My cackle was drowned out by the sound of the engine as that massive snake wrapped around the pit bull and squeezed. I left the djinn to fight that battle while I scanned the deck below me. Swaths of shadows hid Kai from view, but I easily made out the shore in front of us. It was close—too close. Impact imminent kind of close.
Kai!
I only had time to scream his name before the bottom of the boat hit land and sent us airborne. It felt like flying. The speed at which we shot through the air, the sky so thick with clouds and close enough to touch, even the feel of the rain on my skin—none of it warned of the pain coming when we landed.
And it was coming. We had seconds. Oh gods, this was going to hurt. The ground grew closer, and I knew not even the packed sand would cushion the breaking of our bones. I gave a final glance to Kai, hoping to see him one last time. His green eyes were wide with fear, but I felt nothing but love and determination from the bond.
I’ve got you,he promised and reached for me with his shadows.
Darkness. I was enveloped by a familiar, cool touch as my other senses were completely smothered. Sight and sound disappeared. For a heartbeat, I was weightless, and time slowed. This was it. At least I wouldn’t have to see the end coming. Kai’s chuckle in my mind was comforting as I raced toward a broken body, but his warm embrace caught me by surprise.
So little faith, he teased.As if I’d let anything happen to you, not after finally being able to call you mine.
thirty
Kaiden
I wasn’t sure it would work. It was pure instinct to reach out with my shadows, but I’d never used them like this before. They naturally sought out my bonded and effortlessly wound around her as she fell from the platform. Drawing her to me, I held on tight.
I’ve got you, princess.
Rain and wind merged together into lethal knives that peppered my defenses like heat-seeking missiles. I pushed more energy into thickening the outer layer of shadows, but they found me anyway. Fuck, how was the storm still getting through? In the middle of the madness, Eryn fit perfectly in my arms, her head tucked into my neck, and her little hands clenched on my chest. I squeezed her back, wishing I could wrap my entire body around hers to cushion the blow I knew we couldn’t completely outrun.
My magick flowed from me in a continuous stream. I gave it full reign and emptied every drop from my reserves trying tostrengthen the cloud I enveloped us in. The fear in Eryn’s eyes before she fell was mirrored in my very soul. She didn’t think we were going to make it. I tried to flood our bond with as much love and confidence as I could muster, determined that if these were, in fact, our final moments, she wouldn’t feel a thing besides the happiness our bond filled me with, and the peace within me at finally being able to saymine.
The boat hovered in the air for what felt like a lifetime. Wrapped in my magick, we were weightless and blind, cut off from the view of the impending crash. Sounds were muffled as my shadows finally did as I asked and thickened. Magick pulled everything from me, tugging at the smallest drops hiding in my core and then hungrily searching for more at the other end of the bond. I shut that shit down. My strength would have to be enough. Eryn wouldn’t be drained because I wasn’t strong enough to protect us.
There was world shaking and a high-pitched ringing. We hithard, and I clutched Eryn tighter, terrified she’d be thrown from my arms and I’d never find her again. I spoke to her through it all, repeatedly professing my love in case they were the last words I’d ever say.
I love you too.Came her heartbreaking reply, and then it all went silent.
Small things registered at first, like the fact we were alive. Well, that was a big thing. Thebestthing. I cut the drain of magick, leaving only enough to maintain the sphere of shadows around us. With my chest no longer throbbing, it was easier to check in with the rest of my body. No broken bones or intense pain. Exhaustion made me dizzy, and my muscles were locked around Eryn like concrete, but so far so good.
Are you okay, princess?
I checked in, making sure no phantom pain came from herside. She wiggled in my arms, as reluctant to let go as I was but time wasn’t on our side.
Eryn,I pleaded,talk to me. I needed to know, needed to hear her speak.
“I’m okay,” she mumbled into my neck.
Thank the gods.
Slowly, I released my shadows. I kept a layer around us, protection from the unknown, but it was me being over-cautious. Surviving a boat crash wouldn't sound nearly as cool if we were stabbed or mauled by a pit bull immediately after.
Smoke merged with my shadows as I took in the crash site. The deck was split down the middle, half buried in the sand, and completely on its side. Eryn and I were tucked into a solid corner near the damaged cabin door at the center of it all. The framework of the boat had protected us, and I let out a sigh of relief as I took in the rest of our surroundings.
The djinn were still alive if their moans of pain and movements were anything to go by. Kol lay in a crumpled heap, half dangling over the side of the highest intact wall. His illusioned pet shook its head and got to its feet, ready to protect its master even while he was half-conscious. I wasn’t sure which of the guards stirring were under Eryn’s control, but only one was too out of commission to worry about.
“Where is she?”
The last of my magick dropped as Ezra crested the wreckage. His platinum blond hair shone like a beacon under the dim light of the moon, and the lingering storm clouds moved across his face as he scanned the wreck for the one person he wouldn’t find. Fuck. Eryn scrambled off me and cautiously approached my cousin with her hands held up.
“She wasn’t on the boat,” she said, calmly. “We haven’t had a chance to ask…what exactly happened.”
Her sorrow was debilitating, but she expertly hid it fromEzra. His frenzied demeanor eased to the calculated strategist I was used to seeing as he took in the scene, registering small details I knew evenImissed and categorized them in order of importance. There was a reason he was my second, and it wasn’t just his loyalty. When Ezra’s gaze landed on Kol, I prepared myself for an explosion of power.
“Then let’s find out where she is, shall we?”
