“Lucien—” Marcus stepped forward warily. “This is your last warning. Agree to behave and I’ll treat you well. Disobey and I’ll—”
“You’ll never lay another fucking finger on me again.”
The sky dripped with blinding gold. An instantaneous blast of apocalyptic destruction blasted toward the bastards who—
“Stop him!” Marcus screeched. “Do it! Do it now!”
The men braced against the shockwave of power as it tore the tops off the trees. Their hands came up. Black weapons raised.
I laughed as fire raced toward them, ready to turn them into pillars of ash—
PAIN.
EXCRUCIATINGPAIN.
My mouth opened in a silent scream.
Rook sagged against me, her own scream shrill in the night.
Whisper howled and rubbed his head on his legs as if his skull was about to splinter.
My power snuffed out.
My strength gone.
For ten unbearable seconds, the shrieking, piercing pain made me want to die.
But then it stopped, giving us a chance to breathe.
“Did you honestly think I didn’t come prepared?” Marcus’s voice cut through the residual agony. “What you’re feeling is harmonic disruption. Frequency-based weapons are the only thing that work against Requiems. Which is why every person you tried to release tonight died the moment they went past the fence. They were programmed to a different frequency than you, of course. Couldn’t run the risk of killing you now, could I?” He came a little closer. “Would you like another taste?” His hand went up and the board members surrounding us raised their weapons. “Here...don’t say I never gave you anything.”
Another bolt of rip-tearing agony.
Whisper flopped onto his side, his claws digging trenches as he seized.
Rook buckled.
I took her weight, my entire body threatening to break apart.
“You see, Lucien.” Marcus strolled around us, kicking a pile of dirt into Whisper’s face, making the panther cough and sneeze. “You might no longer be human. You might be well on your way to becoming a god but...you can still be killed. You’re not immortalyet. And no matter what you do—no matter how many times we’ve tried—there comes a point where the fire turns against the host.” He stopped in front of me and kept torturing us.
Pain tore through every inch.
Rook trembled and my legs threatened to give out but I didn’t beg him to stop.
My eyes locked on his, promising death as he shrugged. “I think that’s what’s happening to you right now, actually. You’re dying. And I might be the only one who knows how to stop it.”
Rook glowered at him, hope cutting through her.
Marcus lowered his arm and the pain ceased.
Whisper howled and took off into the forest, vanishing in a streak of midnight.
Rook panted hard, her thoughts wriggling into mine.If he knows how to stop it then...he might be our only chance.
Betrayal cut through me before I smothered it with understanding.
She loved me. She wanted to keep me. But we both knew I was on borrowed time.
