Page 121 of Brimstone
I didn’t dare look for him.
I could feel him, though.
Suddenly, the tomb was wreathed in bands of glittering black sand.
Kingfisher.
Kingfisher.
Kingfisher.
His name had replaced my heartbeat.
A black rope lashed around the closest male’s throat, and suddenly his head was no longer attached to his body. Bloodsprayed everywhere as his body lifted into the air and was hurled away as if it weighed nothing.
And there he was.
My mate’s hair was wild. His eyes locked onto mine, simmering with rage.
Say something, he said into my mind.
“I’m okay,” I panted.
Do you need me?
I dodged a blow from the male on the right—I’d broken his nose with that elbow—and pivoted, kicking out at the other male hard. The sole of my boot slammed into his rib cage. Staggering sideways, he righted himself and came again, but I was ready.
My short swords blazed light, power singing like lightning through my veins.
No.I was firm.I’ve got this.
“Don’t! Don’t you dare!” Orious was screaming somewhere.
The tomb walls blurred as I moved, ducking, lunging, spinning on the balls of my feet.
Another shout echoed around the small space—a yell of anger—but I stayed focused on what was in front of me. My power was building, flowing, rising inside me. My runes didn’t burn this time. They pulsed hard, my magic begging to be set free.
Without thinking, I slammed my short swords together, and suddenly they were one again, Solace humming with energy in my left hand. I thrust my right hand up, out in front of me, and—
“Holyfuck!” Carrion’s shout bounced around the tomb.
He was there, on the other side of the tomb. His face was bathed in blue as a giant icon formed in the air in front of me, projecting from my hand. It was my shield! The interlocking runes were anexactcopy of the sigil on the back of my hand. Most of the icons’ lines were dull, apart from one rune: a circlebisecting a cross with a line cutting through it at the top. Itblazedwith magic, hovering there . . . waiting.
I spread my fingers and twisted my hand, noting how the veins at my wrist were strangely silvered beneath my skin, and the quicksilver rune turned in the air like a key turning into a lock. It snapped into place, and a wall of energy detonated out from it, hurling the two remaining guards across the tomb.
They hit the ceiling, their necks snapping instantly. A second later, they dropped to the floor again, lifeless.
Deafening silence blanketed the tomb. I held my breath, frozen in place, eyes wide. I didn’t dare move. Energy crackled from the shield, tiny filaments snapping from it as it held its position six feet off the floor.
I finally let out a shaky breath that fogged in the air, and clenched my hand closed. And just like that, the glowing shield blinked out of existence, as if it had never been there at all.
“Well, fuckme,” Carrion said. “Looks like a lot’s changedherein the past few days.”
Look at me, Osha.
Fisher was at the base of the pool. He stood over Orious’s prone figure, his shadows pinning Belikon’s seneschal to the ground.You’re okay, he said softly, the words shared with me alone.You’re safe. Shake it off.
I was still in a defensive stance. Every muscle in my body was rigid, ready for another attack. “You’re here? You’re really here?” Gods, my voice sounded so small. Slowly, Fisher nodded, and the tension rushed from my body. He was real. He was here. Everything was okay.
