Page 75 of The Girl Who Only Died Once

In one smooth motion he grips Chloe by the collar, yanking her back, and flexing power out, flooding the space between them all.

The streetlights flash out, glass cracking, and both the magicians in front of them, both the spellweaver and the must-be alchemist jerk.

And all at once, their necks twist, snapping abruptly, before they drop to the dirty pavement.

Chloe flinches, but Killian keeps a grip on her collar, and the very air tastes of demon magic, bitter and bright.

“I should’ve done that at the restaurant,” Killian says, voice low, before he glances up at the hotel, at the lights glittering within, before with another flex of power, all electricity on the block snaps out.

Chloe gasps, an almost small cut off of air, and Killian releases her, dusting off his hands.

She staggers away, and there are now two dead bodies on the pavement. Sure it’s dark out, sure the sidewalks are abandoned, but now she’s around two dead bodies and—

Killian’s eyes are on her.

“We should get you inside,” he murmurs, flickering his gaze up to the darkened hotel. “I took out the security cameras, it’s dark enough they won’t connect you if you move fast enough.”

Her heart still pounds.

“They might send someone to check out the burst,” he says, and his voice tilts upwards in urgency. “If you get inside, you’ll be camouflaged, and—” He gestures towards the bodies, vicious, and they…

Shatter apart, like they’re made of stone. Where once were rapidly cooling bodies, where the blood was stilling, now are just separated chunks of human body parts, crystalline as if frozen.

Chloe jerks back again, and he reaches out, gently gripping her wrist.

“Chloe,” he says, voice dipping down low, like she’s an animal to be soothed. “Chloe, you need to get inside now. I’ll clean this up.”

She swallows, and his hand is tender against her wrist, and she nods.

“I’ll be up there soon,” he says. “I’ll reinforce the wards, nobody will find you.”

Gingerly, he releases her, and Chloe clutches her wrist to her chest, before turning on her heels and striding, fast, to the hotel.

And even without looking back, she can tell that he’s watching her.

She lets her hands push the door open to the darkened room, where the dismayed clerk flashes his phone light at the room.

“Our power’s out, the entire block—” he starts, and Chloe blows past him, digging into her pocket for her own battery and flipping it to a penlight without a thought. “All rooms are out!”

“I know, I have a flashlight,” Chloe calls back in return, and her throat is tight around the words, and she doesn’t look back until she’s at the stairs, until she’s at her floor, until she’s at the door to the room.

Even without the penlight, the wards shimmer, casting a warm glow across the quilt, but Chloe rushes to the window, staring down.

The entire block is dark, one of the streetlamps sparking, but the warping black and red of Killian’s power draws her eye down to him, illuminating him against the darkness.

Her breath hitches, and he almost radiates with power.

What the hell had she gotten into, that he could kill so easily.

Sure, she knew that demons had the ability, everyone does, and she’s seen Ambra do it a few times, but not so…instant. Precise.

She shivers, still wearing her alchemied coat.

It’s far beyond what she saw with Maison, completely different from what Terese had demonstrated.

No wonder Ambra didn’t ever want to go into conflict with another demon in her state.

On the street below, he tilts his head towards the window, spotting her, and his gaze lingers.

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