Page 35 of Fire Kissed
The crisp smile that was just beaming on Aric’s face is nothing more than a shadow of discomfort.
“Uh... no. I—I think that demon was completely spawned from pure evil.”
I shove at his arm, but at the last second, his long, tattooed fingers catch at my wrist. He spins me fast. And then he pulls. The teasing laughter in my chest shifts, turning into a flutter of butterflies the moment my hands land against his chest. His strong arms wrap around me in the mossy meadow of peace.
The sway of vines that the woman passed through catch my eye once more. It’s the instincts of my beast on high alert. Is it the wind?
The humidity stifles against the slick skin along my neck.
Something white creeps out from within the deep green veiling. Like a bone of a finger curling out to beckon me closer. Long fingers grip the vines. One hand creeps through quietly, unseen by the others.
And then another.
And another.
Until hundreds can be spotted, little by little.
Surrounding us.
“Fuck,” I whisper on a sudden, terrified breath. Aric’s head dips, his lips nearly brushing mine. But my palm collides with his chest hard enough to steal the air from his lungs. He’s shoved aside, and I’m running. The three men don’t even realize what’s happening. I shove Torben back as well, trying my best to put space between them and the elves.
But it’s not enough.
I know this. Even as my beast rips forth, tearing away at my fragile human body to reveal the powerful creature who’s been kept away from me for far too long. The shrieks of the elves sound out on vicious waves. In response, my wolf’s growl reverberates all through my body. Its movements are a shudder of speed that my sight can’t keep up with. Snapping teeth and sharp knives are all I see. Blood splatters around me, drenching my fur. I don’t know if it’s mine or theirs.
The ground shakes with magic that I know is Torben’s. A deadly roar of a totally dominant dragon assaults my ears, and somewhere, I smell the scent of Latham’s fiery magic.
A lot of it.
But I can’t pause to search them out among the building, thrashing chaos. All those furious nights my beast spent locked away unable to help those whom she loved—or even herself—are now coming out in full force. She’s making up for lost time.
And she’s enjoying it.
Pain thrusts through my side, sharp and intense enough for a cry to roar up from my throat. A final snap of bones crunches through my deadly jaws with vengeance. With a heavy shake of her head, my beast releases her mouthful of blood. And then slumps to the blood-soaked ground.
Her whimpers hurt my heart. It’s my own pain, and yet it’s not.
It’s okay, girl. It’s okay,I say to myself as well as her.
Relief washes through me. For whatever reason, she sees fit, and then I feel her releasing me. She gives me back to myself, and it’s then that pain really does sink in deep and fast. It crumples me to my knees, the pain striking deep in my side like a fresh wound all over again. It overtakes me with spotty visions of my surroundings.
Exhaustion seeps into every fiber of my being from the strength she withdrew from me.
Dozens of elves lie slain in the sunny meadow. Their battered carcasses litter the ground. Beautiful eyes and a splatter of blood across a handsome face fill my vision.
“Shit.” Torben’s big arms wrap me up in all my nudity, and I’m pulled against his damp chest as darkness seeps into the outer parts of my vision.
Aric’s wide eyes meet mine, and the panic within his gaze scares me more than my own.
It’s bad.
“Get her to my father!” Latham grips Torben’s shoulder and grabs Aric’s arm.
It’s all a whirlwind of far-off emotions I can’t connect to. All of it feels too far away. Just out of my reach.
Smoke swirls in with a fiery scent.
I’m whisked away from it all as my head lolls back from the weight of it all.
