From the corner of her eye, Devon saw a group of vampires cautiously approaching Kohl with large, silver chains looped over their arms under the direction of the coven leader. The bastard laughed at Kohl, calling him horrible things, egging him on.
She turned back to Hawke, struggling against her bonds. “Please, hurry! We have to help him!”
But Hawke just gave her a knowing smile as he bent down to release her ankles first. “He doesn’t need any help, honey. Trust me on this one.” Once her legs were free, he moved up to her arms and body. “But we need to get the hell out of here, and fast, before he turns this place into an inferno.”
With one arm around her waist, he helped her to her feet. Devon watched as the vampires threw the chains over Kohl as he struggled to shift. The weight drove him to his knees.
“Dammit. He’s fighting it,” Hawke said as he helped her down the step.
“Why? Why won’t he save himself?”
“Because he’s probably too worried about saving you.”
The coven leader, floating a foot off the ground like some kind of possessed anti-Christ, lifted both arms over Kohl’s body. The force of his will pushed Kohl all the way to the ground until he was nearly flat on his stomach. Devon had never seen or heard of anything like it. In all her years at Parasupe, she’d never run across anything stating vampires had this kind of power.
The crack of breaking bones reverberated around them. Kohl’s bones. And without thinking, Devon cried out to him. “Kohl!”
His head whipped around and he spotted her immediately. Glowing eyes narrowed in on Hawke’s arm around her.
Hawke cursed under his breath as he propelled her toward the tunnel. “What the hell did you do that for?”
Three vampires suddenly appeared in front of them, halting their escape. Devon felt Hawke tense beside her.
“Where are you taking my dinner, Hawke?”
The coven leader’s voice echoed in Devon’s head. She winced in pain and pressed her free hand to the side of her head.
“Fuck. We’re not getting out of here,” Hawke said in her ear. “I’m so sorry.”
Devon couldn’t believe he was giving up so easily. “No. No! Just go around them.”
“I can’t. I’m sorry,” he repeated.
Their bodies, still holding onto each other, began to turn. Devon looked down. Her feet weren’t touching the ground, but were floating a few inches above it. She tried to reach for Hawke, tried to grip his shirt, but her arm wouldn’t move. “What’s happening?” But she knew exactly what was going on. Lifting her eyes, she saw the coven leader floating toward them. Behind him, Kohl lay sprawled on the ground beneath pounds of silver chains. Half vampire. Half dragon.
I never meant for all of this to happen. I never wanted to hurt you. I just wanted to be with you.
Devon focused on Kohl, trying to insert the words forcibly into his head with nothing but sheer willpower. She had no idea if he could hear her. He’d told her he couldn’t communicate this way. But, still, she had to try.
He started to renew his struggles against the chains, and managed to lift his head. When he saw that she and Hawke had the coven leader’s full attention, his face twisted into a mask of rage and he growled deep within his throat, baring his fangs. Devon watched in awe as he struggled to his hands and knees beneath the weight of the chains while the vampires on either side fought to keep him down.
Let him out, Kohl!
The coven leader floated closer, blocking her view, and the connection was broken.
The ground suddenly came up at her and Hawke and they landed hard. Devon found she could move again, and she did clutch Hawke’s shirt this time.
Hawke spoke up. “Master, I was only trying to get her out of harm’s way so you would?—”
Hawke made a choking noise. Bending at the waist, his arm slipped from her as he attempted to draw air into his lungs. The coven leader’s feet softly touched the ground and he strode toward them on legs like tree trunks enclosed in black leather. Blood streaked his blond hair and billowy white shirt. Her blood. And his own.
Devon’s heart fought to continue beating as terror filled her veins with ice.
The coven leader stopped about six feet away. Cocking his head to the side, he watched Hawke struggle for breath. His face showed no remorse, no sign of emotion whatsoever.
They were going to die. They were all going to die.
The ice in Devon’s blood suddenly turned to hope as two black, leathery wings spread to each side of the coven leader. She reached down and twisted her hand in the back of Hawke’s shirt, trying to pull him up and make him look. “Hawke! Look.”
