Page 14 of Magic Unleashed

“Dammit!” Griff growled, slamming his fist into the floor. He’d been so close. Fontaine had slipped through his fingers, but the fight wasn’t over. Not yet.

Phoenix groaned beside him, pulling herself up and dusting off her clothes. “He got away.”

Griff’s jaw tightened as he rose to his feet, his eyes blazing with frustration. “Yeah, but he won’t get far. We know he’s involved, but we still don’t know exactly what they’re after.”

Phoenix’s gaze softened; her anger tempered by something else as she looked at him. “We’ll get him, Griff. But right now, we need to regroup. Figure out what the hell that ritual was about.”

Griff nodded, his frustration still simmering just beneath the surface. But as his eyes met Phoenix’s, something else stirred—a deeper, more primal desire that had nothing to do with the cult or the councilman. It had everything to do with the woman standing in front of him, her magic still crackling in the air, her chest rising and falling with every breath.

For a long moment, neither of them moved. The air between them was thick with unspoken tension, the weight of their earlier conversation pressing down on them.

Then, without warning, Phoenix closed the distance between them, her hand reaching up to cup the back of Griff’s neck. Her eyes searched his, her voice barely a whisper. “We’re not done, you and I.”

Griff’s heart thundered in his chest as he lowered his forehead to hers, his voice rough with need. “No, we’re not.”

And with that, the last of Griff’s restraint shattered, his lips crashing against hers in a kiss that was as fierce and consuming as the fire that burned inside them both.

Chapter

Six

PHOENIX

Phoenix barely registered the moment Fontaine disappeared in that flash of red light, her senses still buzzing from the battle. But it wasn’t the chase that left her reeling, it was the man standing with his arms wrapped around her, his lips crushing her own and his tongue dancing with hers.

Before she could process any of that, the sudden rumble beneath her feet snapped her out of it, and she looked around in time to see the walls of the hidden room beneath The Thorny Rose start to crumble.

"Griff!" she shouted as the stone walls cracked and groaned, chunks of debris raining down around them.

Griff was already moving, his sharp instincts kicking in faster than her own. He reached for her without hesitation, his strong hand wrapping around hers with a firmness that sent a jolt of reassurance through her. "We need to get out of here. Now."

Before Phoenix could respond, the floor beneath them began to shift, tiles crumbling into dust as the entire space trembled with dark energy. Whatever magic had created this room was collapsing, trying to bury them alive now that its source of power had vanished with Fontaine.

Phoenix stumbled as Griff pulled her toward the hallway, the air thickening with dust and swirling shadows. "The whole place is coming down!" she shouted, her heart pounding in her chest as she ducked beneath a falling beam.

Griff glanced back; his eyes dark with focus. "Keep moving!" he ordered, his voice steady despite the chaos around them.

They sprinted toward the narrow hallway leading back to the staircase that led to the main bar, but the walls were already cracking, splitting apart as if some unseen force was ripping the room apart piece by piece. The hallway was narrowing, crumbling in behind them, and Phoenix could feel the oppressive weight of the dark magic pushing down on her, threatening to crush her.

Her legs burned as she ran, her hand still clasped in Griff’s, but the ground beneath them was falling away too quickly. A large chunk of the ceiling fell right in front of them, blocking their path.

"Griff!" Phoenix gasped, her pulse racing.

But Griff didn’t slow down. He pulled her to the side, slamming his shoulder into the already cracked wall and breaking through it. The plaster gave way with a sickening crunch, and the hallway opened up into a different passage, one that led to the staircase.

"Go!" Griff shouted, yanking her through the gap.

They bolted up the stairs two at a time, the ancient wood creaking beneath their feet as if it, too, might give way at any second. Behind them, the ominous sound of collapsing stone echoed louder and louder, and Phoenix swore she could feel the dark magic clawing at her skin, trying to pull her back into the collapsing room.

They burst through the door at the top of the staircase, stumbling into the main room of The Thorny Rose. The bar was mostly empty now, its patrons long gone, and the rumbleof the collapsing room below them sent bottles shaking on their shelves and glasses clattering off the counters, but The Thorny Rose itself was intact as if nothing had gone on below the surface. Magical taverns were like that—what lay beneath them often shifting, changing, opening up or collapsing, seemingly at will.

Without stopping, Griff pulled her to the door, pushing it open and dragging her into the cool night air. They didn’t stop running until they were around the corner and on his Harley. Phoenix finally allowed herself to gasp for breath, her body trembling from the adrenaline as she wrapped her arms around his sturdy frame.

"That… was close," she panted, pressing her chest to his back.

Griff nodded, gunned the engine of the motorcycle, and turned away from The Thorny Rose. She could feel his chest rising and falling as they rode. Phoenix allowed herself the luxury of closing her eyes, knowing Griff would keep her safe. She could feel his head moving back and forth as he scanned the street for any signs of danger.

"Too close," he muttered. "That space was built with dark magic. It was trying to take us down with it."

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