Page 35 of Mated in Flames

Warwick

Ihave a split second to take in as much as I can about Dane. I certainly didn’t expect to see him here, but a small voice in the back of my mind reminds me that Dane has been gone for hours. It’s a relief to see that he’s alive, but I also know why he’s still alive.

The Supernaturals.

I take in his blank eyes and the way he’s standing, which is all wrong. This is not Dane. This is just a puppet. He isn’t in there.

The surprise advantage of my sudden appearance evaporates and I jerk backwards as Dane lashes out with a talon, face terrifyingly blank. Luciana cries out in alarm behind me, but I don’t have time to look around as Dane steps inside.

Then Luciana is at my side, tugging on my arm.

“Out the back!” she says. “You can’t fight him in here, there’s not enough room!”

She had understood what I had. I can see the horror in her eyes, which I know must be reflected on my own face. My mind races, trying to remember if I had ever heard of someone breaking the Supernaturals’ control, but I can’t. No one ever manages to get rescued. As such, they remain enslaved until their death.

I feel sick. But I allow Luciana to pull me with her and we run, clattering through the house and forcing open the back door; Dane following us as we go. Bursting outside, shadows elongating on the ground as the sun begins to set, washing the world in a beautiful array of red and oranges, I’m momentarily taken aback by how normal everything seems. In the space of half an hour, my entire world had turned upside down, and it somehow feels wrong to realize that the rest of the world is simply carrying on as normal.

“Come on, we can try and hide in the bush,” Luciana urges me. “We can figure out what to do next.”

I don’t have the heart to tell her that it’s pointless. If Dane is here, then the group of Supernaturals that captured him are here, too. Even now they would be hiding, and it’s difficult to ignore the possibility that I’m being corralled into a trap.

But I don’t say anything. Luciana is already running, expecting me to follow her, so I run too. I can hear the animals snuffling in the barn, and the bizarre thought that no one would have fed them dinner yet enters my mind. If we get out of this alive, it will have to be the first thing I do.

A gleam of metal catches my eye, and I turn my head enough to see a black car parked out on the street. I can’t tell if it’s empty or not, but the Supernaturals are here.

“He’s catching up!” Luciana suddenly cries.

I look behind us. Dane has always been the faster of the two of us, and it doesn’t surprise me with how quickly he’s gaining on us, especially since I have to be keeping an eye out on what’s around me, too. Dane loves running and the feeling of the wind whipping through his hair, but his expression is still completely devoid of anything, as though he’s a robot that’s simply been programmed to pursue.

“Luciana, I don’t think we’re going to get away,” I say tersely.

“Then what do we do?” she demands.

I skid to a halt. She makes it several more steps before she realises that I’ve stopped, and turns with wide eyes.

“I’ll have to fight,” I say. “It’s the only way. Keep an eye out; the Supernaturals are here, and they’ll be waiting to make their move.”

She looks terrified. I don’t blame her. This is an unwelcome reminder of the dangers of my world, and I wonder what she’ll say about it if we come out the other end of it all in one piece. My heart sinks as I wonder if I’ll lose her; even for her, who was a doctor that was deployed in war torn countries, this might be too much.

Dane stops too, a foot away, and stands, watching me. It makes me sick to see him, and to know that something was done to him in the few hours he was gone. Is he even still in there? Is it even possible to save him on the off chance that I’ll win?

Or is this it? Is he gone for good?

“Dane, I don’t want to fight you,” I call, searching his face for some sign, anything, that will tell me he’ll be okay. “Alright? We’re brothers, remember? We’ve been together for ages. You can’t want to do this.”

There’s no reaction at all.

“Dane, please,” I try again. “Can’t you hear me?”

There! It was minimal, but his shoulders tensed ever so slightly for a second, so quick that I might have missed it if I wasn’t watching so closely. He’s there, somewhere. He can hear me. I can save him.

I pull my shirt off and my wings flare out, free and golden in the waning evening sun. Fear no longer thrums through me. Instead, I’m determined. My little brother is still with me in some way. Even if it has never been done before, I will find some way to help him.

“Warwick!” Luciana shouts.

I glance to the side. Four people are making their slow way toward us, unconcerned because they believe they have me. There’s no point in hiding now. They’re here. They know what I am. Part of me burns to know how they figured us out, but the rest of me doesn’t want to hear that it was my fault.

They seem relaxed, and I doubt they’re going to make a move, just now. They sent Dane in, first, to subdue me. Only when I’m down will they move in, to try and bring me under their control.

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