Page 132 of The Forsaken Heir
Elle slid off my friend’s back and ran toward me. I shifted my hands and teeth back, sprinting to meet her. Was this a dream? Had I died, and this was heaven? If so, I could think of worse places to end up.
A venom-laced voice at the back of my mind whispered that this really might be a dream. Another fantasy my mind created while Bastien tortured me.
“Aurelius,” she cried as she slammed into me and wrapped her arms around my neck. “Are you okay?”
“I’m good now,” I murmured into her hair. “Now that you’re here.” She was here. She wasreal.I was free.
I pressed my lips to hers, tasting her, making sure she was reallyreal. She sank into me, clutching my back as her mouth moved against mine. All of this was worth it. I’d have done it all again as long as I ended up having her in my arms.
“Aurelius, let’s move,” Julian said, rushing to my side, blood oozing from a cut above his eyebrow.
“Back up,” Elle cried, yanking her lips from mine and pulling her fist back to slug the man.
I caught her wrist before she could strike him. “He’s a friend, Elle. A friend.”
Julian’s eyes were wide, staring at Elle’s cocked fist. He gave her a faint smile. “Yeah. Friends. Can we get your prince out of here? Get him the rest of the help he needs?”
Elle’s face softened, and her arm dropped to her side. “Okay. Yeah.”
Rasp and Delphine hobbled over, Rasp in his human form, Freddy between them. The younger Laurent looked much worse for wear. His face was a mask of blood, and the other two had to help him walk.
He looked up at me, his face crumpled in heartbroken sorrow.
“Nicolas didn’t make it,” he said as he spat blood on the ground. “Shot.”
“Oh my god,” Julian said.
Freddy winced and adjusted his grip on Rasp’s shoulder, holding himself upright. “We’ve got to go. Now. Your friends here took out most of the security, but I think one or two got away. They’ll be running for the nearest guard shack.”
“Let’s move,” I said, “Take the van.”
The six of us piled into one of the vans. Rasp hopped into the driver seat, revved the engine and took off, the tires screeching.
Exhaustion weighed me down. I couldn’t recall ever being this tired. It must have shown, because Elle nudged my shoulder and urged me to lie down.
“Rest. It’s okay. We’re getting out of here,” she whispered. “We’ve got you.”
I rested my head on her thighs as my heavy eyelids slid shut. It almost felt like I’d taken a sleeping potion. Before I slipped into unconsciousness, she whispered to me, her voice light and breathy as she ran her hands through my hair. “It’s all right. You’re safe. We’ve got you.”
30
BRIELLE
The van barreled along the highway. Rasp hadn’t turned on the headlights, choosing instead to use his dragon night vision to guide us until we were farther away from my family’s land. Cruising at a high speed with everything outside the windshield pitch black gave the whole situation an even more stressful tone than it already had.
I studied Aurelius’s face. He looked like he’d been through hell. His face was drawn, his cheeks sunken in. Dark circles ringed his eyes, and he reeked of rot and garbage. His hair was sweaty and matted with knots, and freshly healed scars zigzagged across his forearms and neck. I didn’t relish the thought of seeing what the rest of his body looked like, and I had to clench my jaw to temper the seething rage inside me.
“See anything?” I asked as I stroked Aurelius’s hair.
In the passenger seat, Vince shook his head. “Nope. Looks clear to me.”
“Elle, how on earthdid you find us?” Freddy asked.
I glanced at him. The human healer, Julian, was doing his best to tend to his wounds in the moving vehicle.
“Hard to explain,” I said.
“Did someone call you?” Freddy went on, wincing as the healer poured some sort of potion on a bite wound on his arm. “I planned to get Aurelius into the city, away from the family’s holdings, then call you.” He shook his head and gave a pained laugh. “You appeared like goddamned avenging angels.”
