Page 58 of Midnight Reign
“She’s taking too much,” I say, going to them. “Adelaide. You need to pull back.”
She ignores me as Corvus’s eyes roll back.
“Adelaide,” I bark, but she still ignores me, drinking more and more of Corvus’s blood. “You are leaving me no choice, girl.” I bring a ball of fire to my palm and press it against the back of her neck.
She growls and hisses as I scorch her skin, but she pulls back, her eyes fixed on me as she turns her head. What I see there scares me. Adelaide is gone, and what has replaced her is vicious, savage, confident and coming for me next.
She launches herself at me, but Zephyr steps between us, catching her by her waist and misting out with her to God only knows where.
“Fucking hell,” I pant as I crouch next to Corvus and give him a shake. “You okay, mate?”
He groans as he comes to, his blood replenishing quicker than Lucian’s, who is still out for the count. “Let me guess… Crimson.”
“Think so. Zephyr took them somewhere.”
“Fuck,” he grits out and gets to his feet, slightly unsteady for a second before he straightens up. “We need to find them.”
“Where is Zaiah?”
We frown at each other. “Good question,” he mutters, scanning the area for our djinn friend. “He was here a minute ago.”
Moving away from the crowds and deeper into the forest, I spot a familiar figure in the distance. It’s Zaiah, his white eyes glowing faintly in the dark. He’s standing at the edge of the Sanctuary, where the protective wards meet the wild forest beyond.
“Zaiah!” I call out. “We’ve been looking everywhere for you. What the fuck?”
As I get closer, I notice something odd about his posture. He’s standing unnaturally still, his gaze fixed on something in the distance that I can’t see.
“Zaiah?” I say again, more cautiously this time. “What’s going on?”
He turns to me slowly, his white eyes seeming to look through me rather than at me. “Ignatius,” he says, his voice sounding distant and echoed. “I can see it. The bridge. The pathway between worlds.”
“What do you mean? What bridge?”
“The one I’m meant to create,” he replies, his voice taking on an almost trance-like quality. “I can see how to do it now. How to connect our world with the other.”
Corvus and I exchange a wary glance and approach him carefully, unsure of what’s happening but knowing it’s significant. “Zaiah, maybe we should get back to the others. We need to regroup and figure out our next move.”
But he doesn’t seem to hear me. His eyes are glowing brighter now, and I can feel the air around us pulsing with power. “It’s beautiful,” he murmurs. “And terrible. So much potential for both creation and destruction.”
I reach out to touch his shoulder, hoping to snap him out of whatever trance he’s in. But as soon as my hand makes contact, I’m hit with a wave of images and sensations. Flashes of other worlds, glimpses of beings both wondrous and terrifying, the feeling of vast, incomprehensible power.
I stumble back, gasping. “Zaiah, what’s happening to you?”
“I understand now, Ignatius. Why I was born when I was. Why we are all here. Why I have these unique powers.I’mmeant to be the bridge. The conduit between worlds.”
“Uhm.” I have nothing. What he is saying doesn’t make sense to me, but he seems to believe his words. “We need to find Addy. Crimson has taken over her body.”
That snaps him out of his daze. “Fuck,” he says. “No! No! She is destruction. She is chaos. She is… the end.”
25
ZEPHYR
I materialisewith Adelaide in a secluded part of the forest, far enough away from the others that she can’t hurt anyone. As soon as we solidify, she snarls and lunges at me, her eyes wild and unfocused. This isn’t Addy - this is something else entirely.
“Crimson,” I growl, dodging her attack. “I know it’s you. Let Addy go.”
She laughs, a cold, cruel sound that sends chills down my spine. “Oh, but we’re having so much fun. All that delicious blood, all that power...”
