Page 46 of Omission: Part 2

Being smaller, I’m faster than him. It takes no time to eat up the space between us; I’ve always had an agility that few can match when in flight. Flying is like dancing to me, a rhythm and pulse that lives and breathes inside my veins, and in seconds, he’s within my reach.

I don’t hesitate to land on his back, throwing his balance off, the damage to his wings at the hands of my mate making it uneasy for him to keep stability, our fall is fast, yet Alice keeps her eyes on me while I wink, making sure she knows I’m here.

“I’ve got you,”I mouth, and she gives me a half-wink type of response that’s silly and adorable at the same time. Both eyes really just blink at me with a side tilt of her head, but that’s enough for me to concentrate on the irate general. I also ask her to cover her ears by placing my palms over mine, knowing he’ll try to get at me with insults before attacking.

“Get the fuck off, Anaya.” Meaty paws swipe at me and miss, but I reward the effort by digging my knee harder into the injured left wing, then the right so they’re even while thanking the Gods I had the foresight to communicate with her. “This is not the way to win my forgiveness, and I’m going to fuck you raw and make you bleed for this disobedience. I don’t need you ruining what?—”

“Watch your mouth,”

“Why are you here?”

“We’re going home.”

“What about your mate?” For a second he freezes, dropping a few dozen feet in altitude, but regains his composure. He doesn’t say anything after, but I notice he’s edging closer to a rocky area that if we crash into would be fatal for Alice.

I need to get her out of here.

Leonardo, I’m going to circle back, and he’s going to be pissed. Be ready.

I’m lucky the brute doesn’t have enough sense to secure the one thing I’m endangering my life to save. He tossed the child over his shoulder like a small sack of carrots, her body barely held by his hand on her ankle, and I capitalize on the idiocy when Ioh so gentlystab his eye with my blunt fingernail.

Ready, Aya. And baby, I love you so much for saving one of our young, and I’m going to show you just how proud I am when I turn your ass red.

“You fucking cunt!” Brice snarls, but releases her immediately and Alice catches air, rising high enough that I snatch her up and push off his mangled brown wings, turning my body at the last second to head back in the direction we came. Clouds graze our sides while she tucks her small face into my neck, hiding from the man hurtling threats at me.

“Ma princesse, I tire of these games. You need to come with me and take your place at my feet.”

“No.”How many indiscretions are you adding?

His chuckle is all I get as a response, and it sends a shiver down my spine, one that causes me to let up on my speed and for Brice’s fingers to grip the tip of my wing.

That’s his second mistake of the day because he’s falling at a rapid speed a second later when lightning strikes.

18

LEONARDO

I’ve never been so angry and scared in my life than when I caught sight of Anaya taking flight after that son of a bitch. I’d been seconds from keeping her grounded. We’ll bring him down another way, but my female shows once again how truly worthy of adoration she is.

She didn’t think twice about rescuing one of the smallest members of our coven. The same little girl who laughs with Aya over stickers and cookies andoohsover pretty flowers, as Alice calls them.

That little witchling gives my mate hope. Helps her see what a healthy and happy childhood can be, something my queen is passionate about. Something she speaks often about when it’s just the two of us inside our bedroom with the lights off at night. She speaks freely and from the heart, a private confession that breaks my heart yet fills me with so much tender love for her.

“There’s nothing more precious than watching them discover who they are without the prejudice of the world knocking them down. To let them explore and get messy and know that no matter what they do, there will be no disappointment, but rather affectionate correction. There’s no need to terrorize a child into doing what you want them to, because when you accept who they are, what you get is more than you ever hoped for. I never want to see another clipped wing in my life, Leonardo. I want our children and those of our people to be truly free.”

That doesn’t mean we won’t be having an insightful and hands-on discussion about this afterward, but for now, I keep track of her movements. She’s dropping faster than I’m happy with, little Alice tucked in against her chest while the idiot beneath my boot lies still.

He passed out before crashing, an effect of the lightning strike, and this new power is still a bit volatile. It feeds heavily on my emotions. Gives the sensation of a thousand snakes wrapping around every inch of your body, their bodies burning hot before striking out on the object of my ire.

Brice is exuding a bit of smoke while his clothes are singed, and I take great joy in giving him a second strike while Chiara watches. How she whimpers when his damaged wings, one side destroyed, crack under the pressure of my foot. She’s on her knees mere feet from us, so much pain in her traitorous tear-brimmed eyes, but the vampiric side of her doesn’t allow them to fall.

Instead, they gather and gather.

“Does it hurt to see him like this?” I ask her, but she doesn’t respond. She’s frozen. Yet when my female lands a few seconds later, her body in my outstretched arms with a smiling Alice giggling, I see the first sign of fire in her since bringing Chiara out to witness the idiot’s demise.

Chiara screams and tries to rush to her feet, clumsily fumbling closer, and no one moves to stop her. The guards around us chuckle a bit. The once put-together and snobby woman doesn’t raise empathy from anyone, much less their queen.

Anaya looks at her with annoyance and hands the small child over to Isotta, who’s been on pins and needles with worry. My precious one understands this and gives the older witch a touch of the hand, much like I do to those in my aegis, and everyone gasps.

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