She shook her head, tears falling down her face.
Tell me. Did he touch you?
She didn’t have to answer. Her disgust and hatred were confirmation enough. I knew Morgana had control over Zara, but allowing this male, this fucking pathetic piece of shit, to have even an ounce of control over her… I spun, reaching for the daggers on my thighs, but touched only air. I looked down to find them melted onto my pant leg, the metal useless to me now as it clung to the fabric of my leathers.
A rustling sounded from where I had thrown Atticus, and a surge of malevolent anger surged inside me. I pulled, seeking the magic I needed, and with less concentration, less power than I thought, a blade appeared in my hand—having summoned it from the nearest camp—miles away.
It was the furthest I ever summoned anything before. That familiar roiling power faded, seeping back down the bond from where I had taken it—from her.
Zara’s eyes were wide as they locked on mine, confusion swirling in their icy depths. I threw a shield around her, protecting her before I turned and stormed in my prey’s direction.
His death was mine.
Power bounced off the shield I created, and Atticus reappeared through the brush. His uniform was torn and fangs bared as he charged forward, a wild gleam in his metallic, bloodshot eyes.
He should never have come for her, should never have sought her out. He was out of his depth, out of his fucking mind if he thought I would let him go near her ever again. Was delusional to think that he could win against me, that he could take what was mine. That I would ever let him leave here alive.
Swirling liquid metal danced on his palm, a long blade forming from the metal, stretching and bending into a lethal edge.
“Be useful and take down his shield,” Atticus barked, and a surge of power from Zara had my shield dropping. My eyes widened, and I threw up another one, blocking another attack. “Keep it down!”
The shield fell once more and my blade met his, only instead of clashing together, his blade moved through mine, liquifying and reforming as it passed. I watched in choked amazement at his magic, shadowing just as his blade pierced the top of my shoulder.
I winced, appearing behind him, but he was anticipating it. The metal that had been aimed at my shoulder was now retracting and shooting backwards as he arched and sliced his arm downward, the blade hooking behind him and nearly slicing into my side.
I spun away, and he whipped toward me, metal shards flying through the space between us, accelerated by his magic.Fucking air and metal bending asshole.A block of rocks and earth shot from the ground and blocked his attack, blocking me from view.
“Hiding, are we? I didn’t think the great King of Nexia would cower,” Atticus spat, and I narrowed my eyes, waiting for his next advance.
The dirt wall collapsed back into the ground, and metal fragments flew to where I had been standing, but I was no longer there. I was now next to him and fire shot from my palm, landing onto the right side of his smug fucking face. I shadowed a few feet away, relishing his cries of pain. They echoed through the air, followed by the thick stench of burning flesh and hair as he stole the oxygen from the flames, leaving behind melted, sagging flesh and bone.
Atticus was panting, his anger and lust for vengeance potent in the air. He met my smoldering smug gaze, and snarled, “Make him release you from that fucking chain and get us out of here.”
I huffed a laugh, his command only further confirming my suspicions.
Because of our bond… Zara’s soul was now connected, merging with mine.
It is why Morgana went to such lengths, theatrics to have our mate bond form. Not to kill me… no she could have just done that. But to control me. No doubt to force me into providing her heirs.
Atticus spun to face Zara, when nothing happened and I smiled.
“Now! What are you waiting–” Atticus froze, his gaze landing on Zara’s unconscious body, and I savored every crushing realization that passed over his features.
I had knocked her out the moment he started using her against me.
All of my teeth were on vicious display as Atticus turned slowly back to face me. His one good eye was wide with fear, the other practically dangling from its socket onto his burnt flesh.
“She can’t take your commands if she is unconscious,” I purred, and I took one step toward the male who started to weigh his very limited, now nonexistent options. “Thank you for confirming my suspicions, though. Too bad you won’t get to see how it all plays out,” I snarled, and wisps of shadow that had been creeping toward him on the ground shot up and into his mouth.
Atticus choked on the tendrils as they reached down and down until I snapped them out. His tongue fell onto the ground as he cried out in muffled pain. The black fog turned to blades as they sliced downward, cutting into his wrists, his hands joining his tongue on the ground at his feet.
I looked at the pathetic male before me and grinned. His hands, the ones that had touched her, his tongue that had dared enter her mouth—all gone. The flesh on his face bubbled, and his eye plopped onto the ground, falling out of its socket.
He looked as if he were about to pass out, and I didn’t hesitate as I stepped forward, jumping the gap within my shadows, wanting my face to be the last thing he saw before he died. I wanted Zara, who was stirring awake behind us, to see what would happen to anyone who dared touch what was mine.
My hands grasped around his throat, his panic permeating the air, and I chuckled as he pissed himself. I stole the air from his lungs and watched as his remaining eye bulged, his mouth gasping for air as I smiled wickedly down at him. With a snap, I twisted his neck sharply and watched his body slump to the forest floor.
Blood coated my skin, and my clothes were damp with it as I slowly turned.
