The second Manshu tried to crawl away, Rack lazily lifted one hand. Air snapped tight around Manshu’s limbs. He cried out in agony as his body violently jerked upward, limbs spread wide as he was helplessly suspended in the air.
The crowd above us erupted somewhere in the distance as engines screamed across the finish line overhead. The ground trembled beneath our feet, but I barely heard any of it.
Calix approached me carefully and stopped directly in front of me, inhaling deeply. Again and again. His nose brushed my hair, my throat, my shoulders. Checking. Making sure I was whole.
I gently rested my hand against his chest. His heartbeat hammered violently beneath my palm.
“We can’t kill him yet,” I whispered. “We need the information first. And for that, we need you to be calm.”
Calix shut his eyes, and one ragged breath tore through him, then another. His shoulders loosened little by little as he fought himself back under control.
One bloody hand dragged through his white hair, leaving red streaks behind, before he finally looked at me again.
The familiar spark returned faintly to his eyes, not fully but enough that warmth spread through my chest. Despite everything, I smiled.
“Welcome back, handsome prince.”
24
OLIVIA
“Are you okay?” Calix’s finger ran down the side of my cheek.
My eyes flicked to where Rack had Manshu suspended several feet off the ground. Every few seconds, his fingers twitched lazily, causing ribbons of air to bend the fairy’s broken limbs the wrong direction. Every crack of bone made Manshu sob harder. Through it all, Rack didn’t say a word. He just stared upward with that cold, distant expression while flames slowly licked along the shredded edges of Manshu’s clothes.
“Um…” My fingers brushed my throat instinctively. Smooth skin. No holes. I swallowed once and nodded quickly. “Yeah. I’m good.”
Calix moved directly in front of me, his body blocking out everything but him.
“You didn’t run.” His words came out low and dangerous. His eyes locked onto mine so intensely it felt like being pinned in place.
I planted my hands on my hips. “Ididrun,” I snapped back.
One brow twitched upward.
“But I also knew you’d be here soon,” I continued, shrugging like it hadn’t terrified me. “So I improvised and kept him busy.”
I tried to sound tough, like I was in control and had a plan the whole time, but I knew he could see right through me. His jaw flexed hard enough to jump beneath his skin.
His arm blurred, and suddenly, his hand was around my throat. Not choking, just… holding. Making his presence known.
His fingers trembled against my skin while sunset pink eyes searched every inch of my face like he was still making sure I was alive.
“I didn’t plan for your throat to get ripped open,” he growled. The anger in his voice sounded jagged. Frayed.
“That wasn’t supposed to happen,” I admitted. It was a flaw in the plan.
The pressure of his hand around my neck should’ve scared me. Instead, warmth curled low in my stomach. Safe. He was safe. Violent and terrifying but safe.
I swallowed carefully beneath his grip.
“Well,” I muttered, trying for sarcasm despite my wildly fluttering pulse, “I had to improvise.”
His expression tightened instantly. His fingers uncurled, and he released me, turning away with a frustrated growl rumbling out of his chest.
As he moved, gold flickered along his throat. Thin glowing lines lit up beneath his skin. I squinted, trying to make them out better, but he blurred away before I could.
“Let him go.” Calix’s command was final, yet Rack hesitated. His fingers twitched once more before he slowly crossed his arms and released the hold.
