Page 228 of Shadowblood Souls
Dominic at least partly healed Jacob’s physical wound like he did mine, but I have no idea how much other kinds of damage our escape has taken out on him.
I had no idea he evencouldtear down an entire building—let alone two of them—with his talent. And that was after he’d already deflected dozens of bullets.
“Jake!” I yell, as loud as I dare, and slap his cheek with a prick of claws. “I’m here. Listen to me.”
The blow has no discernable effect. Jacob lets out another anguished groan, and something thuds and shatters down the street.
“Riva!” he calls out like I’m not there at all.
The shadows inside me tug me toward him, and I’m so worried that I let them.
I lean in with one last-ditch effort of convincing him I’m with him and slam my mouth into his.
Jacob’s breath stutters against my lips. His hands fly up, fingers curling around my neck, tangling in my hair.
But not to choke me or torment me like he might have weeks ago. He holds me in a desperate embrace as another shudder passes through him.
His mouth drops from mine as his head bows.
“Riva,” he murmurs in what’s little more than a breath.
My insides feel as if they’ve been entirely rearranged all over again. “I—I’m okay. I’m here.”
I push myself farther back so I can see his face. Jacob stares at me, still dazed but back with us.
I will down the flush burning my cheeks and scramble right off him. “We need to get out of here before they catch up with us. Can you walk?”
His mouth opens and closes. Instead of answering with words, he sways to his feet.
My own chest is aching, but I hold myself as steady as I can and glance around at the others. “Where do we go?”
A tremor runs through Dominic’s body where he’s leaning against the tree he sucked most of the life out of. He’s burned out most of his energy too.
His gaze slides along the landscape beyond the trees. Following it, I realize we’ve come down to the coast again, though not the same stretch as the harbor where the yacht was.
In the near distance, a range of smaller boats bob in the water along narrower docks, stretching as far as I can see.
“We could find a boat no one’s using,” Dominic says hoarsely. “One we can figure out how to start if we need to. It’d be easier getting away on the water.”
Zian hesitates. “Should we see if we can find Rollick?”
Andreas’s mouth twists. “We don’t know for sure that hewasn’tin on that attack. And even if he wasn’t, we’re obviously not safe anywhere near his ship until he’s dealt with the others.”
I might have protested if I didn’t feel so weak myself. We’re in no condition to fight with several shadowkind along withany other unwitting human accomplices they rope into their campaign against us.
“We rest and then we regroup,” I say.
Dominic’s gaze slides to the wreckage around us. “We should definitely put some distance between us and this spot.”
Jacob winces and trudges forward on wobbly feet. Zian falls back to steady him with a hand against his back.
Dom and Andreas fall in on either side of me. I reach to grasp Dominic’s hand, as concerned about his well-being as he clearly is about mine.
We walk until I think I’m going to collapse. Zian picks out one of the larger private boats nearby and peers through the walls to confirm it’s empty.
After we scramble on board, Jacob extends a little jolt of pressure to start the ignition. Andreas steers the craft away from its harbor, in search of a hiding spot where it won’t be noticed in the descending darkness of evening.
The rest of us tramp down into the cabin area. There’s only one level, but it has two cramped bedrooms and a set of freestanding bunks behind the stairs.
