Page 45 of Foretold

The man attacking me drops to the floor.

Dead.

Just like that.

The sounds from all around hit me suddenly, overwhelming me. The man on the floor starts to bleed out from his ears, eyes, and mouth.

I did that.

My breaths suddenly become too deep, too heavy, and I start to panic, gulping for air like I’m drowning.

With my left hand, I touch the black diamond on my necklace. “Rave,” I whisper. “I need you.”

Not even a minute later, he’s next to me, extending his full six-foot-five frame, his broad shoulders back. He takes in the scene, giving me a once-over to make sure I’m okay as he pulls me behind him. Not a second later, the men attacking us are floating in the air, arms behind their backs, shadows restraining them. They start screaming horrifying, desperate sounds, and I know Rave’s shadows are torturing them.

“My eyes!” one of them screams, and I wince, knowing the damage the shadows can do.

“Are you okay?” he asks in a low tone, his blue eyes flashing with anger. He slides his finger down the side of my cheek like we have all the time in the world, and men aren’t literally dangling in the air in front of us, shrieking in pain.

I look at the dead man on the floor. “I… I did that.”

Rave looks down at the man, his eyes widening as he pulls me tighter against his body. “You defended yourself. I’m proud of you.”

“I panicked and called you,” I admit, swallowing hard.

“I’m glad you called me. When it comes to your safety, always fucking call me, Princess,” he murmurs, then turns to face the men, his hand sliding to my lower back. “And what do we have here?”

“They wanted Astrid,” Axe says, stepping next to Rave. Suddenly, he lifts his hands, and shadows swirl around them.

My eyes widen in surprise. “You’re a mirror.”

I generally sense what magic someone has, but I have no idea with Axe, and now it all makes sense.

It means that he can mimic the magic of those around him. I’ve never met someone with that ability, but I’ve always been curious about it. I remember telling August once that if I could have any powers, it would be that.

Axe throws me a cheeky grin.

How did I not know that about him?

I know Kai has some mind-reading abilities, which is why I always keep my mental wall up around him, but I didn’t know Axe was so powerful.

“You dare try and take what’smine?” Rave growls, turning around to face me. He cups my face and trails his nose down my neck. “Don’t look.”

“What are you going to do?” I ask, brow furrowing.

“We only need one alive,” he says, facing them once more. He then lifts his hands, and a horrific cracking noise fills the air. His shadows broke all of their necks.

Except Rion.

He kept him alive.

Dead bodies fall to the floor with a loud thump, and a part of me wishes I did turn around. How easily he killed all of those men, but I can’t judge him for it, though. I called him here, knowing he would protect us and handle the situation.

And he did.

“You’re going to regret this,” Rion calls out, staring at hisfallen friends with anger and hatred blazing in his eyes. “You might as well kill me, too, because I’m not going to tell you shit.”

“Shut the fuck up,” August snaps, raking his fingers through his brown hair. He has a deep slash on his cheek from the fight, and I walk over to him and heal him with a simple touch. A slight dash of pain hits me as I watch the cut disappear before my eyes.

---