Page 87 of Kingdom of Chaos
Kade’s gaze shifts to him and he nods slowly. “Yes. And if you give me a few minutes to explain, I think we can come to an agreement that will benefit all of us.”
“You’re crazy if you think we’re trusting you now,” he says, his arm tightening against Kai’s throat, making the male claw at his throat, releasing a choked gasp that makes me wince.
I want to tell Talon to let him go, but there’s a darkness in his gaze that tells me he’s not in a merciful mood.
Kade presses his lips into a straight line, his nostrils flaring. He digs into his pocket and pulls out a small key. “This will unlock the magic blocker on your wrist. With magic like you’re packing, you can easily overpower us. I just ask you give me a few minutes to explain, and then if you want to walk out of here on your own, we won’t do anything to stop you.”
“What about Becks?” I ask. I’m not leaving without him.
Kade’s dark gaze shifts back to me. “I’ll let you leave, but I’m not giving up all our leverage.”
“With my powers back, I can just make you give us the dragon shifter,” Talon says.
Kade looks him dead in the eye. “You can try. But I won’t promise not to fight back if you do. And if that happens, we may not be the only ones getting hurt.”
Kade’s gaze drifts to me in a clear warning. Talon makes a noise low in his throat that’s as close to an animalistic growl as I’ve heard from him.
“But it doesn’t need to go down like that. We can all sit and have a civilized conversation.”
Kade extends his hand, the small key pinched between his thumb and forefinger. I hesitate for a beat before cautiously taking it, then make my way over to Talon. Kai’s eyes go wide when I approach, the flames still curling around my fingers.
“How do I turn this off?” I whisper to Talon as I wiggle my flaming fingers.
“Unlock my cuff and I’ll take care of it,” he says.
The cuff blocking his magic is clamped around the same arm he has pressed to Kai’s neck. Talon eases the pressure justenough for me to unlock it, and Kai immediately gulps in air. As soon as the cuff is off, Talon presses his fingers to Kai’s temple. His eyes roll back, and his body goes limp in Talon’s hold.
Keeping a wary eye on Kade, Talon lowers Kai’s body to the ground, and then, before I realize what he’s doing, he grabs my burning fingers.
I gasp and try to yank my hand away, but Talon holds firm. A cooling sensation spreads from my fingertips, enveloping my hand and trailing down my arm, raising goosebumps in its wake. When he finally lets go, the flames are gone, replaced by a thin coating of frost.
I look up at him in surprise. That’s not a kind of magic I’ve ever seen him use before. Sure, I’d suspected he’d messed with the temperature a time or two, but this makes me wonder if it’s part of his original abilities he’s kept hidden, just like Imogen said his family tends to do.
“Thanks,” I say, a little breathless.
He gives a single, silent nod.
“Is he okay?” Kade asks, and I flinch, his voice startling me. I’d somehow forgotten we weren’t alone.
Talon’s sharp gaze tracks to Kade. His face hard and devoid of warmth. “He’ll wake up in a couple hours, unscathed.”
Kade nods.
Talon takes my hand and tugs me toward the door. “Come on, Freckles. Let’s get out of here.”
“Wait,” I say, and turn back to Kade. “Becks. Where is he?”
Kade crosses his arms, his chin lifting with defiance. “Like I said, we need to talk. Now that you’re both free, we can do that as equals.”
Talon scoffs, and Kade narrows his eyes. “What? You don’t consider humans equals? You one of those creatures who looks down on anyone without powers?”
Talon’s not like that. If anyone knows that, it’s me.
I’m about to come to his defense, but he sets Kade straight himself.
“No,” he says, voice steady. “I don’t look down on anyone for not having magic. Powers don’t define your worth or prove your strength any more than your guns do.”
He glances at me, and the words he once spoke during Chaos echo in my mind.
