“Wren.” Callum practically purred her name, lips drooping into a mocking pout. “You wound me. I would never touch you without permission.” He inched his face toward her ear, until his lips were practically brushing the side of her face. “Soon, you’ll be aching for me. Begging me to touch you and show you what arealDemien can do.”
Wren wanted to scream. She wanted to tear him apart. She wanted to—
“I can take it from here, Callum.”
Wren heard the deep rasp of August’s voice before she saw him, and then he was materializing behind Callum, appearing in a plume of shadows. Rage burned behind his silver eyes. He wore anall-black suit with a cloak draped over his shoulders, his dark curls pushed back away from his face. Wren hadn’t noticed before, but the shadow-filled veins had begun to snake their way up his neck, inching toward his jaw.
He’d never looked more beautiful.
And he’d never looked more like a Demien.
“General Hughes.” Callum’s lip twitched as he slowly turned to face August. “I was instructed to fetch the catalyst—”
“And yet here you are, appeasing your ego instead of following orders.” August kept his gaze anchored on Callum, and Wren half expected him to tear the other Demien’s head clean off his neck. “Edith grew tired of waiting. She asked me to come get her instead.”
Callum scoffed. “But—”
“It isn’t up for discussion.”
August’s voice came out warped and distorted, a terrifying sound that sent a chill down Wren’s spine. His eyes bled black, but when he blinked, their whites returned. For a fleeting moment, he looked startled.
Did he not mean to do that? Has he already begun to lose control?
Wren’s throat grew tight.
There was a tense beat of silence, as if Callum was weighing his options, and then he simply offered a mocking salute, sauntering toward the entrance of the tent. He glanced over his shoulders, shooting Wren one final look.
“Save me a dance, catalyst.”
The moment Callum walked out of the tent, leaving the two of them alone, Wren felt her limbs loosen, and she nearly collapsed from sheer relief. But August’s hands were on her before she could fall, warm and steadying.
“Are you okay?” he whispered, voice shaking. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t get here sooner.”
“I’m…fine.” Wren swallowed and straightened herself. “I just feel a bit…foggy.”
“That’s normal.” He nodded, the muscles in his jaw twitching. “You know…given what Edith put you through.”
“August…” Wren’s voice cracked. “We’re out of time. Equinox is starting…We can’t…we can’t leave.”
August cupped her chin with his thumb, angling her face toward him.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you, okay? I promise. We have a plan…You’re just going to have to trust me.”
Wren tensed. “We?”
“You were right. Thereareother Demiens who want to help.” August’s face softened. His thumb drew featherlight circles against the edge of her jaw. “I have a way to get the security cuff off.” As he continued to speak, he gently guided them toward the entrance to the tent. “Right before they begin the offerings, there’s going to be an explosion. As soon as it goes off, Arthur is going to step behind you and undo the security cuff—”
“Arthur?” Wren’s head spun as she tried to piece together everything August was telling her. “You mean…”
“He’s on your side,” August interjected, nodding. “Both of them are. As soon as the security cuff is off, we’re going to make a run for it. Quinn is going to construct a temporary defensive barrier in front of the encampment. If there’s even a single molecule of the relocation spell left in the air by the time they catch up to us, someone could sense where we went. Ideally, with Quinn’s barrier, that won’t be an issue. By the time they reach the exterior of the encampment, we’ll be gone. And so will our relocation spell.”
Wren placed a shaking hand on the security cuff, tracing its cold, sharp edges. “And if it doesn’t work?”
There was a silence. August took Wren’s face in his hands, drawing her closer. “Do you trust me?”
Wren let out a shuddering breath. “Against my better judgment.”
August’s lips lifted into a sad smile. He leaned forward and kissed her. It was a torturous kiss—deep and slow, his hands cupping her neck, his body pressing into her. It felt like heaven. Like everything else around them had vanished, blurring away in their peripheral vision.
