Page 90 of Cursed Encounter
THIRTY-THREE
Astra
My insides are on fire.
I want to make it stop, but I don’t know how.
Donovan whispers sweet words, and I can’t believe my ears. It’s when he kisses the cut on my forehead that I know this is real. He’s attempting to complete the Heart Bonding Ceremony.
It takes a minute for the feeling to fade, but when it does, I feel different.
I feel… more than just me. I’m connected to him in a way I wasn’t before.
It worked!
I’m his and he is mine.
Which can only mean… his feelings for me are real.
I don’t have time to go all teenage girl and squeal about this, even though I very much want to.
Donovan Falco is mine! He chose me. He loves me… or at least has very deep feelings for me.
I shake myself out of my thoughts. I don’t have time for this. We are in the middle of a kidnapping and fight-for-your-life situation, so thinking about the wholeDonovan might love mething will to have to wait.
Donovan is up and somehow free of his bindings. Fabien is standing there frozen, and I wish I could get to him, but I’mcurrently stuck on the floor. Donovan is going after my father. I hear something about a ring, and it hits me.
Okay, it’s time,I decide.
Gun shots go off around me, and the assholes—yeah, I said it—start dropping like flies. That can only mean…
I look up to see the Devil standing over me. Funny, his smile is a lot warmer than I would have imagined it to be. I snort at the thought.
“Need a hand?” Torrin says.
I can’t even say how thankful I am to see him. Yes, because he can help us, but mostly because it means he’s alive. I can’t think of the others right now, and it kills me.
He hauls me up and cuts me free. Relief rushes through me, and I instantly wrap my arms around him in a tight hug. He grunts uncomfortably and shifts as if he’s in pain. The bullet wound flashes in my mind, and I go to pull away, but he pats my back as if telling me it’s okay. I can’t stop the panic as I search every inch of him, thinking I’ll see him leaking blood from multiple holes. He has the nerve to chuckle at me.
“Wearing a little bit of extra protection,” he tells me, and that’s when I see the two holes in his chest that have no blood at all. “Just got clipped in a couple of places.” Lies, but it seems like the worst one is the hit he tool to the shoulder, and I can only guess it didn’t hit anything vital. His head is a different story. I try my hardest not to cringe.
“How’d you find us?”
“I always know where Donovan is,” he says with a wink. He’s trying his best to stay with it, but I can see his energy is fading. I think he took a harder hit than he’s willing to admit to. “Think you can handle the hag while I help your man?”
I try not to laugh.
“I’ll… see what I can do.” I can’t make a promise, but I’m going to try to control my magic enough to get us out of this situation.
“He’s gonna kill your father,” he warns.
I stand tall, unblinking as I say, “Let him.”
The world will be much better without Greely Aubert, I’m sure of that.
Torrin runs off, and I focus all my energy on my surroundings.
I feel them. The threads are reaching out to me.
