Page 216 of On Wings of Blood

My restraint shattered. I shot to my feet, my muscles coiled. Theo looked up at me in a silent plea for me to stay calm, but I ignored him.

“You think you could handle her, Marcus?” I hissed, my voice low and deadly. “She’s stronger than she looks. You’re not taking anything from me. Especially not Pendragon. Our bond’s nearly complete, and you know what that means.”

My older brother’s grin faltered, a hint of uncertainty betraying his bullshit bravado. “Is that so?” he asked, trying to sound nonchalant. “Uncle Viktor didn’t think you’d gotten far.”

“I was planning on surprising him with the news,” I lied. “He told me to keep her controlled and soon she’ll be mine. Fully bonded. And there won't be anything you or Viktor or anyone else can do about it.”

Marcus's lips curled in annoyance. “We’ll see about that,” he said, rising to his feet, his playful tone gone.

I stabbed him in the chest with my finger. “Why don’t you scurry back to Uncle Viktor like a good little fucking lap dog and tell him I have everything under control?”

Marcus’s body went tense. If we weren't in the middle of a crowd of people, I knew he’d have decked me one.

“This isn’t over, little brother,” he muttered, as he moved into the aisle.

I sat back down, trying to calm the fire inside of me.

“You shouldn’t have said that,” Theo groaned. “Now he’ll come after her for sure.”

I knew Theo was right. Still, “Let them try,” I muttered.

CHAPTER 53 - MEDRA

Instinct kicked in. Highblood instinct. Blake’s instinct.

Before I even had time to think my hand had shot out and with a sharp, audible snap, I caught the arrow mid-flight.

I stared down at it in disbelief, my palm wrapped around the shaft.

Above me, Quinn froze, her eyes wide.

For a long moment, we simply stared at each other.

Then something stirred inside me. A savage urge rising to the surface, too powerful to resist.

Blake’s blood had flipped a switch in me, igniting something dark and wild.

My muscles tensed with inhuman power, Blake’s blood and my rider’s body meshing together in a ferocious combination.

I lunged towards the tree and before Quinn could even blink, I’d scaled the trunk, clambering from branch to branch with skill not fully my own.

I landed beside Quinn on the tree limb where she sat, my feet hardly making a sound.

She let out a strangled gasp and scrambled backwards.

But there was nowhere she could go.

I moved towards her and this time, I didn’t stop. I didn’t hold back.

I drove the arrow into her side, ignoring the sickening sound of flesh tearing. Quinn gasped, her eyes widening with shock as the force of the strike pushed her out of the tree.

Her body crashed through the branches as it plummeted down before hitting the ground with a thud.

I dropped down to the forest floor beside her, landing lightly on my feet.

For a moment, I stood there, looking at my fallen opponents.

Regan’s unconscious body was still sprawled in the dirt. Now Quinn lay gasping in pain beside her.

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