Page 87 of On Wings of Blood

Slowly, he lowered his hand, his fingers trembling a little as he bent down and wiped his hand in the sand beneath our feet.

The fire crackled behind us, sending sparks into the night air. The sounds of the party had faded away.

Blake still didn’t move. His body remained like a wall between Kiernan and I. His back was rigid and tense.

“You were warned once before.” Blake’s voice cut through the night air like a knife. “This is the second time you’ve come near her. Do anything like this again and there won't be a third.”

Kiernan clenched his jaw, clearly fighting the urge to retort.

Finally, the boy took a step back.

Blake turned around to face me.

For a moment, I stood frozen, my heart racing. I could feel the dangerous energy radiating off him.

“You shouldn't be here.” His voice was cold. But there was something else there, too. Something dark. Something possessive.

I stiffened as I remembered the words he had used.

My jaw tightened, fury and confusion warring in me. “I didn't ask for your protection. I can take care of myself.”

Blake stepped towards me, the heat of his presence suddenly stifling. “It's not protection, little dragon. It’s a claim.” His gray eyes darkened as they flicked down to my exposed neck, an unspoken reminder hanging between us. “You're mine. No one touches what belongs to me.”

My skin prickled. With anger and something else. Something I couldn’t admit, even to myself.

A finger tapped me on the shoulder and I jerked, whirling around.

Kiernan. The idiot was still standing there.

“Kage wants her to join us,” he said sullenly, as if reminding us he was still there. “I was just delivering the message.”

The air seemed to freeze.

Blake stiffened instantly, his body taut once more. Slowly, he looked towards where Kage Tanaka stood, surrounded by his highbloods, watching the scene unfold with an unreadable expression, arms still casually folded as though this was all part of some private game where only he and Blake knew the rules.

I watched as something crossed Blake’s face. His stormy gray eyes narrowed. The air around us seemed to grow heavier.

Without a word, he moved. One moment he was standing in front of me and the next he had whirled around, crossing the space between him and Kiernan like a flash of lightning.

His hand shot out, gripping the other highblood by the throat.

Kiernan's eyes widened, his terror showing as his feet left the ground.

My breath caught in my throat. “Wait,” I started to say.

But it was too late.

With one swift, merciless motion, Blake hurled the other highblood into the bonfire.

Kiernan’s scream was swallowed by the roar of the flames in an instant, his body engulfed in heat. For a split second, the flames surged and the smell of burning flesh tainted the air. Then anything that had been Kiernan was gone. Turned to ash. Consumed by the fire, as if he had never existed at all.

My heart was pounding. I stood there, frozen, staring at the fire.

Blake moved to stand beside me and I glanced up at him. But he wasn’t looking at me. His eyes were fixed on Kage.

I looked across the fire.

The other house leader didn’t look the least bit upset at the way Blake had snuffed one of his followers out of existence. If anything, Tanaka looked impressed. He raised an eyebrow in silent acknowledgement, then turned away.

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