Page 89 of Marked By Night

Duh. He’s a shifter. Wait…

“You can smell pheromones? Like when someone’s turned on?” I cringe when my voice rises a few octaves and clear my throat to help mask it.

“Yeah,” he nods and I notice a slight blush creeping up his neck.

Ah, fucking hell. That’s great. I’m going to have to learn how to control my urges around him. It’s exactly my type of luck that it’d get back to my mates and I have a feeling it wouldn’t go over well, despite their dynamic.

I don’t know what else to say without embarrassing myself, so I don’t say anything. Although, I do decide to let Vin drive us back to the mansion, considering he’s the mechanic and all. Plus driving down that cliff gives me goosebumps.

We’re almost back to the King’s estate when my spine explodes in tingles and I intuitively know something is about to go terribly wrong. A dark sense of foreboding and dread settle in my gut cutting me like a sharp rock.

Here I was thinking we were going to get off scot-free. Dammit. I didn’t even tell the guys I left, and my phone is still dead.

Real smooth, Sadie.

Yeah, hindsight is twenty-twenty, and as someone who lived through the year, I can say that is indeed true.

A bright flash of light whizzes past the car as we turn onto the dirt path that I know leads back to the estate. A few men burst out from seemingly nowhere and start hammering the car with orbs of magic.

“Shit!”

My poor old car is not bulletproof or magic proof like the guy’s vehicles and the window on the driver’s side shatters. Glass shards rain down on both of us, cutting into our skin. I bring my arms up to cover my eyes and protect them from the debris.

Vin somehow manages to keep driving but he’s hurt. Blood drips from the side of his head and down his arms. He takes off down the gravel path, dust and rocks flying in our wake as the car fishtails then rights itself.

“Isn’t it a bad idea to lead them back to the estate?” I ask.

“Getting behind the ward is our only shot. They won’t be able to cross into our territory with ill intent.”

The ward, duh. Get it together.

Vin’s mouth turns into a grim line of determination as a line of hummers whip out of the tree line in hot pursuit of us. He adjusts the rear-view mirror, watching the same thing as me. They follow us, but we’re able to create a bit of a lead since my car is much smaller and able to take the turns faster.

The feeling of dread in my stomach ramps up, sending a jolt of nausea through me. A black orb of magic hits the side panel near the tire. The engine stalls but doesn’t stop.

Yet something still feels off and I can’t seem to shake the feeling even as we approach the curve that leads to the estate. Vin taps the brakes, trying to slow down to take the sharp curve, but nothing happens. He taps them again, harder this time. Nothing.

He looks over at me, panic swirling in those golden eyes of his. “The brakes aren’t working,” he admits, confirming what I already know.

Our eye contact doesn’t last long, but it’s enough for my heart to stop. Vin starts pumping the brakes, but the hydraulic pressure isn’t going to be enough. We’re going too fast and we’re too close to the curve.

My adrenaline starts pumping harder. “What are our options?” I ask, but he doesn’t respond. “We’re driving too fast to jump out,” I say thinking out loud.

Come on, Sadie. Think.

I inhale, trying to slow my racing heart but no solid options that don’t result in death are coming to me. To make matters worse, whatever the black orb did is now making the car extremely unstable and we’re starting to careen toward the ravine.

“Brace yourself!” I shout, then I do something totally stupid and reckless, especially at the speed we’re going, before he can protest. I yank the emergency brake up and pray to the Night Goddess to guide us through this turn. She seems to favor me, so hopefully, she’s listening. “Drift!”

Vin reacts to my command instantly, whipping my poor car around the sharp curve like this is fucking NASCAR and we’re not going ninety to nothing.

To my complete and utter amazement, we don’t flip. Vin handles the car impeccably and we come to a stop in the straightaway. Sideways and facing the wrong way, but we’re alive, so I’ll take it.

Vin glances over at me in shock, giving me an appreciative head nod. Hemsworth yips excitedly like he’s enjoying this shitshow. The crazy dog. Although, I can’t say I’m not enjoying the rush either.

Unfortunately, now that the car is stopped, we’re slowly being surrounded by Hummers. Terrifying men holding orbs of magic hop out, slamming their doors. It takes everything in me not to flinch with each one that closes and it’s all my fault too.

I should know by now danger will find me no matter what I do. Because I’m Sadie Sinclair, and trouble follows me like smoke follows beauty.

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