Without thinking, Bridget darted forward and pulled a dagger from her boot. Faintly, she heard Nylah gasp as she launched the blade in a single motion. The weapon struck true in between the monster’s shoulder and neck. A hidden soft spot she’d luckily hit. The moment the weapon pierced the beast’s skin, her knees buckled. Black goo spewed forth as the massive creature wailed and twisted. Behind it, the skyline of Astraeus wheezed with smoke.
Bridget slowly lowered her hand, her breath ragged in her chest. Her heart felt like it might punch through her ribcage as the shrieking creature twisted away and fled back to the side of the Wraith-like man. Stellan, now glowing with power, held up his hand and yelled something at her again, but all she could focus on was the head swiveling in her direction. His glowing irises, so saturated with power just moments ago, dimmed back to their familiar warmth in an instant. Recognition dawned on his face as his eyes locked with hers across an expanse of rubble and smoke.
Bridget stopped breathing completely.
In her loneliest nights, when the world was quiet and the only thing she could hear was her own heartbeat, she had often imagined this exactscenario. Even though she knew it was hopeless and wrong and the opposite of what she should be wishing for in the place he’d fought to return her to… Whenever it happened, she wasn’t able to look at Nylah the next day. Still, she kept the imaginings close to her heart, deep inside where she could visit them every once and awhile.
But now it was a reality.
Cade.
In front of her.
His familiar wavy hair was wild and blood smudged his cheek as his stunned gaze bore into hers.
Despite the chaos around them, her entire body felt truly awake.Alive. Bridget sucked in a breath. Nothing compared to the feeling of his eyes on her or the way she knew the moment she moved toward him, he would meet her halfway.
Nothing would ever compare to him.
A sob escaped Bridget’s chest. Vision quickly blurring, she reached him before she realized shehadbeen moving. She barely registered Cade’s own wrecked expression before his lips were on hers, blazing and fierce. When his hand dug into her lower back, she wanted to melt into the ground as the weight of their separation crashed into her. It’d been so long. Yet, as she kissed him back with just as much ferocity and longing, the innate sense ofhimembedded itself back into her soul, healing some of the broken pieces inside her she thought would be raw forever.
“You shouldn’t be here,” Cade mumbled against her lips, refusing to break the contact. He pulled her closer and ran his thumb over the skittering pulse in her neck. “You really shouldn’t be here.”
Despite his admonishing words, he didn’t sound mad at all. A ghost of a laugh got trapped in her throat.
“It’s a long story.” Reluctantly, Bridget pulled away from him, the sound of distant crash bringing her back to her senses. They were not alone and she needed to get Nylah as far away from the destruction as possible.Behind Cade, Finn charged toward one of the smaller beasts, blocking it from entering the city wall with a swipe of his sword, while Cassia ducked behind a fallen stone.
“What the hell did we just walk into?” Bridget asked, gripping the lapels of his sooty leather jacket.
Cade frowned, then wiped away the trickle of blood that had escaped her nose during her travel across the gate. “We?”
Tilting her head, Bridget led his gaze to the eclectic travel group. She wasn’t sure who Cade seemed more stunned to see, Nylah or Stellan.Echnavto him. His golden-brown orbs flittered between the two, like he couldn’t quite comprehend the sight before him. Guilt swirled in her stomach as she caught Nylah’s gaze peeking at her from behind Stellan with fascination. Less than ten minutes in Elyria and she was already witnessing destruction. Behind them, Archer mouthed silentlywhat should I do, while Alexia, thin lipped and pale, glared at her like this washerfault.
A wild hand waved between her and Cade.
“I don’t know if you two realize this, but this is not the time for a loving little reunion,” Cassia hissed. “Finn’s barely holding them off. There’s no point to Castor fixing the protection spell if whatever those things are get inside.”
Right. First things first. Bridget searched the area around them for some sort of hiding place. “We need to get Nylah somewhere safe. Now.”
Suddenly, Cade knocked her to the ground. She lost her breath as they landed with a hard thud. A jagged shard of glass sliced through the air overhead, crashing into a piece of metal with a shattering crack. It would’ve taken her head off.
Cade didn’t waste a second. Still half-shielding her body, he flicked his wrist and sent a chunk of stone flying through the smoke. It collided with one of the beasts with a thunderous crunch. If the beasts were to the right, they now stood between her and her sister. Bridget rolled over, only to find the forest empty.
Before her heart completely left her body, a ripple of magic zinged through the smoke, reaching her ears with a pop. Stellan, Nylah, Archer, and Alexia appeared out of thin air, next to a heap of metal wreckage.
“Luckily you brought help,” Cade said, helping her to her feet. “Delphine is behind the train. She can take you both away from the city.”
“I’m staying.”
Now that she’d seen him, the idea of letting him out of her sight made her stomach knot.
Cade’s expression tightened. He opened his mouth to argue, but before he could speak, a blur of movement barreled into him. Nylah leapt into his chest and squeezed her arms around his neck. Cade stumbled back half a step, then caught her, wrapping his arms around her small frame. A knot tightened in Bridget’s throat. Despite the chaos around them, she couldn’t help the pure joy spreading through her limbs.Thisis what she’d been missing and wanting.
The sight of Stellan striding toward them, the epitome of seriousness and determination, stopped any more liquid from blurring her vision.
“You’re welcome,” he said. Tight-lipped, he turned to Cade. “Where’s Marin?”
Cade put Nylah back on the ground, but still held onto her hand. “She’s helping Castor reactivate the protection spell around the city.”
