Page 113 of Burn of Obsidian

Rubbing her wrists, she checked her fingers, happy that they were definitely not broken, just bruised. Jax’s slim bands were still locked around her, although a bit scratched. She never thought she’d be thankful for the bloody things, but there she was. They’d stopped the manacles from being locked too tightly, and was the only reason she’d been able to escape.

“Jax?” she whispered quietly, dropping to her knees carefully in front of him. She cupped his face, wincing at the bruises and cuts marking his skin. He remained limp, eyes closed.

She knew she wouldn’t be able to break him free of his manacles, his hands much larger than hers. Reaching into her hair, she pulled out a few pins from her ponytail. The lock was common enough, the metal heavy and aching against her fingertips. She unlocked his wrists quickly, catching his arms as they fell.

The wound on his shoulder gaped, wet and oozing. It was angled, and she had no idea how he could stand, never mind survive an injury like that. The tattoos surrounding it glowed when she hovered her hand, many of the delicate lines ruined from where his skin had torn.

“Just so you know, you don’t have my permission to die,” she continued to whisper, more to herself than to him. “It’s not allowed, okay? You’re far too infuriating of a man to die like this.”

Her fingers brushed against the collar at his neck, the metal even thicker. It burned at her touch, and before she could pull back her hand, an electric volt surged through her body. Every muscle tensed, lasting a few seconds before her body sagged forward. She caught herself against the wall, careful not to put any weight on him.

She’d never felt anything like it, the pain so intense it locked her lungs. Spitting the blood from where she’d bitten herself, she carefully inserted the pins into the lock with shaking hands.

“Shit.”

Giving herself a second to calm herself, she tried again. The click of the mechanism echoed, and before the collar could ignite again, she pulled it from his neck. It clattered to the floor, the metal burning like coal. Jax jerked, and Thea gasped as she found herself pulled against him.

“Thea?” he rasped, meeting eyes edged with silver.

She didn’t pause, her hands sinking into his hair as she pressed her lips against his in a burst of relief. She wasn’t sure what came over her, her body shaking as Jax gripped her harder. Her muscles hurt. Her bones ached. Yet she couldn’t pull away, needing to feel his warmth against her skin.

He was alive.

“You need to leave.”

“Of course not,” she said, her voice hoarse. Probably from all the screaming. “Trust me, this is all part of the plan.”

Chapter 43

Jax

He wanted nothing more than to press her closer, to absorb her warmth and bury himself in her scent. It took a second for his brain to fully wake, shaking the grogginess off to realise that Thea in his arms wasn’t a dream. That the salty taste of her lips was real. Which meant watching her be hurt, screaming, had been real, too.

Her blood fragranced the air, spiking his rage and rousing his drowsy beast. With the collar gone, he could feel Thunder, and that gave him enough strength to lift his head.

“You need to leave.”

“Of course not.” Her smile broke open a cut on her bottom lip, causing a little blood to trickle. “Trust me, this is all part of the plan.”

“Thea…”

“Honestly, it’s been three seconds and you’re already making demands.”

The sound of her voice tightened his chest, and he couldn’t stop himself from laying his forehead against hers. “You can’t be here,” he said. “I need you to drift home.”

“No. I’m not leaving without you.”

“Thea,” he growled, only for her to roll her eyes. They’d both just been tortured, and were fuck-knows-where, and she just rolled her fucking eyes at him.

“I’ve told you, this is all part of the plan.”

“Giving Gideon the third page was your plan?” He was already powerful, but with the enchanted chalice, he was going to be impossible to defeat. “You shouldn’t have come.”

“What, you expected me to just leave you here?” Her eyes drifted to the dead Skull, and Jax only just noticed her silver hair was even more glittery than before. “You need to trust me. Now, get up, we’ve got to go.”

Jax climbed to his feet, using Thea and the wall as leverage. It was wet to the touch, with various glyphs carved into the stone. Many he recognised as general protection wards, but others were old, ancient in design.

Thea grunted under his arm. “You’re too big.”

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