Page 134 of Tortured Soul
An elemental warlock sent a burst of wind that nearly knocked me off my feet, sending dirt and rain against my face and in my eyes, but I held on to another demon guard, makinghimfall instead and ran forward as soon as the warlock stopped channeling. He made the mistake to turn around—not so cocky now that I was closing in—allowing me to jump on his back and remove his helmet from behind before using the sharp beak to hit at the top of his head and any other places that I could easily reach.
“Fuck!” he cursed, trying to shield himself with his hand, only for me to pierce holes in them too. “Get her off!” he yelped as he tried to move toward the couple of them still holding Dimitri.
My mate looked at me with wide eyes, an admiring look on his face. Hell, how Ilovedwhen he looked at my crazy behavior like this. I guess I was a little mad too.
The last mistake they made was to consider me a greater threat than the Nephilim.
The male warrior holding Dimitri’s arms behind his back took only one step in my direction before he was caught in a chokehold. Swirling red eyes met my determined blue and held.
How did I ever live without seeing him for so long? The madness might have been scary for everyone else, but it was reassuring to me. Because no matter how violent his curse was at times, behind the hurt and confusion was always unconditional love.
Guards were grunting everywhere around us as we held our positions. Me holding on to the back of the frantic warlock, Dimitri keeping a consistent pressure on the demon windpipes. The few that weren’t on the ground were pounding at our respective frames, trying to get their hold back on us, but we didn’t budge, gazes locked on each other.
Dirt and splashes of water were flying everywhere around our tumble, and I could hear people farther away, yelling and calling for help that took time to come.
Where the Hell were Arc and Carter?
“What’s going on here?” a familiar voice sounded from behind me and I turned my face, grinning. “Lola, that’s not funny, what—”
“Oh,come onMarcus,” I drawled. “They’re the ones who attacked and refused to be reasonable.”
He stepped in the melee, pulling other guards away from us and shoving them to the sides.
He wasn’t wearing his helmet, but he must have been patroling along the inside fortification since he was still dressed in his usual dark uniform, his soaked, dark blond hair pulled back in a half bun.
“Can youpleaselet go of them?” He stopped between Dimitri and I, turning to look toward us both. The men who were still trying to pull me off the warlock and the guard away from Dimitri’s hold retreated. “You too,” Marcus continued, frowning at us.
As they joined their little friends to the side, I saw the mortification in the demon and the Warlock’s eyes. Theyknewthat they had handled this poorly. Never turn your back on an Immortal opponent. Never switch your focus. Never underestimate.
“Where the Hell is Arc?” I asked, bumping into Marcus to get to Dimitri’s side. His arm wrapping around me and lips meeting my temple settled my racing heart instantly. I didn’t even care that he was covered in blood.A lot of blood. From a lot of different species.
Okay, maybe I cared a little.
“What happened?” I whispered to Dimitri while Marcus paced in front of the line of hurting—but mostly fine—guards, a scowl etched into his face as he surveyed them.
“I found it.”
My head snapped up. His grin was so wide the single dimple was visible on the side of his chin.
“You did?”
He nodded, eyes sparking with pride. I turned in his arms and snuggled closer to him as he tightened his hold around me. Marcus’ voice scolding the guards on the side was barely a white noise in my mind as all the tension that had plagued me for the last three days finally lessened.
“You promised you’d be careful,” I pointed out. “Why are you covered in—”
“What’s going on here?” Dimitri stiffened against me at the sound of Arc’s voice. “Why does everyone look like they were just part of a bar brawl?”
Marcus grunted. The guards lowered their heads, avoiding his gaze.
Cowards.
“What happened?” I scoffed, turning around to face him as Dimitri kept my back plastered against his chest. “Your guards are idiots, that’s what happened.”
“Care to explain further?” he seethed.
It was late, and the rain started to pick up. It should be a relief after so many days of scorching heat, but the drops were warm and the heavy and humid air was charged as the storm was building.
The few moonbeams shining through the thick clouds illuminated Arc’s face and made his blue-gray eye gleam in an unnatural way.
