Page 52 of Darkness and Deceit
Savina’s already there—of course she is—red magic curling around her wrists like smoke. Beside her, Rey and Cassian are arming up, sharp-eyed and silent. One of the professors barks orders in the distance.
“Took you long enough,” Savina says, turning toward me without missing a beat.
“Didn’t know you missed me.”
“I didn’t. But someone’s gotta stop you from getting your idiot self killed.”
I huff a dry laugh as I fall into step beside her. “Trail’s marked?”
She jerks her chin toward the west gate, where the stone arch pulses faintly with magic. “Three-layer ward. Rogue magic touches it, they won’t have a soul left to scream with.”
Rey snorts. “Guess we’re done playing defense.”
“Damn right,” Cassian says, rolling his shoulders. “Time to make them bleed.”
Savina doesn’t look at them. She’s already scanning the treeline—assessing the fire, counting shadows. This is why I trust her. Why we all do. Not because she’s warm. Not because she cares. But because when shit hits the fan, she doesn’t flinch.
I let the moment settle, then nod once. “Code Shadow.”
Everything shifts.
The air thickens. The real Predators—the ones built for this—snap into motion. We’re the ones who survived things therecords don’t mention. We don’t hesitate. We don’t wait for instruction. We follow blood.
The portal crackles to life as I drag my palm across the stone seal. Blue light flares—and a gust of wind slamsthroughthe gate from the other side, tearing across the courtyard as the threshold rips open.
Savina steps through first, followed by Rey and Cassian, blades drawn, Preds right behind them. No hesitation. Not from them.
I pause.
Because if this goes wrong—if I don’t make it back—Lilith will never know how much of me already belongs to her, even when I’m half-feral and full of rage.
I have to trust the wards to hold.
Trust Simon to keep her safe.
I grit my teeth, shove the emotions down, and let the portal swallow me whole.
We land just past the perimeter. The fire is brighter here, unnatural and blue, devouring everything in its path. The earth smells like ash and blood. And the Rogues?—
Gods, the Rogues areeverywhere.
Rey snarls, flings out his arm, and his Predator bursts from the shadows. A hyena, all snarling teeth and fury, hits the dirt running, its chaotic laugh splitting the air as it rips into the first Rogue that moves.
Beside him, Cassian mutters something low—and from the shadows, a massive obsidian scorpion emerges. Its sleek body glistens, tail arched high, violet venom dripping from its curved stinger. It skitters forward with eerie grace, then vanishes beneath the earth—only to burst upward a heartbeat later, impaling a Rogue clean through the chest.
Savina doesn’t hesitate. Her panther coils beside her like a shadow in motion. “There,” she says, pointing through the smoke.
I follow her gaze.
Kai.
He’s already deep in the thick of it, katana slicing through the dark like it’s an extension of himself. Shadows burst and snap around him and he’s faster than I’ve ever seen him—more vicious, more focused. He moves like a storm—uncontrolled and untouchable.
But then he falters.
Just for a second. A beat too long.
And that’s when I see him.
