Mirabelle?
My blood turned to ice.
“He’s not the phantom,” I cursed. “He wasneverthe phantom.”
“Then where is the phantom?” Aura asked.
“The phantom…no. You’re not a phantom. You’re not Mirabelle. She can’t be saved anymore,” the warlock choked out. Raw sadness filled his tone, but his dark eyes were trained on me.
“Get back!”Dimitri’s voice sliced through the quiet. He moved with vampire speed, positioning himself between me and the warlock.
“I got her.” Slater pulled me into his chest, pivoting back.
The warlock’s hands were alight, veins glowing with deep molten gold as power surged toward his fingertips. A blast of energy erupted outward from them with a concussive crack.
Dimitri didn’t flinch. He raised one arm, bracing with his body and catching the blast like he was a fucking shield. Golden sparks burst off him and seared into the ground, but he held his position easily.
His boots ground into the dirt, but he didn’t allow himself to be pushed back.
I’d never seen a vampire catch a magic spell like that before, and I hadn’t known it was possible.
The warlock stumbled, blinking furiously.
Dimitri turned toward us, his face grim. “We need to regroup—now.”
The warlock’s expression twisted and cracked into something far too calm for my liking. He raised one trembling hand and pointed a glowing finger at the back of Dimitri’s skull.
My heart plummeted.
I couldn’t let him get his ass killed after he’d just saved me.
“Move!” I lunged before I could think, pulling away from Slater and slamming into Dimitri just as another bolt of fire-magic exploded forward.
We tumbled to the side, and his cinnamon and nutmeg scent hit my nose in a way that made my heart still.
A searing wave of heat tore through my ribs. My breath left in a violent whoosh as pain ripped down my side.
I screamed, but the sound barely escaped, muffled by the pain flooding my body. I hadn’t expected the pain to be so intense within a simulation.
I hit the ground with a thud, right next to Dimitri.
“What just happened?” Dimitri’s voice cracked, sharp with panic. He pushed to his knees beside me, his eyes wide. “You just…took a hit for me?”
“You did it for me first.” I forced a broken laugh, coughing through the already easing pain. “Don’t turn your back on an enemy.”
He stared at me, like he didn’t know whether to strangle me or thank me, which was very relatable.
The warlock let off another attack, and Dimitri turned to face it, protecting me as he did.
“Rune!”Koa’s voice cracked as he dropped to his knees beside me so fast he skidded across the ground a few inches.
Smoke curled lazily from the wound in my side. My shirt was half-melted, sticking to blistered skin that oozed and split with every breath I took.
It fucking hurt. Sweat beaded at my temple.
“Fates,” I hissed through the pain. “Haven’t been hit like that in a while.”
The scent of seared flesh and scorched fabric clung to the air. Pain lanced through me before dulling and repeating the cycle.
