My mind goes blank in shock, but my body reacts with its honed instincts. I retreat and dodge at the same time, throwing myself to the side of the cat’s lunge.
It skids and whirls around, its claws grating against the pavement. Its pupils remain tiny lines in its yellow eyes. A dribble of drool soaks the matted fur on either side of its jaw. Its body sways in a vague circle as if it needs to stay in some kind of motion to keep its equilibrium.
A chill shoots down my spine. It’s gone void.
I’ve seen a couple of void creatures before, brought in for our training at the academy, but they were much smaller than this:a mouse and a sparrow. And both were securely caged. The way they battered those plastic walls with their bodies was disturbing enough.
There’s nothing at all between me and the mindless cat. I have no weapon other than the paring knife in my pocket, and to get close enough to use that, the void animal will be able to reach me with its claws and fangs.
Pure magic doesn’t work well on the things—ephemera doesn’t stick to them anymore.
I take another step back, reaching for my phone. Maybe I can call the patrol number and get out of here before they arrive, so no one finds out Elodie Devine was wandering around in a drab neighborhood?
The cat isn’t on board with that idea. I haven’t even flicked the screen awake before it hurls itself toward me again.
With a stifled yelp, I yank the energy around me into a shield. The animal crashes into my makeshift barrier while I scramble behind a newspaper box.
I reach for more power, thinking I can try to make a cage of my own.
Then Salvatore hurtles between two of the parked cars, his own knife drawn.
His shoes rasp to a stop on the sidewalk on the other side of the cat. With a twitch of his wrist and a tap of his finger against the switchblade’s hilt, the weapon shimmers and shoots out to the length of a katana.
Between the shock of seeing him and that fancy trick, my jaw drops open. I’m pretty sure my Salvatore hadn’t enchanted his usual knife to do that.
The void cat whirls around as if sensing a greater threat. Salvatore charges at it with a swing of the knife-sword, but the animal leaps out of the way.
He scored a cut in its side. Blood wells up through its gray fur. That won’t scare it off, though.
There’s only one way to stop a void.
Salvatore isn’t the champion of the combat club for nothing. He springs again without missing a beat, and his next swipe hits true. He slices right through the cat’s neck, bones and all.
The animal’s body crumples with a gush of blood from the stump between its shoulders. Its severed head rolls into the gutter with a sickening thud.
Salvatore hums in approval, taps his knife handle again to vanish the longer blade, and spins the weapon between his fingers like a baton. Show-off.
He smirks at me as he shoves the knife into his back pocket. “I bet the official patrol couldn’t have taken it down that fast.”
My brain has had time to catch up with what’s happening—and how very odd it is. I brace myself, my fingers itching to reach for my own weapon. “What are you doing here,again? Are you following me around?”
Salvatore’s cocky grin doesn’t budge. He gives a casual shrug. “You’ve been up to a lot of interesting things lately, a thaisce. Seems like you could use some help.”
“I would have been fine,” I retort, even though I’m not totally sure how true that is. “Just like before.”
“But now you’re more fine.”
I scowl at him. “Well, I don’t want your help. Haven’t I made that clear enough? Why are you even doing this? Weren’t you telling me about all the girls you have lined up who’d actually want your attention?”
Clearly my smackdown at the social didn’t have the necessary impact. Was he this stubborn in my reality?
What is he even after?
A glint lights in Salvatore’s bright blue eyes that sets off the prickle in my palm. My Salvatore definitely never looked at me like that before we sparked together.
He eases closer, the new intensity in his gaze provoking deeper quivers beneath my skin. “You see me, and I see you. Like no one else does, tesoro. Before, that was just messing around. You deserve better. So I’m going to watch out for you until you find your match, and then I’m going to convince you you’re better off with me. And you will be.”
The resolve in his smooth voice winds through my innards. I have to stiffen my legs against the urge to close the distance between us right now.
