“That’s it, look at me,” he murmured.
Kyra trembled as her power cut off, the snow seeping into her bones, the cold registering against her skin.
“You’re okay,” he whispered, “you’re okay.”
You disgust me.
The enforcer to her side was face down, arm twisted at an impossible angle. His skin had been sliced open, the muscles and tendons exposed. She didn’t know whether he was alive, not daring to check with her magic.
Xander lifted her into his arms, holding her against his wet, bloody chest.
“You’re okay,” he repeated.
She said nothing as he placed her in the car, securing her belt with a snap that set her on edge. She didn’t know how long she stared into the distance, the scenery changing, the snow melting the further they drove.
“Pull over,” she muttered, her hands trembling. “Pull over!”
The car screeched, and before it had come to a complete stop she had thrown open the door, falling to her knees and vomited. It came out black, so dark it absorbed the surrounding light. Fingers in her hair, a warm hand pressed against her back.
Then the tears came, so hot against the seeping cold of her soul that they burned. Xander held her as she sobbed, hands fisted against his chest when he pulled her closer, not caring about his own wounds. He mumbled something to her, his words not registering as all she heard was her memory echo.
You disgust me.
Chapter24
Xander
Xander faced Riley and Alice, his stomach clenched as he carefully described exactly what he had seen. Kyra had been both beautiful and deadly, her raging scream when the pellet had hit his chest a sirens call to the surrounding ghosts who had watched from a distance.
Energy had burned against his skin, an acid eating away as he had gritted his teeth and ignored the searing pain to land blow against blow to the enforcer. Not one, but two had been sent to take her away.
Fuck.
She had destroyed them with a look of pure power, their souls ripped clean by the spirits who had answered her pained call with eagerness. He had watched, filled with horror as the spirits then swarmed on her, touching her as she struggled beneath their need.
A Goddess of Death.
“The enforcers weren’t sent by The Magicka,” Alice said when she stormed in, lightning cracking between her fisted hands. “There’s no open warrant for her arrest and my contacts can’t find any evidence of Kyra being on their system. She isn’t even registered.”
“Her power was like nothing I have ever seen,” Xander said. Her arcane had been void of any warmth, the black with a heart of iridescent white so cold it was like a dying star. “Her magic defies all logic.”
“It explains why she’s wanted so much by Frederick,” Riley said.
“She’s not trained, her control barely holding on,” Xander added. “She was like a child who had only just realised they could call arcane. She could have killed herself.”
Alice folded her arms. “Black witches usually train their children to expand their chi before they can walk. Her parents should have…”
Xander’s expression cut her off. “Have you heard back from The Council?” he asked when Alice went to push. He would not share her secrets, not when she had gifted the pain to him.
Riley scowled. “Edwards mentioned that The Council chamber is sealed until further notice.”
“What a surprise,” Alice muttered.
“He mentioned needing to speak with you,” Xander grunted, leaning against the wall. He was too worked up to sit, to relax while Kyra was alone upstairs. It took concentration to not go after her, to hunt her down and... He had no idea. “I assumed The Magicka aren’t going to be much help either?”
Alice just snorted in response.
“It’s our job to deal with Daemons, and Frederick is now an extension of that. Edwards is aware of the situation, has agreed to step in against his fellow Councilman if needs be.”
