Page 52 of Beast of Blood and Roses
Whatever history they shared, whatever vendetta she held against him, I couldn’t let her destroy him or Marcel and Colette. My chest burned with fierce protectiveness. I had to protect him, even though I didn’t fully understand what I was protecting him from.
Beast was ahead of me, moving like a freight train barreling down on its target. His powerful strides ate up the distance between him and Tinker Bell, who continued jogging at a leisurely pace as if she didn’t have a care in the world. But I could see the lethal precision in her movements, the way she held herself like a coiled snake ready to strike.
She turned around quickly, her blonde hair whipping behind her as she narrowed her green eyes at Beast. The air around her seemed to crackle with barely contained power. What if she was going to cast a spell on him? Or seriously hurt him?
Terror slid down my throat as I realized he was too far away for me to reach him in time. What if my magic could reach him from here? I skidded to a halt and aimed my palms toward his retreating form, not sure if my magic would work from this distance, but knowing I had to try.
Protect him, I commanded silently, pouring every ounce of desperation into that single thought.
I held out my palms toward Beast’s distant figure, my hands shaking as I desperately tried to draw on whatever power lived inside me. I wasn’t even sure how to do it. My magic had worked instinctively against the wolves, but I’d never tried to project it this far before. I couldn’t lose him. The intensity of that need surprised me, but I didn’t have time to examine whythe thought of him getting hurt made my chest feel like it was tearing apart.
Something small fluttered in my chest like a feather caught in a breeze, a tickle of sensation that grew stronger and more insistent, as if something ancient and powerful had been awakened by my desperation. The feeling spread outward like wildfire, tingles rolling down my arms in waves before concentrating in my fingertips until they burned with electric energy.
The air in front of me began to ripple and shimmer, then raced toward Beast like the expanding rings that form when a pebble hits still water. I watched in amazement and terror as my magic—raw, untrained, but fierce with protective intent—rushed to shield him.
Panting hard, I collapsed onto my knees on the rough gravel, my legs giving out completely. Every muscle in my body felt like it had been wrung dry, leaving me shaking and weak. I wasn’t sure if my desperate magic had been enough, but through my blurred vision, I could make out the faint outline of a transparent shield shimmering around Beast like a soap bubble made of starlight.
Tinker Bell’s predatory smile faltered as she stared at the protective barrier. Then her green eyes slowly shifted away from Beast and focused directly on me, and my blood turned to ice. Recognition flickered across her perfect features, followed by something that looked disturbingly like hunger.
Wind began to whip around her with supernatural force, making her blonde hair stream behind her like liquid gold and her white T-shirt and jogging shorts ripple and snap in the unnatural gale. A brilliant golden aura began flowing around her like liquid light, growing brighter and more menacing witheach step she took toward me. The power radiating from her made the air itself feel heavy and electric.
Beast let out a thunderous roar as he pounded his fists against the inside of my shield with desperate fury. I could see his mouth moving, probably shouting my name, but the barrier muffled the sound.
Tinker Bell approached me with deliberate slowness, the wind continuing to swirl around her in an impressive display of magical power. Each step she gained made my heart hammer harder against my ribs. I had protected Beast, but I didn’t have an ounce of strength left to protect myself. My magic felt tapped out, like a well that had run completely dry.
Chapter Thirty
Fierro
Fury and terror erupted inside me like a volcano as wind began whipping around Tinker Bell, her golden aura flaring with malevolent power. I pounded my fists against the invisible barrier surrounding me, my knuckles splitting and bleeding against the unyielding surface.
“No, leave her alone!” My roar echoed uselessly within the confines of Rosalie’s protective shield, the sound bouncing back at me like a cruel mockery.
Tinker Bell approached Rosalie with calculated menace, the supernatural wind making her workout clothes snap and her blonde hair whip around her like golden ribbons. I couldn’t hear what was happening—the shield muffled all sound, creating a nightmarish pantomime that made my chest burn with helpless rage.
I threw my shoulder into the barrier again and again, theimpact jarring through my bones, but it remained frustratingly strong even against my supernatural strength. My claws were useless against the magical protection, scraping harmlessly against the invisible surface like fingernails on glass.
Desperation tore at my throat as I watched Tinker Bell lean down toward Rosalie, her lips moving in what looked like whispered words. The wind around the witch intensified, creating a vortex of power that made the very air shimmer. Then Rosalie’s eyes fluttered shut, her face going slack and peaceful. She fell backward as if she were a marionette whose strings had been suddenly cut, her body hitting the gravel with a sickening thud.
Everything moved in slow motion and my world began to crumple. If I lost her…
At that very moment, as if her unconsciousness had severed the magical connection, the shield around me flickered and disappeared like a popped soap bubble.
I poured on the speed. “Stay away from her.” The words came out more as a snarling growl. My hands clenched into fists at my sides, claws extending involuntarily.
Tinker Bell cocked her eyebrow with infuriating casualness, as if my threat was nothing more than amusing. Without a word, she turned and walked away with that same malevolent grace, the wind around her finally dying down to nothing. She didn’t even look back.
Just then movement at the front door drew my attention. Colette and Marcel stumbled out of the house, their faces pale with panic and frustration.
I reached Rosalie first, dropping to my knees beside her still form. My hands shook as I lifted her into my arms, her body limp and frighteningly cold against my chest. Tears I didn’tknow I was capable of blurred my vision as I searched her face for any sign of consciousness. “Rosalie? Can you hear me?”
“Monsieur, we could not get out,” Marcel said breathlessly. “The doors and windows were blocked by magic. We tried everything.”
Damn Tinker Bell! She’d planned this entire encounter, trapped my people inside while she dealt with Rosalie and me alone. The question was why? What did she want with a fledgling witch who barely understood her own power?
I cradled Rosalie closer against my chest, her warmth seeping into me like a lifeline. She’d risked her life to save me yet again, pouring every ounce of her untrained magic into protecting me. My throat tightened with an emotion I couldn’t name. Why would she do that? Did she actually care for me, or was it just her inherently good nature refusing to let anyone get hurt?
Either way, I owed her everything.
