Page 118 of Phoenix Falling
She didn’t answer. I could feel the weight of the sword in her hands, feel her heart beating double time, feel her resolve as she faced off with the enemy. And all the while I moved toward the garden.
“You’re going to die, Jacob.” Her heart thrummed with the adrenaline of a fight, but not with fear. Not because of Jacob. “I don’t know what you intended by all of this, but you’re going to die,” Lyris assured him.
He laughed. “Why did I do all of this? I did it for you, of course.”
“Then you were seriously delusional.”
“No, I wasn’t.” He spread his arms wide. “I’ve succeeded. You see, I knew you’d never have me on your own. You’ve made that clear time and time again. But now I don’t need your permission. Helios promised you to me; you’ll be mine forever.”
“Over my dead body.”
I’d reached the garden. A quick glance around told me that wherever Imogen was, I wouldn’t find her easily. The entire garden appeared serene, empty. In the distance I could see the blades of several helicopters, but the cabins were empty. Where was she?
“If that’s the way it has to be…I guess we’ll have to see which one of us is stronger,” Jacob said.
Lyris scoffed in my head. “You really think you can beat me? You are definitely delusional.”
Rage suffused Jacob’s face—he never could handle an insult, the little prick. As I tried one more time, desperately, to find my mate, he brought his sword forward and clashed with my twin’s.
The fight was on. And not just a physical fight. I had to make a choice—continue to search for my mate or rush to help my twin. I had no idea what to do.
Basile came up behind me. “Imogen is not in the study.”
“She’s out here somewhere. I saw her with Helios.” I turned to my friend. “Lyris needs me; Jacob has found her.”
Basile made the decision I was unable to make. “Go, get to Lyris.” He gestured to several males entering the garden. “We’ll find Imogen. I promise you, Demetri, we won’t stop looking until we succeed.”
I had no choice. I couldn’t be in two places at once.
Turning my back on the garden, I began to run.
* * *
RISK
Sun had given me a precise map. Unfortunately it led me right to Jacob. Ahead I could see the male, his sword swinging around to meet Lyris’s in the air. No way could I take Clara through there.
I glanced around frantically. There were so many passageways, so many options. I could get lost in any of them, but to keep Clara safe, I couldn’t choose anything on the way to the dorms. Turning blindly, I selected an offshoot and ran.
Multiple turns later, I found myself in an area that had not been developed. Rough walls led me nowhere. Openings held small caves with barely any space. I could hide Clara here, but was it far enough away from the fighting?
Oh, for fuck’s sake. I could question my decisions forever, but it wouldn’t get me anywhere—I didn’t have answers. Choosing an opening at random, I slid Clara and myself inside the black space and tucked her behind me. Drawing my gift close, I took on Imogen’s persona once more.
“We have to stay here, Clara. We will be safe here until the bad men go away.”
Clara whimpered but curled up at my side. We sat in silence for the longest time. All I could hear was the roughness of my breathing, the occasional sniffle from the little girl I held. I had no idea how long we remained there, but eventually I used the bond to reach out and touch Sun’s mind.
He was fighting.
In the arena, scores of Anigma clashed with Archai warriors. Sun was surrounded, but I felt no fear in his head. I stayed quiet, praying I didn’t distract him, watching as he took on soldier after soldier, cutting them down one by one. The room echoed with the sound of swords striking against each other, the cries of the wounded, the flash that sparked as someone died.
And then a new shifter with an evil gleam in his shining red eyes appeared before Sun. A sadistic smile broke out on his face. “I’ve wanted to meet you for a very long time.”
Sun’s chest heaved as he fought for breath. “Who the fuck are you?”
Those eyes glowed with satisfaction. Dark skin, dark hair—I sensed in Sun’s mind that the male’s shifting form was a mystery. No clue as to who he was.
The shifter grinned, bringing up his sword diagonally across his body. Ready to strike. “My name isn’t important. You’ll be dead, and you’ll know who killed you. That’s all that matters.”
