Page 64 of These Wicked Desires

A rift opens inside of me. A gaping wound that bleeds ichor into my bloodstream. My Cade. My sweet mage. He's ... gone.

My heart shatters. Millions of pieces of glass slicing through me, drawing blood and shredding me to ribbons. What do I do now? How do I breathe without him?

A fire sparks inside of me. A golden flicker of a candle. I turn my palms up and draw the magic forth. Golden flames hiss to life in my palms, growing bigger until it climbs my arms.

"There it is," Sam breathes in awe.

I raise my gaze from my soul-bonded and slowly stand. Sam's eyes widen when I take a step over Cade's still form and the white and golden wings flare from my back.

"It's too late," I say, my voice foreign to me. It's dull and numb, unfeeling and uncaring. "You'll never escape me now."

He huffs a laugh. "So dramatic. If you think you can best me with your untrained magic, you are sorely mistaken. I will have your blood. I will have your body to use as I please. You will be my slave, whether willingly or not."

"Go ahead and try." Cold. So cold. My voice and my body. As if Cade took all the warmth with him when he left. Left. As if he’s just stepped out of the room for a moment and will be back. I crack even more. Splitting wide open and bleeding freely. My flames spread further, covering all of me now, turning me into a walking golden inferno.

Green magic shoots for me. It's not an attack to harm me, but to restrain me. It wraps around my ankles and wrists, snakes around my throat. As soon as it touches my skin, it turns to smoke.

Sam steps backward, eyes widening. “How did you do that?” Another blast of his magic shoots for me. This one less refined, more something that would knock me out if it landed. He’s getting desperate. It doesn't land. Fire sweeps before me, golden flames hissing and licking. It burns Sam's attack to ash.

“If you thought you’d get away with killing one of my Shields, torturing my sister, raping me, you’re dumber than I thought you were.” My voice remains cold and detached. Even as they get stuck in my throat thinking about Cade. But my fury is burning hotter than anything else. And I need to see Sam dead at my feet.

The first flicker of fear passes through his eyes as he must recognize the seriousness of my words. He takes another step backward and I follow with slow, matching steps. I take too much enjoyment in the way he glances around, looking for something to help him. I never had help those two years he abused me. He won’t find any now.

Another blast of green magic spears for me, and I can taste the terror in it as another puff of smoke erupts in the air when it meets my golden fire.

“Please,” he begs, the whites of his eyes visible in his fear. “We can figure something out.”

My smile is sharp and pointed, all teeth and the promise of death. "It's over, Sam." There is no point in even refuting him. I’m not going to let him live. Not after everything he’s done.

His back hits the wall, a cornered rabbit. His magic is wild around him as he tries anything and everything to get through my golden flames.

The hair that escaped my braid lifts in a phantom breeze. The feathers at my back flutter. My palm tingles and I make a fist. When I open it, the golden sword is clutched in my hand. I spare one glance for the purple gem on the pommel. The same color as Cade's eyes.

Unholy fury spears through me. This man stole too much from me. He took my innocence. He ruined so many years of my life. He gave me trauma I'll never get over.

But Cade's death tops it all. He took my soul-bonded from me. He stole my future, my happiness. He took one of the few good things in my life and destroyed it.

I take a breath and lift the sword. My arm doesn’t shake even though the sword is heavy in my hand. It’s as if it knows what its purpose is for today. It knows it’s taking revenge on someone who has hurt me. Golden fire licks down the blade. Its reflection shines in Sam's wide eyes and I smile.

"Goodbye, Sam."

His magic buffets my fire, but it's not enough. The blade slides effortless through his chest. Through skin and muscle. Past bone. Right into the organ that turned black long ago.

I twist the sword as I pull it free and I watch with impassive eyes as Sam falls to the floor. He blinks at me, green magic fading from his brown eyes.

"Doll," he chokes as blood spews from his mouth and coats his lips and chin.

I sneer. "I was never your doll, you sick bastard." Grasping the hilt like a baseball bat, I swing it down again and again, blood spraying with each hit, splattering my face and arms, until Sam's head rolls from his body.

I stand over him, breathing heavily, making sure he doesn't rise again. I wouldn't put it past him. But he doesn't. I open my hand to drop the sword, and it disappears.

I rush back to Cade and fall to my knees. "Cade," I whisper. My hands are still wreathed in fire when I take his face in my palms. "Cade." My voice breaks, and it cracks me open even more. "I love you." With trembling lips I kiss him one last time.

The dam bursts open. I bury my face in his still chest. My body shakes with the force of my sobbing. Each tear that falls sizzles on my skin.

Empty. I'm so empty inside. Cade is missing. His presence is gone. I don't know how to breathe anymore without him. He was the one who brought me back from the edge. Who will do it now?

I clutch his body, holding it against mine. The despair, the pain; it grows. It turns to heat inside me, and before I know it, great billowing flames roar from my body.

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