms. “Hey,” he soothed. “He doesn’t have his power anymore. He won’t hurt you.”
After a few calming breaths, she met his intense gaze. “How do you know that?”
“There are no more suns.” He looked guilty at the fact.
Rory stared at him, not comprehending. “What do you mean?”
Caius’ bright eyes were in direct contrast with the dark linescovering his face, amplifying the emotion displayed there. “Exactly what I said. When I came through the barrier, the suns disappeared. Without access to them, he has no power, and he knows he can’t win against me without it.”
“We need to find him before he gets away,” Rory urged as the ramifications of Gedeon walking around hit her.
Caius grabbed both sides of Rory’s face gently. “You are my priority, and if you are terrified and shaking, I’m not leaving you. You come first, always.”
A crash sounded, and they both spun around, prepared to fight, but the sight of Lauren stumbling toward them catapulted Rory into action. With everything that transpired, her mind hadn’t fully caught up to reality yet, and she’d forgotten Gedeon dragged theAngelinto the room.
