He lifted his chin, exposing his neck. “And even after I betrayed her trust?—”
I’ll lose her.
“—poisoned those special moments for her?—”
I’ll lose her.
“—smashed her feeble little heart?—”
Blood pounded in my ears.
“—she still came to my kingdom to rescue me or die trying. And she almost did, didn’t she? Like she will if you let me live.”
My praesidium ripped away the last of my resistance. I moved and swung my swords with the full intention of severing his head from his body and watching his soul sift into my blades. Rune leaped on the pet, knocking him down. My steel sliced through empty air. She whipped around, clamping her teeth around my swords, and ripped them from my hands, flinging them away.
I luscelered one way and sent my shadows in the other. Rune intercepted my lusceler, tackling me to the ground. Her hind claws sank through my uniform into my outer thighs, forcing a hiss from my lips. The tips of her front claws teased my chest, pinning me beneath her strength. She seethed above me, gnashing her teeth, barely refraining from biting me.
“You forgot about my shadows,” I countered, fully succumbed to my praesidium.
The pet wouldn’t be any better off when they sank into his brain and slowly tore apart his nerves, burst his blood cells, and overheated his body.
Humor danced through our connection, and I realized my shadows still hadn’t brought me his blood. They had absorbed it. Their density and weight had changed the moment they did. So where were they?
My eyes narrowed.
She ceased snarling, sat back, and tilted her head. A heavy black cloud hung suspended in the air beside her. It writhed as if caught in an invisible barrier. The tendrils reached toward me. I tugged on my power, urging it to move. Rune tugged back, keeping them in place.
Impossible.
I knew Soulhounds were siphons. They could use our powers. But I never knew they could overpower their angels’ control. Jerking upward, I reached for my blood-soaked shadows. She snapped her jaws around the cloud before I could. They flooded into her, changing her normal golden eyes to black.
I froze.
Rune used my surprise against me, sending a shadowball into the pet’s chest and knocking him unconscious. Why would she?—
Another shadowball flew toward me. I scoffed.
As if that’d do anything to me.
That was my last thought before everything went black.
Waking up,I gave myself a second to sit with my disbelief. Rune could use my shadows against me. Had she always had the ability and hidden it from me? Or was it new?
She no longer pinned me down, and the spot where the pet had collapsed lay empty. They were gone.
The Eternal Forest still illuminated the clearing, which meant I hadn’t been knocked out for long.
Rune,I hissed down our connection.Where the hell are you?
She responded with defiance.
We both know you can’t drag his unconscious body faster than I can find you.
Her feelings screamed,Challenge accepted.
I pushed to my feet, ignoring the sting and warmth dripping down my legs. My jaw ticked as I gazed into the depths of the blue glow.
“He does not deserve to live. He does not deserve her forgiveness,” I whispered harshly, speaking to Gabriel’s remains. “I am not a better male. I am notyou.”
