Page 69 of Wrongfully Magicked
“We need to get going before more guards come.” The insect girl steps forward with a limp, breaking the standoff and distracting me from my swirling emotions.
A snarl leaves Stryker, and he takes a protective step forward, ready to intervene.
The girl pauses and looks a little uncertain for the first time, her wings fluttering behind her in agitation. “Why did you save me? I left you behind. You could have been free, yet you stopped. You came back for me.”
A lost, confused look enters her black eyes. When she blinks, her lids click shut and snap open like a shutter. Never once does she look away as she mutters, “I wouldn’t have stopped for you.”
I know what it feels like when you’re backed in a corner and left with no choices.
Charlotte gave me no choice last time, forcing me to leave her behind, and I’ve regretted it ever since. I made a vow never to do it again.
I nod at the girl and shrug. “I know.”
“Then why?” Her forehead furrows, her hair sticking up every which way, as if seeking the truth. The girl is so baffled why anyone would risk their lives to save her that it makes me sad.
I allow the horrors I endure to show in my eyes, and I answer lightly. “We all do horrible things when we’re desperate. You did what you thought was best for your survival. I understand.”
“You do?” the girl asks, her voice skeptical. If anything, she seems more confused than ever.
No matter what I say, the girl won’t understand my motives. It’s too foreign a concept. So I ignore her question and glance around the cavern, the feeling of time ticking down growing louder and louder. “We need to leave. The longer we remain, the more likely they’ll come check on us. I want to be gone before they discover we escaped.”
At my words, Darby circles his arms around my waist. He tucks me against his side, steering me away, and I lean into him, suddenly tired. Even though we’ve only been apart for a couple of hours, I missed him.
I didn’t think I’d ever see him again, and I have no regrets when I turned into one of those clingy, needy girls and hug him tight.
My past has hardened me, turned me into a bitch, but these men are making me feel again. They are softening my hard edges, throwing me off my game, and I’m not sure I like it.
Emotions lead to mistakes, and mistakes can get me killed.
Darby doesn’t falter as we traverse the tunnels, his steps confident, despite the tunnel being nearly pitch-black, and I allow myself to be pulled along.
The sooner we leave, the better.
A hazy circle of light appears a few yards away, growing brighter and brighter as we near, and my pace automatically picks up speed. Darby stops under the light. When he would have boosted me to the surface, Stryker holds out his hand in a silent motion to stop.
Then, without hesitation, he crouches and leaps straight up in the air in an impressive display of strength.
Seconds pass, which feels like an eternity, before he appears again. “Clear.”
He crouches low, leaning over the hole, then reaches for me. Sunlight plays over his face, and my breath catches at his beauty. He should look beastly, but his fur is so white that it’s dazzling, and I have a hard time looking away.
Darby’s grip tightens on my hips, as if he’s reluctant to let me go. As I peer up at him, I watch a muscle jump along his jaw, and I can’t resist the urge to soothe him. Pushing up on my toes, I lean up as far as I can, then kiss the dip between his collarbones.
He stills, his whole frame going rigid, and I suddenly feel foolish.
Before I can retreat, he blows out a harsh breath and lifts me clear off my feet as if I weigh nothing. I don’t have time to overthink my actions when Stryker easily catches me and hauls me out, dragging me against every inch of him along the way.
My breath catches in my throat.
So soft!
I knew it!
It’s all I can do not to sink my fingers into his fur and snuggle close. After a charged moment, Stryker reluctantly sets me down and releases me.
Before I have a chance to speak, thin, pale arms reach through the hole. Flustered by my body’s reaction to Stryker, I quickly turn and reach down to offer assistance. The girl looks up at me, her expression startled, and she hesitates a moment before grabbing my hand. As I pull her out, she comes easily, and I’m startled to find that she’s as light as a feather.
She blinks up at me owlishly, and her appearance gradually morphs as she shifts into her human form. Her eyes shrink slightly, and a small ring of bright jade glimmers around her pupils. Her wings shrink, disappearing under her shirt, and I suspect they are now light tattoos etched into her skin.
