Page 78 of Of Daggers and Deceit

I gave Bohdi a weak thumbs up and a small grin, even though I knew I likely looked like shit, that my body was probably orange, the sand staining my skin and clinging to my hair. Bohdi stood wordlessly beside me, assessing the landscape to our right.

I quickly checked my connection to my power and sighed in relief when it hummed under my skin. I frowned at my poor form on the field, frustrated with myself for allowing my emotions to take the driver’s seat. That was something only my younger self had an issue with.

This night was only getting worse.

A painful screech pierced my ears, and I turned in time to see Bohdi get hit forcefully from his left with an audible crack before he could even face his attacker. I caught a glimpse of the wing of the air shifter, who had already moved behind the smog of sand that clouded visibility on the field.

I shifted my attention back to Bohdi’s now-slumped form on the ground. Small flecks of blood stained the sand near his head, a sluggish pulse oozing from the gash across his temple. Fear spiked in my chest, but this time, I kept hold of the wheel.

I surged forward and slid on my knees through the sand to his side as I quickly searched for any major damage. I briskly cleaned his face and checked his mouth for sand as he began to splutter and cough, lifting slightly and turning to the side, spitting out sand onto the floor beside him.

“Bodhi, are you okay?” I asked, my tone pitched higher in my panic. Everything was going to shit, and I still needed to get my mum across the field.

“All good, Ray. Go. Go find the others,” he commanded, and I held him a moment longer, regret already heavy in my gut, because I knew I had to leave to get my mum. I wanted to cry right now, but I didn’t. I couldn’t.

I portaled home, scaring her as she immediately stood from her seat on the couch.

“Raya, what…” she began as she took in my state.

“We don’t have time. We need to go.” I held out my hand, my other reaching out to hoist our pack onto my back.

When I returned with her, the sand had begun to settle, and the sounds of teeth and claws clashing filled the air like a terrible song. In the near distance, I spied Hayden dragging a limp Apple back towards the compound at a considerable pace, and I took a step towards them before my mum gripped my arm and pulled me towards the shield.

“Raya, you brought me here. We cannot waste time. Save your gift for now. We may need it later. We run until we cannot anymore.”

Nobody was following them, which somewhat eased me, but inside, I felt an utter loss of control. Yelps of pain filled the air, and I recognised the sounds as members of my own team, grief stirring inside me but hope for a better future for us pushing me onward.

We ran hand in hand, in case I needed to portal us, but for the most part, everyone was occupied.

My mother’s tight grip kept me focused and bold, enough to keep moving and keep pushing, despite the pain searing my lungs from leaving Bodhi behind.

This had to be a success.

Three bodies moved into focus ahead, shuffling fast towards the gateway where the desert appeared to stretch on forever. I knew better than to believe the lies of the shield’s magic. The fastest and biggest one of the three carried a limp body. They disappeared through the shield, but I knew I couldn’t allow them to take the Omega.

So, I portaled us closer to our goal and, without hesitation, went to step through the shield, but my mother’s hand was yanked from my grip, and the only person who stumbled through the shield was me—straight into the waiting arms of a tanned, muscled Dominant, who smelled of everything familiar and ruinous.

“Welcome to Asrar, Raya.”

The hairs on the back of my neck rose, and I willed the daggers to slide into my grip. But they didn’t respond. Damn it.

Slowly, my eyes rose up the broad chest and shoulders, catching on the dirty blonde wavy hair, up past his full lips and straight into the searing emerald green eyes of Jakari.

“You’re alive,” I breathed, and he laughed, a single eyebrow-raising.

He pulled me forward, and I stumbled, his grip so tight, I knew it would bruise my skin. My mum was pulled through the shield a second later, with a hand over her mouth and wide eyes as she kicked and bucked in Silver’s grip.

“Stop,” I yelled. Jakari laughed and yanked me into his chest, his arm wrapped around my throat too tightly, suffocating me.

My mum kicked and screamed beneath Silver’s fingers whilst I clawed desperately at Jakari’s arm that was slowly stealing my breath.

“Please,” I begged. I could feel the blood rush to my head, my nails digging into his skin drawing blood. Air became scarce.

I watched on in horror as my mum’s kicking and screaming slowly faded until she was entirely limp in Silver’s arms, her skin ghostly white.

It was that which had horror flushing through me, that which pushed me forward as she hung there, her eyes open, her life gone.

Grief surged, and I screamed at Silver as I bit down on Jakari’s arm until the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth and he ripped his arm from around my neck, losing contact with me and giving me enough time to portal.

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