Page 82 of Titan

I spin in the air towards her and see Vanguard clawing at her arms and legs. She has pulled herself into a tight ball, seeming to be protecting something close to her chest. Her eyes are squeezed shut, and her body is shaking.

“Let her fucking go,” I roar, leaving Maximus to deal with his torn wing.

I grab Vanguard by the throat, squeezing until my claws meet. I hold him by the neck and punch him in the face again and again and again.

Vanguard’s yelled curses quickly turn into screams, but I don’t let up. Every emotion I felt hearing Julianna whimper in pain gathers in my hands. I slash my claws across his chest and arms and stomach. Long ago, I would’ve called this gargoyle a friend, but now, I want to destroy him until he is nothing but dust.

“Fuck off, asshole,” Julianna yells. Her voice wavers, but I hear its strength and the sound of her feet connecting with stone flesh.

My head jerks back to see Maximus gripping her upper arm in one hand and her gold purse in the other. Julianna’s hands clutch onto the bag with a vise grip, her arm muscles so tense, they shake, and her knuckles have gone white. She kicks at him with all her might, but he is barely registering pain.

“Give me the Keystone,” Maximus grounds out.

I drop Vanguard’s throat and leap off of his broken body. He scuttles back from me, clutching his neck.

“She doesn’t have it,” I yell.

Maximus backs up quickly at the sound of my voice, dragging Julianna with him. With one swift movement, he takes her by surprise and yanks her from her bag. He still holds her firmly in his claws, and I see the red indents of them on her skin. He shifts his weight back and forth and eyes her like she is nothing.

“Is that what you think, Titan?” He laughs.

I see the winged silhouettes of my brothers in the sky over Maximus’s shoulder. I just need to keep him occupied for a little bit longer. In a few moments, he will be outnumbered.

“If you were looking for the Keystone, you should’ve stayed at that party, Maximus.”

He shakes his head at me, his milky stone eyes shifting from me to Julianna to her purse, then back to Julianna.

“Are you going to tell him?” he asks her.

My frown deepens, and I step forward, but he immediately steps back, his wings unfurling with violent force as his grip tightens on both Julianna and the bag.

“I’m sorry,” she whispers, her big brown eyes wet with moisture as she looks at me.

My chest feels like it is being chiseled away from the inside out with her delicate hands. She destroys my defenses, and whatever stronghold the Keystone still has left inside of me crumbles.

“You have nothing to be sorry about,” I say softly.

“She does. She really does.” Maximus laughs. “She stole our precious Keystone tonight.”

My frown deepens, but I see the way his eyes latch onto the gold purse. He’s telling the truth.

“This little human just waltzed in and took it from us.” He looks at her in disgust as his wings begin to flap and he rises above the parking lot, Julianna hanging from his claw like a rag doll. She tries to grab onto him with her other hand but can’t quite get it.

“You got what you wanted, Maximus. Now put her down.”

“You sure you wouldn’t prefer the Keystone? The Titan I used to know certainly would.”

“Things change.”

“That they do.” He laughs, crueler, wilder. “Humans can do that to us.”

His head swivels back. My brothers are bearing down on us. Then Maximus looks over to Vanguard, who is still recovering behind me.

“The others are coming,” he warns Vanguard before releasing Julianna and launching himself straight up into the dark clouds.

I leap and catch Julianna before she hits the ground, my arms curling under her knees and back. Immediately, I cradle her against my chest, needing to feel her heartbeat against mine. It is going so fast, too fast.

“Don’t go after him,” Julianna shouts against my chest, then claws her way up my shoulders until she is able to look me in the eyes. “Please don’t.”

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