Asher
Maeve slams on the brakes as we block the street. She's out before the engine cuts, shouting, breathless.
"She's here—with Eira—she wants me—she's—"
"Get Maeve back to the house. Keep her safe," I tell the others. "Let's go," I command, looking to Kayden and Darius.
Eira's place is wrecked. Shattered glass, overturned furniture, the metallic scent of blood thick in the air.
And her, slumped on the floor, deadly still.
Kayden curses low. I kneel, check anyway, though I already know.
"She's close," Darius says behind me.
I nod once. "Split up. Find her."
Then I'm gone into the trees.
I usually move by logic and patterns, but none of that works now. The forest feels hollow. Everything feels like that. The ache in my chest spreads with every step, pulsing like a compass pointing straight to her.
Eira was under my protection. Winston, Eira… Sage. My failures.
We have to stop her before the list grows.
I push faster, scenting, scanning. Darius will sense her better—this is his domain. I have to trust that his love outweighs whatever duty he has to the powers that rule over him.
A flash.
Something moving too fast to track.
Then the impact—wood cracks, and I'm slammed against a tree.
Sage.
I move before I think, driving her back. We grapple. Power against power, a blur of force and fury.
"Sage, stop!" I grunt.
She does.
"What? Not having fun?" she asks, grinning with blood on her lips.
"No. Eira's dead."
Her smile widens. "Yeah. I made sure of it. And I warned you not to follow."
She lunges again, claws raking my chest. Fabric tears. Skin breaks. Blood runs hot down my ribs. I hit the tree, then shove back, forcing her down.
Even at full strength, I'm not sure I could take her. She's stronger than any vampire fledgling.
The forest darkens. Leaves shrivel. The air tastes like ash, spring collapsing into autumn in seconds as she sucks the life out of everything.
She pins me to the ground, straddling me, eyes burning black-green.
I stop fighting and look at her.
"Sage," I say quietly. "You're my wife."
