Page 117 of Of Wind and Terror

Blaze’s eyes flicker to Kassandra’s arm—to the mark on her skin, nearly iridescent currently—for a fraction of a tick before he quickly looks away.

“Get your mate out of here, son,” King Darius tells Blaze, clamping his hand down on the prince’s shoulder. “I’m going to save as many fae as I can.”

Blaze looks as if he wants to argue—whether to demand King Darius come with us or for him to go with King Darius, I can’t tell—but one glance at Kassandra has him assenting without a noise of complaint.

“Be safe, son.” King Darius gives Blaze a loaded look before turning his gaze towards me and Kassandra. “Take care of that girl, Princeling. You hear me?”

And with that, King Darius breaks into a run—directly into the chaos.

I wonder if my father would run into the collapsing castle to save his citizens…or if he would run in the opposite direction as fast as he can.

My guess is the latter.

“Start talking. Now,” Blaze demands as he leads us down a hallway and then skirts to the left.

“We were talking. Her mark started lighting up, and then she fell back in pain…” I swallow as I recall the agony etched across my mate’s face before unconsciousness claimed her. “And then the entire fucking castle started crumbling down around us.”

“We need to get her to the Bone King,” Aleksander says firmly. “Now.”

“I’m going to kill whomever did this to her,” Blaze growls, and I can’t help but agree.

Anger coils in my stomach, a serpent waiting to strike.

Kassandra won’t give a damn about the pain she was in. No, my mate will be broken by all of the senseless death. Death…that occurred because of the mark on her arm. She’ll blame herself, and I can’t allow that to happen.

I know firsthand how deep you can spiral when you lose yourself to your self-loathing and self-hatred.

A wave of panic and paranoia upends all rational thoughts.

What if Kassandra did what I tried to do? Yes, it was the Forest that caused me to put the noose around my neck, but hadn’t the thought crossed my mind on more than one occasion over the years? What if she?—?

I realize I’m falling into a canyon I have no hope of climbing free of. I work to regulate my breathing.

Kassandra’s here.

She’s alive.

She’s safe.

She’s safe.

I allow that last thought to sink in and marinate as I pick up my pace. I may be smaller than Blaze and Aleksander, but I’m just as fast, even while carrying Kassandra’s body.

Fortunately, there are no threats that Blaze and Aleksander need to dispatch.

We break through a side door and spill out into a world ravaged by storms. Thunder crackles overhead, and a burst of white light explodes in the sky above.

“Fuck!” Blaze is as tense as a loaded spring.

He glances back at the castle helplessly.

Just as the entire structure caves in on itself in a flurry of wood, cement, and clay.

I fall to the ground and throw myself on top of Kassandra, trying to protect her from any loose materials. Something heavy hits my back, and pain spirals through me.

“No!” Blaze gasps in horror.

“Treyton?” Pale-blue eyes blink up at me, saturated with pain. Her hands tremble as she attempts to sign. “What’s happening?”

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