“Yes,” he snapped. “I want youalive and unharmed.”
“I’m immune,” I shot back. “It didn’t even sting.”
“You don’t get to decide you’re expendable just because you can survive more than the rest of us.”
For one heartbeat, the bond between us flared. It was possessive, furious, and terrified.
Then, a human swung a baton at my head from behind.
Dimitri moved in a blur again and caught the baton mid-air, crushing it in his fist, and drove his elbow into the human’s temple.
The man dropped.
Dimitri grabbed my face and forced me to look at him. “Be careful.”
I swallowed, breath shaking. “Iam.”
His mouth crashed onto mine in a quick kiss that tasted like cinnamon and nutmeg.
When he pulled back, his voice was a low growl. “Don’t take a hit for me again.”
“But I always will,” I argued.
Slater’s voice cut through the comms, sharp. “More security inbound from the west corridor. Rune, Dimitri, help the enforcers and Koa move the captives now.”
“Copy,” I snapped, but Dimitri’s hand stayed on my wrist as we turned back into motion.
“We have names, too,” Solon grumbled.
We guided captives toward the service exit, where Ivy and Solon kept the humans away. Their numbers had already dwindled significantly.
Koa moved among them, hands flaring blue, healing people from lethargy into shaky movement.
A captive witch grabbed my sleeve as she stumbled past. “Thank you,” she rasped.
I squeezed her hand briefly. “Run.”
Another wave of human guards crashed into the corridor.
One of them went for me with the end of his rifle swinging at my head.
“Rune!” Zuko was in front of me, taking the hit from the rifle before I could react.
His body jolted from the impact, and he grunted.
Rage detonated inside me at the sight of my mate taking a hit for me.
“Zuko!”I growled, grabbing his shoulder as he straightened slowly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand.
“Relax,” he said, his voice rough. “I’m fine.”
“What the Fates is wrong with you?” I hissed. “You don’t take hits for me.”
His smile was sharp. “Yes I do.”
“Now you know how I feel!” Dimitri shouted as he broke a human’s neck.
I glared at Zuko. “Why?”
