But then a sharp, biting pain erupted through her shoulder. She lost her footing, her knees buckling. She managed to release Evie’s hand before she went down. She landed hard on the ground, banging her elbows as she broke her fall.
“Chloe!”
As she glanced over her shoulder, she saw the arrow sticking out of it. Then Evie’s startled cry ripped through the night air. Bruce held a knife to her throat with an oily smile on his face.
“Well, well. Isn’t this convenient?”
Chloe managed to climb back to her feet. She tried to ignore the pain lancing through her. “Let her go, Bruce.”
“I will if you give me yer keystone.”
She clenched her hands into tight fists, her crudely bandaged hand throbbing. She met Evie’s gaze and in them she saw defiance.
“And then what? You’ll let us go?” she demanded. “I think we both know the answer to that.”
“Yer right. We need ye and yer blood to make the stones work. How about I spill yer sister’s blood right here, right now and use her stone againstye?”
Chloe clenched her jaw so tightly, the muscles ached. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“Wouldn’t I?” He pressed the blade closer to Evie’s throat.
Hesitation flickered through her. She wasn’t all too sure Bruce wouldn’t slice Evie’s throat. He wasn’t the man she thought she knew. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her piece of the keystone. Thankfully, it was no longer glowing. As she looked back at Evie, her eyes glistened with tears.
“All right. You win.” She stretched her hand out to him. “Release her and you can have it.”
She had no weapon. She had no way to stop him once she handed over her piece of the keystone. But she wanted Evie safe. As soon as he released her and she handed off the keystone, she and Evie would make a dash for the open gate.
Jamie would be on his own. Something told her, though, he would be able to find his own way out and to safety.
Bruce removed the knife from Evie’s throat, leaving behind a well of blood. He shoved her out of his way and stalked toward Chloe, holding the knife down to his side. Chloe kept her gaze on his face, his glittering blue eyes, and something inside her cracked. She hated him at the moment. She hated what he did to her, what he continued to do to her. She hated that he threatened her sister, her best friend, the only other person in the world who understood her. She hated that he tried to take Evie away from her. And she wanted him to pay for that.
The keystone rested in her palm as she held it out to him. He paused within a few inches of her outstretched hand, smiling triumphantly.
“I’m glad to see you came to yer senses.”
He plucked the keystone from her hand. Then he reached into his pocket and brought out Evie’s piece. He put the two pieces against each other, snapping them together.
Much to her relief, nothing happened. The stones were dormant.
But the moment the stones were put together, her sliced hand started to tingle and burn as if the magic had transferred from the stone to her.
“Now, all I need is the third piece.”
“Allyouneed?” Chloe asked, lifting a brow. “This was your plan all along, wasn’t it?”
Smug satisfaction erupted on his face. He opened his mouth to reply but then something smashed into the back of his head. He went down in a heap, landing on the ground with a thud. The two pieces of the keystone tumbled from his hand.
Behind him, Evie held a massive rock. She dropped it next to his lifeless body. Shock rolled through Chloe.
“Eve!”
“Is he dead?” she whispered, sounding horrified.
She quickly knelt and snatched up the two pieces, slipping them into her pocket. Then she felt for a pulse to put her sister’s mind at ease. There was a faint one.
“He’s still alive.”
Evie gasped. “Your shoulder, Chlo. You’re bleeding!”
