Page 26 of Beginnings

My heart lurched, until I realised she was talking about her gift, not our possible relationship. “I can’t make my fire work. It won’t work. Why won’t it work when I need it to?” she asked, her words were fast, her eyes wide.

“I don’t know.” I took hold of her hands, hoping to calm her. My lips pressed together. We needed her fire to get out of this door. If we waited for the guards to enter we would be at a massive disadvantage but… “Ember, it’s okay, you’ve only ever been able to summon it when you’re in an extreme state of emotion or are in mortal danger.”

Wide eyed she stared up at me. “No.” She shook her head. “It has to work. We have to get out!”

“Allow me.” Walker didn’t wait for my answer, he strode up the remaining stairs, stepped around Ember and me and up to the door. With a glowing finger, he traced runes over the lock. The words he whispered were soft and musical, drifting into my ears and echoing before drifting away. Each rune he drew burned with light then sank into the metal. And just like that, the door unlocked. Walker’s white brows dipped. It was the first emotion I’d ever seen on his face.

“Didn’t you do that?”

“I’m afraid not,” he said and twisted away from the door just as it swung open.

I lunged for Ember's arm and pushed us sideways. We slammed into the wall just before bullets pinged against the door and the walls, sending bits of concrete into my back and shoulders. I nudged Ember further out of harm’s way, keeping my body wrapped around her like a shield. Unless we could somehow get their weapons from them, we were fucked. I spun around, making sure my bulk still protected Ember. She touched my back as if she needed to reassure herself that I was there. I looked back at her. “Okay?” My gut squeezed at her ashen face.

She nodded, blinking rapidly.

Owen jogged up the steps, stopping with his back to the wall, gun at the ready. “Now what?”

Walker met my gaze. Pure predator stared out of his icy eyes. That predatory need to kill lurked in me, too; clamouring to escape, just like my wolf. The fae studied the gun in his hand then shoved it into his waistband. “Now, we wait for them to come closer,” he answered before I could speak. “Then, we kill them.” And he stretched his glowing fingers and cracked his neck.

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