Page 72 of Shadowkissed

“This is what I have been waiting for, little fae. You are feeling your true self and letting go. Thank you for making the wait less than I thought.”

Liora goes still beside me.

Dead still.

He’snot stopping us.He’slettingus go.

And that terrifies her more than anything. But it doesn’t stop us.

“Run,” she whispers to me. “Now.”

I don’t argue.

We bolt.

The Veil tears open before us, gold and blue and shadow bleeding together like oil and flame. I shove Liora through first, then Mara, then the rebels?—

Then I dive in after them, just as Seraphiel’s laughter crashes behind us like thunder.

We fall through light and land hard.

My lungs seize on the first breath of earth air.

We’re back.

We’re out.

But as I pull Liora into my arms, her body trembling against mine, I know it’s not over.

Her magic burns hotter than ever.

And Seraphiel’s final words echo in my head like a curse:

You are feeling your true self and letting go…

I don’t know what he’s unleashed in her, or maybe that me coming to get her helped him unleash…

But I know it’s only the beginning.

35

LIORA

The first thing I taste is rain.

Cool. Clean. Real.

I collapse into it when we hit the ground, the wet grass soaking through my knees, my lungs burning as the air—actual, unfiltered, Veil-free air—rushes in and reminds me that I’m alive. That I made it out. Thathe’sbeside me.

But even as the storm rinses Seraphiel’s court from my skin, I can still feel his laughter on my spine like it’s tattooed there.

“Liora,” Dante’s voice cuts through the downpour, low and raw.

“I’m okay,” I rasp, even though it’s a lie. “Just—give me a sec.”

I press my palms to the earth like I’m trying to anchor myself, but my power’s pulsing too hard beneath my skin. It’s wild. Frantic.Awake.Like Seraphiel flipped a switch I didn’t know I had.

And now everything burns.

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