“How dare you?” Nadia shouted.
Luc’s blood turned to ice.
Nadia had created the crack!
She’d broken the unbreakable.
Gabriel was quick on the uptake and shook his head in stunned silence.
“How dare you chain them like beasts?” Fire flashed in her eyes, and Luc had never been prouder nor more terrified on her behalf.
“She shouldn’t have that ability,” Raphael muttered.
“Apparently, she’s never been truly angry before,” Gabriel said mildly.
Of course!
Luc should’ve realized. Her power must have its root in strong emotion. She had human DNA after all.
As she charged forward, support columns shook, and a few of the less brave backed toward the entry. Others huddled together while shards rained down, sharing wary glances.
“Enough,” Father commanded.
“I don’t think it’s nearly enough,” Nadia cried in her rage. “They have done nothing to deserve the abuse you and your flunkies have showered on them.”
“Here, here,” Luc added, earning him a sharp kick in the ribs. He shifted deadly eyes to the man who’d delivered the blow. “Michael,” he said flatly. “I am going to enjoy tearing you limb from limb.”
“I’m happy to readdress this when you aren’t chained like a beast.” Michael sneered. “Oh, right! It’s never going to happen. You’ll be imprisoned for eternity.”
He never saw Nadia strike.
None of them did.
But his brother went tumbling across the room to land against the base of Father’s throne.
Astounded, Luc concentrated solely on her.
Her hand was still upraised, and red energy sparked along her fingertips. In the catacombs, hers had been silvery-purple. Had the healing allowed her to capture and repurpose his? If so, she’d have his strength and ability to seriously hurt any of them.
“That is for forcing me from my home.” She zapped Michael again. “That is for hitting me.”
Luc growled low in his throat and jumped to his feet. He drilled his shoulder into Raphael’s diaphragm, sending him skidding into the closest column.
“You dared to touch her?” he roared at Michael.
The modified metal glowed white hot against his skin, and the smell of scorching flesh filled his nostrils. Yet, in the height of rage, his pain was nothing more than an annoyance.
Nadia put her two hands together and shot a third, higher voltage bolt at Michael. His cry of agony was gratifying. When she released him from her grip, she hollered, “And that, is for hurting the man I love.”
Luc stilled.
“Oh, pet, you just royally fucked us both,” he said through their link.
Their gazes connected across the short distance.
Her eyes widened in apprehension.
Thick, nameless emotion settled in his throat, and he attempted to clear it numerous times.
