Page 146 of Bite Marks & Broken Hearts

The magic cultivating inside me—I felt the moment it was finally,finallycomplete. A visceral thing, like a key turning in a lock, like ice cracking in spring.

The water around me wasn’t just water anymore. With every pulse of those lights, I could feel it changing, becoming more like the sea during a storm—wild, untamed. Alive.

And I knew the sea.

God, did I know the sea.

Every summer spent on my grandfather’s boat. Every winter watching the waves crash against Braymore’s cliffs. Every secret moment alone on the beach, being exactly who I was, not who everyone needed me to be.

The water trembled. Magdalena’s voice faltered.

I thought of all the times I’d run away. First from myself, then from my family. From Tom. But here, now, with Seb’s anguished eyes on me and a demon’s power trying to claim me, I finally stopped running.

I reached out—not with my frozen hands, but with something deeper. Something that remembered salt spray and storm winds and the endless power of the tide.

And the water responded.

The liquid chains shattered. Droplets hung suspended in the air like stars, catching the purple light. For a moment, everything was still—Vale’s chanting cut off, the cambions frozen mid-step, Magdalena’s eyes widening in disbelief.

Then the water answered my call.

It came surging up from the pond, from the waterlogged earth beneath our feet, from the very air itself. It came with the force ofBraymore’s winter storms, with the strength of waves that had carved the coastline. The cambions screamed as it slammed into them, their scaled bodies thrown against the trees.

“Impossible,” Magdalena whispered. The crucifix trembled in her grip. “Lilith’s power cannot be—”

“This isn’t Lilith’s power.” My voice didn’t sound like my own. It carried echoes of tide pools and ocean depths, of secrets whispered to empty beaches. “This is mine.”

Water swirled around me—not Magdalena’s corrupted tempest, but pure and wild andfree. Like I finally was.

The water roared around us, a tempest of my making. Through the spray, I saw Kit and Rory’s massive shapes lunging for the nearest cambions, joined by the other wolves. Relief coursed through me when I found Priya had got to her feet. She had her back against the tree, her blade pointed at a vampire with long silver hair.

I took one stumbling half step towards her, but the power inside me—it was too much. Like trying to contain an ocean in a teacup. My vision blurred, darkness creeping at the edges.

Something warm and metallic filled my mouth. I spat, watching red droplets scatter across the ground. The frost inside me wasn’t gone, but somehow fire now burned through my veins. So much fire. Too much. Too strong.

“Flynn!” Seb’s voice cut through everything else. He was beside me suddenly, his hands gripping my shoulders. “Your heart’s failing. The magic—it’s killing you.”

I could barely focus on his face, but I managed to lift my hands. The water responded instantly, surging up around us in a perfect circle, creating a barrier between us and the chaos beyond. Inside our private whirlpool, the sounds of battle became muffled, distant.

“Let me help you.” Seb’s fingers brushed my jaw, tilting my face up to his. “I can drink from you—draw out some of the tainted blood. It might buy us time.”

I tried to speak, but I could only manage a wet cough.

Seb’s eyes became wild, desperate. “Please, Flynn. Trust me.”

The water continued to spiral around us, but each surge felt like it was tearing something vital from my chest. I nodded weakly, already tilting my head to expose my neck.

Seb’s fangs sank into my flesh with sharp precision. The initial sting melted into a familiar warmth that spread through my limbs. His grip on my shoulders tightened as he drew the blood from my veins, each pull making the intense pressure inside me ease slightly.

I closed my eyes, letting the muffled sounds of the park wash over me. Metal clashed. Gunshots fired. Wolves snarled. Priya’s voice rang out in sharp syllables that made the air crackle. Through it all, the water continued its relentless dance around us, responding to my will even as I weakened. The roar of it filled my ears like the crash of waves against Braymore’s harbour wall during a storm.

My fingers found Seb’s hand where it gripped my shoulder. I squeezed, his fingers interlaced with mine instantly, and through our connection, I tried to pour everything I couldn’t say into that touch.

After what felt like both seconds and hours, Seb’s cool mouth left my neck, and he pulled back. When I opened my eyes, the change in him was dramatic. His skin seemed to glow from within, power radiating from him in invisible waves that made the very air vibrate. His eyes blazed like twin supernovas, and when he moved, it was with such fluid grace that he appeared to blur at the edges.

“Flynn,” he breathed, and even his voice held new power, resonating in my chest like thunder. “Your blood—”

“Let’s go,” I said quickly. “Let’s find her. Find your sister and end this.”

---