Page 31 of Marked By Night

I smile ferally at him, making his brow dip in confusion. Blood drips from my mouth and onto my chin, but I don’t care. “You’re going to be the one regretting this. You’ll rue the day you ever decided to fuck with Sadie Sinclair. Today is your reckoning, Benjamin.” Then I launch my switchblade at him. It sails end over end in the air, gliding straight toward my target. I’ve practiced this move more than once.

His eyes widen, but it’s too late, and it sinks into his chest. He freezes, making a gurgling choking sound as his fingers reach for his heart. Blood blooms across his shirt and drips to the concrete. One drop after the other until it turns into a steady stream that I know there’s no stopping. He crashes to his knees and promptly falls over. He doesn’t move anymore after that.

Tyler lets loose a pained grunt and the pressure on my shoulder blade eases as he’s forced to let go of me. Bewildered, my eyes meet downright murderous ones. I suppress a shiver at their fiery intensity.

Dante.Gone is the easy-going man from earlier. There is no trace of humor left in his eyes. No, now the fires of hell dance within them, ready to burn the entire fucking world down. For me. He looks like a Godsdamn avenging angel of death, complete with a halo of dusty blonde hair as a flame appears in his hand. Distantly, I know that this should be impossible. Yet, my eyes aren’t playing tricks on me. Which means they’re different. Like me.

Relief surges through me. I’ve never been so happy to see someone in all my life. Their darkness calls to mine after all.

“We’ll take it from here, Angel,” Dante says, flicking his wrist making a huge burst of fire fly toward Tyler. Dante flicks his hand again and the fire splits, encasing Tyler’s torso in a perfect ring which prevents him from moving unless he wants to get burnt to a crisp. The asshole is smart enough not to move, much to my disappointment. What a shame.

Tyler mouths something and throws his hand up at Dante, which makes Dante’s hair blow slightly. Then Tyler’s eyes widen in shock before quickly morphing into fear. Their silent standoff fizzles and crackles throughout the air.

Dante smiles and as soon as he lets the ring of fire drop, Tyler takes off down the hall. He doesn’t get far before Dante is on him. Dante seems to morph with the air as he crosses the length between them in a split second, flinging Tyler like a rag doll down the hallway. Tyler’s face skids across the floor before smacking into the wall with a sickening crunch.

Then it’s over. For now, anyway.

If Dante is an avenging angel of death, then Kaos is the raging storm, seconds before it destroys everything in its wake. In two long strides, he’s at my side and he folds me into his arms. Which does nothing to help my injured shoulder.

I flinch, drawing Kaos’s attention to my injuries. He takes in the damage and without a second thought, snaps my shoulder back into place. This time there’s no stopping the cry that bursts from my lips, but instantly it feels a lot better than before.

“You’re fucking amazing, Sadie. I’m so proud of you for taking Ben down on your own,” he says.

“I don’t need you to fucking baby me,” I snap. Then feel guilty. “I’m sorry, but Dante did totally ruin my moment to shine.”

He chuckles. “We’ve got you. Let us take care of you, Little Flame.”

His words melt my heart a little and I step back into his embrace. “Fine, but for the record, I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I’m allowing it.”

After Dante is finished tying Tyler’s arms and feet together, he’s at my side seconds later, whispering sweet nothings in my ear. I let his smoky scent and Kaos’s leathery one wrap around me until it’s all that’s left.

It’s in this exact moment I realize I don’t want to let these strangers go.

15

Dante

Savannah saunters toward us outside the women’s restroom with an exaggerated sway to her hips that does absolutely nothing for me. If anything, my dick shrivels at the sight. She looks like a Godsdamned demon with the blood-red dress she’s wearing. All she’s missing are the horns.

Do you think she’s here to start trouble?Kaos projects into my mind.

Why else would she be here?I reply sarcastically.

The snake herself splays her palm across my chest, leaning in to whisper about how dreamy I look tonight or something, but I can’t focus on her. Sadie should be returning any minute. She’s been in there for quite a while now.

Speaking of Sadie, I wish I could read auras like Elian. I’m sure it would prove she’s our Link and then we’d know for certain if she’s going to be sticking around.

Apparently, my lack of attention makes Savannah angry because she screams—like full-on toddler temper tantrum screams—complete with stomping her foot like one too. The penetrating sound makes my teeth grind together. People always say nails on a chalkboard is the worst sound imaginable, but this is so much worse. She sounds like a banshee had a baby with a bobcat. Not to mention, it draws everyone in the vicinity’s attention.

“What the fuck are you doing, Savannah?”

The screaming instantly stops when my eyes meet her murky brown ones. “Much better,” she says, in a voice I’m sure is supposed to be sultry but only puts me on edge. “Now that I have your full attention, I’d like to discuss some Weaver business.”

My patience with her is practically nonexistent. “What?” I snap.

She attempts to rub her tiny tits against my chest but I back away. Her smile falters as she clears her throat. “The Elders want us to proceed with the bonding as soon as possible if I’m to become your Circle’s Link.”

Her words shock the hell out of me. Of course, they do. The meddling bastards. The thought alone is enough to make my heart drop to the pit of my stomach and turn my mouth dry. But it’s no surprise they lied about giving us the option to choose. I’m sure they’ve had Savannah lined up from the very beginning.

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