My fingers dug into Lysander's forearm. Energy surged beneath my skin, rushing toward my fingertips—and then I pulled. I could see the inside of him, the golden core shining brightly in the center of his body, giving life to the rest of him. I could see the essence of who he was, of what he was, and then I dug.
My fingers dug into the golden orb, pulling his energy as if it were my own.
"Holy shit!"
My body awakened, roaring with life as I took and took and fucking took.
"No one is to harm him!" I bellowed, turning around as Lysander's hold on me weakened. His arm fell next to him and before he could take a step back, my hands landed on his cheeks, fingers digging into his temples. "No one."
I couldn't recognize my voice. I couldn't recognize anything anymore but the need to eliminate the threat. And he was a threat.
He threatened him—Hades. He dared to threaten him.
Lysander screamed, his voice echoing around us.
"Kaira! No!"
"No one touches him."
"Fucking hell!" came from somewhere behind me. "Stop!"
Lysander's eyes turned white, that golden orb I could see as bright as the day, started dimming, until?—
"Let him go, Kaira," came from behind me as the familiar arms wrapped around my middle, lifting me off the ground. The scent of rain wrapped around me and my hands dropped from the temples of the threat in front of me, breaking him free of my hold.
Lysander dropped to the ground with a painful thud, his eyes closed and his chest barely rising.
"Oh my God," I shrieked, dropping down next to him. But before I could touch him, I was lifted up again, held against a much stronger chest. "Let go of me!"
"Shhh, it's okay." But it wasn't. It wasn't fucking okay.
Elandra ran toward us, her eyes frantic, wild as she looked at the barely moving Lysander. She crouched next to him, holding her hand above his chest, barely looking at me.
"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Hades asked, his rage barely contained behind the words. "She could've killed him."
Oh my God. He was right. He was fucking right and I couldn't control myself. I couldn't fucking stop myself.
"I told you this was a terrible idea, yet you insisted."
"Shut up, Hades," Elandra hissed, dragging her hand over Lysander's forehead. "He's going to be okay, but I need to bring him to the temple." She then looked up at me, her eyes filled with a pride I didn't expect to see. But also with terror. So much fucking terror it shook me to my core.
"You did good, Kaira. Better than good. And I guess." She looked over my shoulder at the man still holding me. No, not man. A furious God refusing to let go of me. "I guess we now know how to pull out the real you from its prison."
"You're playing with fire, Elandra," Hades bit out, his own rage barely contained in those five words. Yet I couldn't stop looking at Lysander.
"And it worked," she said, slapping Lysander's cheeks. "Come on, darling. Wake the fuck up. I don't want your sister's wrath if you don't. I promised nothing would happen to you."
She didn't seem concerned, but I was. I was fucking terrified.
Terrified of what I could do.
Terrified of the fact that this man laid at my feet, potentially dying.
Terrified the only thing that could bring me back was the man standing behind me, holding me tightly.
But most of all, terrified I could potentially be the reason for the death of all of them.
And I couldn't fucking stand it.
