The forest becomes a fog of black and force. Branches snap, leaves shred, and the ground vanishes beneath us as the shockwave hurls our asses backward like we’re twigs, not gods.
Kyzen’s strong body breaks my fall, but the impact punches the breath from my lungs.
I lay sprawled out across my brother as above me, the night tears apart into shredded threads. The shadows dissolve into dust then into…nothing.
I blink, staring at the clear night sky full of stars.
Silence.
There’s no more hum.
“Are you alive?” Kyzen groans underneath me.
“Yeah,” I exhale.
“Then get the hell off me.”
I wiggle my body over until I collapse on the dirt beside him.
“Well…I did not see that coming. Thank goodness nothing in my backpack exploded.” I gasp, reaching between my legs. I exhale when I feel everything intact. “My waist bags would’ve left me dickless. That would’ve been tragic. I just learned how glorious sex feels.”
“Are you kidding me right now?”
“Not at all. I don’t think the healers could regrow a—”
“For fuck’s sake, Riven. How the hell did you do that? What was that?”
I sigh.
“My Harmony embedded and subdued his power, then my Chaos went in with it and made it go boom. Thank fuck they cooperated.”
He sits up, glaring down at me in confusion and fury.
“You didn’t have the first idea if that would…” His gorgeous glowing eyes trail down my body.
“What? Is there something on me?”
I sling myself into a sitting position as I frantically pat my body down. He hops up and races across the path where my ol’ indestructible—well, as long as Thayla doesn’t touch it—torch lamp is lying on its side.
The flame flickers to life as he skids to his knees beside me and snatches my hand.
A cold dread and fiery anger burn through me.
“Fuck, Riven. I don’t think—”
I snatch my hand away from his soft, careful strokes. My fists ball, clenching tighter as I rotate both wrists around. There isn’t a hint of blood from the chains.
It was never blood.
“That motherfucker.”
“He marked you.”
“Yeah, no shit. I got two beautiful eyes that can see just fine, Kyzen.”
My gaze wills the new chain links that wrap around my wrists away. The dark black impressions don’t go any-fucking-where.
They glare back at me, reminding me.
