Page 84 of Breathe Like Hell

I didn’t think Mason had to kill all the demons individually, at least not all the regular ones, but I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t sure about any of this.

I closed my eyes again.

Inhaled.

Exhaled.

Tried to repeat the process.

It will be over soon.

Every instinct screamed at me to run toward them. To make sure they were okay. But I did nothing. I stayed where they’d put me, hands clenched so tightly against the dirt that my nails filled with mud. I’d never hated feeling protected more.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

MASON

My vision was going dark, the atoms of my body trying to split apart as I swam through the endless ocean of my own mind. Micah was there though, holding me together.

And fuck it felt good.

By the time the bright flare of light burned out, Aamon’s body was little more than a pile of ashes and bone on the ground. It was almost startling to look at because—while I knew what I was capable of—the number of times I’d used my full power like that on purpose were extremely scarce.

I looked around at the other identical piles of ash that’d once been other demons, and then I turned to look at Micah.

He was gripping a tree trunk, his jaw clenched, his focus entirely locked on me. He was hardly moving and I felt him so strongly in my mind, tying up all my loose ends, his control keeping me together in this brutal aftermath.

For a second, I couldn’t move.

The force of his gaze pinned me where I stood.

Wading through poison in my skull, I managed to turn and walk towards the rock Dakota was cowering behind. She had her hands covering her ears, her teary eyes turning up towards me as I went around the rock.

I reached out my arms and she sprung up, burying her face in my neck.

“Is it done?” she questioned.

“Yes, baby. It’s all done.”

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. Are you?”

She gave a little shrug, wiping the tears from her cheeks. “I guess.”

“That’s good. Let’s go to the car.”

I was a little jittery, but mostly fine. Remnants of lingering electricity tingled in my fingertips, but I didn’t feel at risk for any additional fracturing. Micah had sealed everything perfectly. I’d remembered him being strong, but his precision and power were more impressive than even my memories knew. Maybe needing to protect Dakota strengthened him.

My car was parked a few minutes walk away from Dakota’s trailer, in an inconspicuous parking lot behind a convenience store. I’d brought it there early this morning, knowing we’d need better transportation than the public buses after this.

Micah stumbled when he attempted to walk and Dakota went to his side, trying to make him put his arm over her shoulders but he was shaking his head. Too heavy. He’d crush her.

I reluctantly jogged to catch up with them, sliding Micah’s arm around the back of my neck and gripping him around the torso. Immediately, he transferred most of his weight to me, clearly weaker than he wanted to say aloud. I half-walked, half-dragged Micah to Dakota’s trailer then dumped him on the steps leading up to her front door. She sat next to him.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” I said before taking off jogging in the direction of my car.

While I drove back to Dakota’s place, I was able to feel some of the havoc I’d just wreaked on my mind by using so much power. Micah was really good at siphoning all of it away, but it’d been a while since my mind had been shattered like that. I tightened my grip on the steering wheel and thought about Dakota. She made me feel better.