Page 114 of Their Reckless Thief
“Vivian, I need an escape route. Now.”
“Go back the way you came,” Vivian replied, her voice sharp. “I’ll guide you through the side passages. You need to move fast.”
“Let’s go,” I barked, taking the lead.
Dorian shifted and stayed at my side, fighting off every entity he came across, viciously protecting me at all costs. Vincenzo covered the rear as we sprinted through the narrow halls, the incubi hot on our heels.
It was chaos. Shadows and undead lunged from every corner, and the cold air bit at my skin. We moved as a team, in sync, each of us playing our part. I had never felt more alive. More terrified.
The first incubus lunged, moving faster than I expected. Luca reacted immediately, his shadows surging forward to block the attack, but more were coming, and they wouldn’t stop.
“We need a plan, now,” Vincenzo growled, pulling his blade from his side. “I’ll hold them off. Get Celeste and the key out.”
“No,” I snapped, adrenaline rushing through me. “We don’t split up. Follow me.”
I didn’t wait for an argument. My instincts kicked in, and I moved quickly toward the side of the room where a set of controls was built into the wall. If I could hack the system, I could create a diversion.
“Vincenzo, Dorian, keep them off us for a minute,” I ordered, my fingers already flying over the controls.
Surprisingly, they listened. Vincenzo and Dorian moved in sync, using a combination of brute strength and speed to take on the incubi. Luca was beside me, his shadows shielding us from stray attacks as I hacked the system.
“You’ve got this, Celeste. Be careful,” Vivian encouraged, and her voice was like a lifeline in the chaos.
With a final command, I activated the system, setting off a chain reaction of security protocols that caused the entire vault to shake. Alarms blared, but I had rerouted the energy to confuse the incubi. For a brief moment, they were disoriented.
“Now,” I shouted, making a run for the exit.
The others followed. The incubi recovered quickly, but we had a head start. We raced through the narrow halls, the wraiths in the shadows watching but not intervening.
The hallway stretched out before us, an unsettling, pale light illuminating it. The walls on either side were made of thick glass, warped and foggy, concealing strange shadows that moved behind them—shadows that seemed alive, twisting and shifting in the corners of my vision. I couldn’t make out what was behind them, but whatever it was, it didn’t feel right. It was something dark and oppressive, something I didn’t want any part of.
Luca, Dorian, and Vincenzo moved in tandem, always alert, their footsteps echoing on the cold stone beneath us. I stayed close, focused, but my heart felt like it would explode. We were almost there. I could feel it. This hallway had to be one of the final obstacles.
“Keep your eyes off the walls,” Luca shouted, his shadows swirling around his hands.
Luca might as well have told me not to press the big fat button in the middle of the control panel. As soon as he brought attention to the glass walls, my gaze flicked to one of the shadows, and for a split second, I could have sworn I saw something move—a twisted face, hollow eyes, something darker than the wraiths we had encountered before. It vanished as quickly as it appeared.
“Almost there,” I whispered, my voice shaky as I glanced at the men and the wolf beside me.
Just as the words left my lips, the atmosphere around us began to ripple. I sensed the energy shift, like something darkhad come alive around us. Before I could react, something cold and strong wrapped around my ankle. I screamed as I was yanked off my feet and thrown backward, the world spinning as I crashed through one of the glass walls with a deafening shatter.
Glass shards exploded around me, biting into my skin as I hit the ground. Pain shot through my body, but I barely had time to register it before an incubus, its form half-shadow, half-decayed flesh, loomed over me, eyes glowing with malevolent hunger.
“Celeste!” Luca’s voice rang out, but I was too disoriented to respond. The incubus reached for me again, but Luca’s shadows lashed out, cutting through the space like blades, forcing the creature back. “Get the fuck off her!”
“Get her out of here,” Vincenzo barked, already moving to take down the oncoming onslaught of spirit reapers and incubi. Dorian was by his side in wolf form, their combined strength keeping the wave of darkness at bay.
I was still trying to push myself up when Luca swooped down and scooped me into his arms. I struggled against him, which only pushed the glass deeper into my skin.
“No! I’m fine. Put me down!” But Luca’s grip was firm, unyielding. “I need to help them!”
“You’re not fine,” Luca growled, his tone leaving no room for argument. “You’re too vulnerable here. We need to get you out. Now.”
“Vivian, what’s going on? I can’t leave them behind!”
“Luca’s right, Celeste. You can’t stay. I’ll keep you updated on the others, but right now, you’re too vulnerable. Let him get you out of there.”
Vivian gave me a play-by-play, but as much as I tried to focus, all I could think about was the searing pain radiating throughout my entire body. Dorian and Vincenzo were fighting with a fierceness that made my body tighten with fear. I had wanted to stay, to fight with them.
