Page 198 of Claimed By Fangs and Darkness
After a few blocks, we were assisted by greater reinforcements.
I hissed as a born managed to dive from his firebird to mine. Evie screamed.
I recognized the look in the born’s eyes—the willingness to become a martyr if that was what it took to eliminate the most prized kill in the city.
He moved quickly, and I was in the worst possible position to defend us.
He raised his sword.
Lightning came down and struck the man on the head. He jolted, electricity frying the shit out of him. Our firebird twisted and shook, knocking him loose as he fell to the earth below.
Evie coughed, a sickly noise leaving her throat.
“Baby, are you okay? Are you getting your magick back?”
The born must’ve subdued it somehow.
Evie nodded. “I’m okay.”
She lifted a hand to her face, and at the scent of her blood, I quickly grabbed it.
Droplets of crimson stained her fair skin.
“Fuck, baby. Are you coughing blood? How badly are you injured?”
She began to cry, and I held her tightly as the firebird made its descent. “They broke our bond. They cut you out of me.”
Rage and grief tore through me, a low growl lodged in my throat. “Impossible, angel. Bond or not, they could never cut us out of each other.”
Those procedures were extraordinarily risky, with a high likelihood of complications and fatality. They gambled Evie’s life away like it meant nothing at all. Just to try to keep her from me.
We landed at the nearest firebird stables within turned territory.
My legs were jelly when I touched down on solid ground. I still wasn’t entirely convinced I wasn’t dead, and all of this was some kind of afterlife fantasy.
Blade and Harmony shared similar disbelief.
“How the fuck?” Blade summarized.
“Vesper is so pissed,” Harmony said under her breath.
Vesper had no reason to be angry. We hadn’t stormed the castle without her, so her kill was still hers to take. And to be frank, I didn’t really care about other people’s feelings when Evie’s life was at stake.
We all stared at a trembling Evie, waiting for her to explain.
She reached for my hand and looked at the ground. “I knew you’d come for me the moment they drained me of our bond. So I did everything I could to escape—I convinced Aster I was on the brink of death, that I needed my magick to heal and survive. He made the mistake of removing my magickal binding.”
“Is he dead?” I asked.
Evie’s eyes flashed with anger. “No, I don’t think so.”
I couldn’t imagine the degree of shame she must be feeling. She might’ve even believed the start of the war was her fault.
“That’s okay. They’ll all be dead soon enough,” I said, hugging her tight as my heart pounded with adrenaline and relief. “All that matters is that you’re home and you’re safe.”
“You two have some fucking guardian angels, I swear to the gods,” Blade said.
Another firebird landed, one carrying Vesper and Clarke. I felt a strange mix of gratitude, surprise, and guilt that they’d followed me into a deathtrap.
