Page 5 of Diamond Kisses

So who…

My gaze skimmed over the sea of cowering people.

Victor.

He stood with the muzzle of his weapon pointing down the stone corridor we’d come in from—just in case the bullet decided to bounce off the cave roof and kill someone unintended.

Grabbing hold of the sudden stillness from his shot, he shouted, “Enough!” He pointed his gun at me. “Get him under control. Now!”

The stillness shattered.

I lost myself again.

Dropping my shoulder, I ran into a guard.

He toppled like a boulder.

I struck him in the head just as two more fumbled for my arms, trying to yank them back.

Twisting and leaping to my feet, I kicked and punched. I snarled and struck.

The guards renewed their efforts to subdue me.

I renewed mine to return the favour.

I lost track of how many men I hit and how many hits I received in return.

Time lost all meaning as I tried to take on guards and Masters and slowly lost, one by one. Strike by strike, my energy whittled. Punch by punch, pain overwhelmed my violence. I panted and sweated. Blinked and staggered. I kept feeding my flagging body with sheer determination, forcing it not to give up—doing my best to end this before they ended me.

Through blood and sweat, I tried to find Stewart and Ben.

Why weren’t they helping?

We would have better odds if they jumped into this fight, along with the guards who said they were ready to revolt.

It wouldn’t just be me against countless enemies.

We might stand a chance.

A guard shoved me back, sending me wheeling into the one bleeding behind me.

He grabbed me in a neck-lock, throttling me and trying to throw me to the ground.

Scratching at his forearm, I gave in to the final dregs of my violence.

Throwing myself forward, I managed to toss him over my shoulder. Stomping onto his stomach, I flew toward Victor, where he stood by the crack we’d entered. His black suit slashed from my first cut, the material shimmering wetly.

I’d hurt him.

He wasn’t invincible.

He’s killable.

“Henri.” His eyes flashed as I ducked around a guard trying to tackle me, then grunted as another struck my kidneys. “You won’t win.”

I knew that.

I’d known that the moment I’d cut him instead of Ily.

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