Page 93 of Forged By Heart and Claws
“You’re so like your mother,” Colm said, scorn dripping from his voice. “Very well. One…. Two….Three.”
The stone door ground up as the mechanism sprang to life, and I unlocked the door, pulled out the keys, tossed them to Thalen, and then pushed the door open.
The door slid open, revealing Colm standing with Calla Lily at his side. Guards flanked them, swords and crossbows at the ready. Behind me, Briar screamed, and I stepped across the threshold.
Briar
The scream burst from me like a storm, so sharp and ragged it tore at the back of my throat. My body jolted forward, instincts shredding logic to pieces.
“Vad!”
I had to get to him. I had to stop him! He’d lied to me!
He stepped over the threshold and into the light as gloved hands seized him roughly.
I launched myself forward with a desperate snarl. “Vad, no! We do this together!”
Thalen’s arms closed around my waist as my body hit his like a battering ram, but he held tight. “No, Chaos. Come on! We’ve got to go.”
I bucked, kicked, screamed. My vision blurred with rage and terror, the hallway tilting as I slid sideways. I clawed at Thalen, not caring that he was my friend. I’d rip the world apart to reach Vad.
“Let me go!” I demanded.
“Briar, stop!” Thalen’s voice was ragged, strained with effort and something close to grief. He dragged me back with both arms banded around me. Guards appeared in the doorway, swords raised, ready for a fight. They started down the narrow staircase into the corridor.
“Come on, Trouble.” Veralt swept me into his arms as Thalen released me and snatched up the lamp. My feet left the ground as I kicked and struggled.
I screamed again, rage blooming so violently in my chest it nearly choked me. I struck Veralt with my elbow, knees, and fists. I lashed out, bit, and clawed with everything I had. I’d rip those guards’ throats out! But we were already racing through the passage.
I twisted in Veralt’s arms, kicking hard enough that my shins screamed in protest. My nails scraped the stone wall, but it was no use. Veralt only grunted when I bit him.
Another howl of rage and grief rose in my throat, wild and wounded and primal. My body arched, spine bowing. I had to get to Vad.
I had to get to my mate.
The walls and ceiling could fall around me, and I’d still fight. “Put medown!” I thrashed in Veralt’s hold, spitting and clawing. “I’ll kill you if you don’t put me down!” I tugged at the link, but Vad felt so far away; it was as if he barely existed. We were hardly connected. A yawning hollowness expanded in my chest.
Thalen ran in front of us, holding the lamp and then gesturing toward a branching path on the right. He glanced over his shoulder, his mouth pinching. “Chaos, we’ve got to lose them, or else they’re gonna track us all the way back.”
“I’ll fight them. I’ll fight them all!” I twisted again, finally breaking an arm free. I slammed my fist into Veralt’s chest, once, twice, the heel of my palm bruising. I didn’t stop until his grip shifted, and he crushed me tight, still running.
“Stop.” He growled. “We can’t help him if we’re dead.”
“I don’t care,” I spat, voice shaking. “Let me go. I’ll tear them apart myself—I’ll?—”
Veralt growled as he adjusted his grip on me. “We’ve got to keep her quiet, or she’s gonna draw the guards right to us.”
Thalen pointed to a passage on our left. The ground angled upward now. “Briar, we’ll rescue him, I swear. But I promised him I was going to get you out of here. Remember what you said to the girls before? We don’t have to just survive. We have to win.”
A horrible, searing pain cut into me. I went rigid, suddenly unable to breathe.
What was that?
Vad.
Our bond had snapped.
My words dissolved as I stared at Thalen, my vision blurring. Ice spread through my body. I couldn’t feel him. He was gone. Just…gone.
