Page 74 of The Shadow Wand

“She’smine!” Lukas snarls before punching Damion in the face so hard that I can hear something crack. Then Damion is lying on the floor, Lukas straddling him and savagely punching him in the face over and over as Damion cries out, blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

I push myself away from the two of them and scurry backward to avoid the flying limbs.

Lukas stops, rises to his feet, and steps back, his fists clenched as he looms over Damion.

Coughing and spitting blood, Damion rolls over, whimpering, then struggles onto his knees. He holds up his palms in surrender.

I hold my breath, thinking it’s over.

To my surprise, Lukas starts in on Damion once more, kicking him to the ground and then kicking him in the side again and again as Damion cries for mercy.

I’m afraid that Lukas won’t stop. There’s something so wildly violent in his expression that I’m worried he’s actually going to kill Damion Bane.

Damion tries, pathetically, to crawl away from Lukas, but Lukas attacks even more savagely, Damion’s weakness seeming to provoke rather than calm him.

I turn away as I hear the sickening sound of a bone breaking.

Footsteps sound on the stairs and then on the balcony, running toward us and around the bend as a deep male voice booms out, “Lukas,stop!”

Lukas pauses, his gaze fixed on Damion, his hand a bloodied fist. He stands like that for a long moment before slowly lifting his gaze to meet that of his father, High Commander Lachlan Grey.

Lukas’s father is flanked by four Gardnerian soldiers, my guards among them, all of the soldiers wearing shocked expressions as they survey the situation. Sparrow comes into view behind them, and I realize, in a staggeringly grateful rush, that she must be the one who summoned Lukas and the other soldiers.

Still breathing hard, Lukas seems undaunted by their presence, and the soldiers shrink back from his glare. Only Lukas’s father is uncowed.

“Youcannotkill the son of a Mage Council member.” Lachlan bites off each word, rage brimming in his eyes.

Lukas glances down at Damion, then back to his father, the side of his mouth curling up.

“He is a fellow commander.” Lachlan scowls.

Lukas is unmoved, his fists clenched tight.

“Iwillstrip you of your command,” his father threatens, but I notice he makes no move toward Lukas, and neither do the other soldiers.

Lukas lets out a short laugh of contempt.

“And I willarrestyou,” Lachlan stubbornly continues.

Lukas shoots his father an incredulous look and glances back at Damion, who is now unconscious on the floor.

We watch, breathlessly, as Lukas deliberates for a long moment then steps back.

The soldiers all let out a sigh of relief and step back in turn. It seems that no one wanted to be the one to try to arrest Lukas Grey.

“Take him to my physician,” Lachlan directs the soldiers, motioning toward Damion but keeping his gaze blazing on his son.

The soldiers jump to retrieve and then carry a limp, bloody Damion across the balcony and down the stairs.

Damion sensed my power.The panicked thought whirls in my mind.Sweet Ancient One, the Banes can’t know what I am.

Lachlan Grey gestures for Sparrow to leave, and Sparrow’s eyes briefly meet mine. She gives me a deeply cautionary look before quietly following the soldiers.

I slowly pull myself up, my legs trembling, power singing through my affinity lines.

Lachlan glances at me, his expression full of disgust, then turns back to his son. “Lukas. We need to talk,” he says tersely, eyeing me again with disdain.“Privately.”Lachlan walks a few steps away, turns briefly to indicate with his glare that he expects Lukas to follow, then leaves. His heavy, angry steps sound on the stone stairs.

Lukas glances at me, his expression and magic unreadable, but an echo of violence still burns in his eyes. He turns and strides off after his father.

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