Page 51 of Siren's Gift

The slightest wobble of Keiko’s chin betrayed her underlying emotions. She was barely staying in control, and I didn’t blame her. Rin was her best friend and soulmate. Not only that, but Ichiro had raised her too, treated her better than most.

However, he also saw her as more of a prized pet than a beloved daughter, and her loyalty was to me and Rin above all others. I could only imagine what horrors she’d inflict upon Ichiro if he hurt Rin any more than he already had.

She glared up at me. "If anything happens, I will tear off his limbs, slit his fucking throat, and bathe in his blood while his corpse rots."

I guess I didn’t have to imagine.

Frankie’s eyes lit up, and she cackled. "I may end up likin’ you after all."

Pulling her lips back to expose her extended canines, Keiko hissed.

Frankie elbowed me. "This your new girlfriend or somethin’? I see you lowered your standards, dragon."

I grabbed Keiko around the waist as she leaped at the fae woman—who clearly had a death wish—and held her tight. Marissa and Keiko had more in common than I thought. "Thisis the equivalent of my little sister. Impulsivity seems to be a common theme among younger siblings."

I set Keiko down away from Frankie, holding her back by the shoulders. "Keiko, stop. I will handle this. Trust me."

Tears filled her big, dark eyes as she looked up at me. The sight of her pain broke my heart. Her voice came out in a whisper, "I can’t lose him, Nic. I just can’t."

"I won’t let that happen," I promised.

I didn’t know if I could keep that promise, but I knew I would give my life to save his.

She nodded and swiped at her eyes. "But if…if anything does happen, promise that you won’t get in my way."

That was one I knew I could keep. "I promise."

As I turned back to Frankie, the front windows exploded inward with a deafening boom. Glass and wood shards flew across the gym as an inferno erupted, engulfing everything in flames.

CHAPTER 25

Dominic

Instinctively, I threw myself in front of Keiko, but the force of the blast knocked me off my feet. I shielded my face and landed hard on my shoulder before rolling backward. Years of training helped me avoid any further injuries. Dust and debris rained down all around me.

When the explosion finally settled, I coughed and waved the dust away from my face. The ringing in my ears hadn’t died down yet, but the lack of flying debris meant the worst was over. Unless the entire building collapsed. Fuck. We needed to get out of here.

Of all the potential setups, I never expected Ichiro to bomb a building. Just like the poison at The Morning Grind, this hands-off method wasn’t his style, even if there was no doubt he was trying to kill me. While the fire itself wouldn’t do much to harm me, a well-placed, well-timed bomb would have ended me for sure. I ground my teeth together. He’d have to try harder.

The dust was so thick, I couldn’t see more than a couple of feet around me. "Keiko, Frankie, are you both okay?" I called out.

The fae woman groaned somewhere to my left. "I’m alive. Unfortunately."

More groans and grunts came from the other side of the gym, but none of the voices were Keiko’s.

I scrambled to my feet. We had been standing close together, so she couldn’t have ended up far from me. "Keiko, answer me."

I squinted through the dust, my pulse thumping erratically. Keiko was the toughest badass I knew, with magic and abilities no one else in the world had. She could survive anything.

So why wasn’t she answering me?

The dust was slowly settling, allowing me to see farther. Beams from the ceiling had fallen across the gym and created a maze just to get to the street. The rest of the gym was a crumbling, burning mess.

"Nic." The rasp in Keiko’s voice whipped me around fast. She lay on the ground taking ragged breaths. A piece of splintered wood longer than my arm speared through her chest.

Oh, gods.

I fell to my knees beside her and grabbed the end of the wood, ready to pull it free. Frankie’s hand stopped me. When I met her gaze, she shook her head. "Won’t matter. Wood to the heart’s lethal to her kind, like an allergy. Removin’ it will just speed it up."

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