Meeting Hunter’s furious, emerald gaze, I latch onto his anger as if it were my own. The helpless frustration, the self-directed loathing, and the burning hatred for the monster that’s tormented all of us; it’s all fuel for the fire, pushing myself farther than I’ve ever tried before.
I don’t worry about losing control, because Slade, Boden, Cinjin, Reid, Damian, Hunter, and Kaige? They were literally made to help me survive this, and I can’t survive without them, so I know that it’s going to be okay. That’s the one truth I can hold onto when everything else is shattering around me.
I exist for a reason, and it isn’t as a reward for someone else’s suffering. It’s to acknowledge that pain when no one else will and help turn it into something easier to live with.
The fine hairs on my arms rise in time with the increasing static charge in the air, and the first strike of lightning sends a nearby tree lighting up like a match. Smoke mingles with the coppery tang of blood and stench of death surrounding us. Another tremor rocks the earth, hard enough to knock a few people off of their feet, sending them frantically scrambling away from the fissures snaking across the ground. It sets off another landslide in the distance, the entire mountain quaking as the fissures split into small canyons too wide for anyone to jump over.
“Sabrina!” Damian’s warning is a faint cry in the distance a split second before a hand covers my mouth and a blade presses into my throat.
A positively livid Acheron demands, “What in the actual fuck do you think you’re doing, Adrian?”
Behind me, Adrian’s voice has a taunting lilt. “You know what they say about when opportunity knocks. Plenty of people out here dying today, and only an idiot would assume it’s not about to get worse. A little insurance can’t hurt.”
“So much for that olive branch. You do realize that I could drain you in seconds, right?”
He chuckles, “But could you pull it off before I slit your throat?”
Ash narrows his eyes on him, the promise of a very painful, drawn-out murder clear as day on his face. “This is an incredibly dangerous, stupid game you’re trying to play, Adrian.”
The ground beneath our feet rocks as the path behind me begins to separate, threatening to leave us stranded on a makeshift island in the center of a jagged circle that’s widening further with every passing minute. He shrugs a single shoulder. “Maybe, but what do I have to lose? You’re going to kill us either way. At least this route, I might be able to barter a head start out of this hellhole.”
Gritting his teeth, he demands, “What do you want?”
“Hostage trade. You get Sabrina, I get her mate to make sure she won’t let anyone kill me until I’m out of range of this place. Then I’ll let him go, and we all part ways happy and healthy.”
Ash doesn’t so much as hesitate, getting to his feet and hauling Hunter up by the scruff of his neck while keeping his gun trained on the back of his head. “Deal.”
Against my ear as he urges me to start walking, Adrian’s voice is a barely audible hiss. “Do you trust me?”
Matching his volume, I counter, “You do realize I could have melted the blade by now if I wanted to, right?”
I can feel the corner of his lips curving up into a smile against my ear. “People like us are good at playing the shitty hand we’re dealt, but it doesn’t hurt to stack the deck when you get the chance.”
Coming to a stop outside of Ash’s reach, Adrian tilts his head towards Ash’s hand. “Hate to break it to you, but I’m not that stupid; you’ll shoot me the second I let go. Kick the gun over here.” Jaw ticking, he finally removes the gun from Hunter’s head, and I hold my mate’s stare, urging him not to do anything rash.
“Sorry to make you play musical hostage, but trust me, okay? I can’t focus on doing this if I’m worried you’re going to get killed if I’m not moving fast enough for the nutjob’s liking.”
Ash kicks over the gun that I catch beneath my foot, and Hunter tentatively pads closer, eyeing me like he thinks he might be able to snatch me and bolt before anyone can stop him. Lightning strikes several more places, the pressure in my chest tightening until it’s hard to draw in air. On his way past, Hunter brushes against me, the small comfort enough to ground me to the moment. Steadying my breathing, I let Adrian usher me forward a step, hoping that he’ll survive long enough to actually cash in the favor I owe him for helping save Hunter.
And immediately take back the sentiment when the traitorous son of a bitch shoves me off the ledge of the platform.
I can’t even scream, my vocal cords seizing in fear as I plummet into the void below, eyes shut tight and body tensing for the inevitable impact. It comes far sooner than I expected, my back slamming against the rock and pain exploding throughout my entire body. But when it’s abundantly clear that I’m not dead, I pry my eyelids open, finding a dark, seemingly endless void below, and realize that I’m upright, back pressed into the stone cliff I was thrown from.
A faint light emanates from the series of markings across the figure pinning me in place, as if she’s illuminated from within. Her taloned hand is wrapped around my wrist pinned above my head, the feathered wings softly beating at her back keeping us aloft as she finds a foothold and wedges a knee between my legs, her other claw gripping the rock to keep us more securely positioned. In her elven face, dark eyes speckled with light like stars in the night sky study me intently, cocking her head curiously. Leaning in, she runs her nose along my jaw and up to my hair, inhaling my scent before pulling back and breaking out in a massive grin.
“My, my, how much I’ve missed if even a little Nightmare can wear the skin of her victims now.” Colors ripple across her skin until she blends into the rock wall she’s gripping. “Tell me, does this mean Aurelia’s finally deemed the surface safe enough for us to return?”
Shock renders me speechless, giving my demon an opportunity to steal control, curving our lips into a cruel grin. “Not quite, Mira.”
