Page 106 of Claimed In Darkness

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ZEPHIRAN

Ishould be relieved that I’m alive.

That she saved me.

That I am still standing, still breathing, still fucking existing despite the odds.

But all I can think about is her.

And the thing inside her that is not her anymore.

The last body still twitches at our feet, the air is overflowing with the scent of blood and burned flesh, metal and sweat.

Naira stands just beyond the carnage, her dagger dripping, her breathing steady.

Too steady for my liking.

As if the blood staining her hands means nothing.

As if she hasn’t just torn through trained warriors like they were nothing but insects.

She is unmarked.

Not a scratch.

Not even a bruise.

That is the first thing that makes my insides twist.

This wasn’t luck and not skill.

This was something else.

Something inhuman. Magic that no humans should ever wield. A power that’s meant to destroy.

And I should have fucking seen it sooner.

She exhales, slow, measured, before tilting her head toward me.

I do not like the way she looks at me.

Her gaze is not the same.

Her eyes are still the same shade, still the same deep, dark pools that I have memorized in every light.

But something inside them has shifted.

I do not recognize it.

Something dangerous and starving.

And, now, I am looking at the woman I once wanted to own?—

Or something that is wearing her skin.

Her fingers lift to her face, smearing blood across her cheek before she wipes it clean against her sleeve.

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