The mutedthudwhen she hits the ground echoes in my bones, burrows beneath my ribs and stabs my heart. Her tunic darkens with deathly crimson, lifeblood seeping from her wound.
Her beautiful face contorts with pain, but her eyes—her eyes brim with unadulterated fear.
Not for herself. For me. She took that arrow forme.
Searing fury explodes across my skin.
Blinding, burning rage scorches through my veins.
I can’t think. I can’t breathe.
Skies, her pale face twists with pain. It must only be seconds, but time seems to halt as her eyes flutter, the dark stain on her tunic growing larger with every breath.
An earth-shattering, anguished roar tears from my throat.
The sky rumbles with violence.
It’s happening again. The vague thought flits through my mind, buried deep beneath the rage. Electric currents thrum in the air—sensed, but never controlled—and await my command. Something unlocks inside me, a well of unparalleled power, fueled by my anger.
Teeth bared, chest heaving. The air crackles as the energy signatures turn on the men. The stench of smoke wafts through the air as they vibrate, one by one, bodies jerking unnaturally.
They hit the earth.
The sharpshooter falls next.
My feet slap against the ground, corpses forgotten.
Mayah. I need to reach Mayah.
Skies, she looks so small, crumpled on the ground. I scoop her into my arms.
Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.
She’s unconscious. Her pulse is strong beneath my fingers. I agonize for only a second—there’s no time to dress her wound here. There could be others nearby.
Cradling her against my heart, I dart through the woods, trying to keep her as still as possible to avoid jostling the arrow jutting from her side.
Again and again, my eyes return to her pale face, her damp forehead, and anger ignites in me anew.
I should’ve killed them slower.
Chapter Fourteen
Mayahhasn’twoken.Notmade a single sound in the last hour. If not for the shallow rise and fall of her chest against mine, I’d have lost my mind by now. Anxiety roils inside me like a storm waiting to unleash its rage.
“Mayah.”
No response.
“Mayah,” I try again.
This time, she groans, shifting slightly.
“Mayah.”Baby, please. “Wake up.”
Her eyes flutter open, and my knees nearly buckle with relief.
“We’re far enough,” I mutter, glancing behind me. No energy signatures, no sign that we were followed. “Let’s get that arrow out of you.”
