Page 81 of The Fate of Eternity

“He stabbed you with poisoned blades,” Raiden offers, pulling me from my thoughts as I blink at the stains, nodding as if that makes perfect sense.

“What else did I miss?” I ask, scrambling to understand a single thing, but I come up blank every time.

“Let’s get out of here before the place burns down. Then, if you’re lucky, she might offer you an explanation before she kills you herself.” He smothers a hand over his mouth, trying and failing to hide his snicker as I shake my head in disbelief.

“She’s not going to kill me,” I grumble, swiping a hand down my face, only to smear more blood over my skin.

“Are you sure about that?” he retorts, pointing at the woman in question, and I gulp.

She looks mad. Real mad. But I already told her I’ll take her wrath over death. I’m right where I’m supposed to be, where I always will be. I’m just about to say it when the ground shudders and an explosion sends us flying through the air.

I hit something hard with a thud, the darkness creeping in faster this time as everything goes black, leaving only one thought on the edge of my mind.

It’s definitely too soon for death jokes.

39

ADRIANNA

My lungs burn as I cough, the thick, smoky air swirling around me as I try to catch my breath. Panicked, I seek out the others. Kryll is standing by the rubble, hands planted on his hips. He stares down at the skeletal remains of Vallie and her annoying uncle while Raiden swipes at his ash-ladden clothes relentlessly.

Uncertainty wars inside me as I spy Cassian a few feet away, looking off into the tree line, a stark reminder that the dungeons are gone, along with a good quarter of the academy building. Something exploded with Kryll’s fire. What it was, I’m not sure, but my protective light of magic managed to blast us to safety with the force of the explosion.

Where the fuck is Brody?

“Dagger.” My nickname is barely more than a husky whisper, hauling me to my feet as I spin in a circle, searching for the source. I sag with relief a moment later when I find my mage splayed out on the other side of the rubble. Soot coats his cheeks, brightening his eyes in the late-night air.

“Brody,” I breathe, dropping to my knees with a grunt beside him as he pushes up to face me. I’m sure he thinks I’m joking,but he gave me the biggest scare of my life back there, and he’s going to pay for that when I’m calmer.

“Did I miss much?” he asks, smiling up at me, and I shake my head in disbelief.

“You missed everything. You were too busy trying to die until my magic tugged me toward you. Thankfully, Kryll’s blood did that thing it’s good at, and you don’t get to watch on from the afterlife,” I state, giving him a pointed look, and he frowns.

“I don’t know what you’re?—”

“I could feel you, your thoughts, your feelings… everything.”

His eyes widen in surprise. “Oh.”

“Yeah,oh. I don’t want to hear that shit ever again. Do you hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says with a sharp nod, and my gaze narrows.

“Don’t ever call me ma’am again,” I warn, and he grins.

“Whatever you say, Dagger.”

My shoulders ease, some of my tension drifting away at the sound of my nickname from his lips. He really is okay. With a sigh, I cut the remaining distance between us, resting my head on his shoulder, and in the next breath, he’s pulling me backward so we’re lying amongst the rubble.

Dark clouds still swirl above us, a siren to the entire kingdom, I’m sure, as they billow higher and higher while we simply stare at the carnage.

“What happened back there, Brody?” I ask, reliving the moment in my head again. “One minute, I was strangling the hell out of that bitch, and the next, I’m being drawn toward you because her uncle was trying to turn you into a puddle of mage goo.” My chest aches from the memory, my conscience refusing to remember anything deeper to keep my heart intact.

“I don’t even know, Addi. He just grabbed my legs as I was rushing over to you, and I was powerless to stop him once he cutme the first time,” he admits, eyes glazed as he looks off into the distance.

We really were close to losing him. Closer than I care to admit.

“I mean it, Brody. Don’t ever do that again,” I repeat, trying to ease the remaining tension, but it’s impossible.

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