Page 35 of Imprisoned with the Vampire King

He squeezed my hand lightly, and said the vows.

I repeated them.

The vows felt like lies, but they were magically enforceable lies.

The burst of magic that followed was softer than I expected. But the ethereal bond that exploded between us afterward, connecting our minds, was the opposite.

I could feel his worry bleeding through the flimsy divider between our minds. Whatever my jumble of emotions was, he could feel it too.

Slowly, the empty well that was my magic began to deepen. My eyes closed, and darkness wrapped around me as I breathed in power.

My power.

My hands lifted, and my weave began immediately, the strands moving together rapidly to form the fabric I'd need to hide River from the prison.

"Holy fuck, is that feeling her?" Jazz whispered.

"Yeah. Before she fell, Lia was the most powerful angel the light had ever seen. This is only a fraction of her magic," River said quietly.

Now, I was the most powerful angel the dark had ever seen. I'd just tied my magic up in the prison so I didn't have to deal with the consequences of that.

"I didn't just fall, River." I let out a soft breath, wrapping the magic around my brother before releasing it and meeting his eyes. "I jumped."

The elevator lurched one last time. My hand was no longer on the railing, but Dante grabbed me, keeping me upright.

The doors slid shut, separating us from the crowd of immortals beyond my brother's shield.

Finally, we began to rise. This time, there was no shaking. Just smooth, quiet motion.

River's gaze was dark, and still locked with mine.

"I chose to become a nightmare," I said. "Because it was the only way to get away from our dad after my brother refused to help me."

He didn't say another word.

Not until the elevator stopped on the ground floor with a pleasant ding.

Jazz was out in a heartbeat, dragging my brother behind her.

River stopped just outside the doors, pulling her closer to his side.

"For the record, I'm really fucking sorry that I believed him," he said quietly. "And if not for Jazz, I would've let myself rot in that prison for as long as you wanted me to."

I couldn't respond, so I just nodded.

River's white and silver wings unfurled behind him as he scooped his siren up off her feet. He strode through the lobby's glass doors with Jazz in his arms. The moment they were free, he took to the sky.

Dante tried to tow me out by the grip he still had on my arm, but I pulled away.

He let me go.

And I finally stepped out of the elevator.

There was a massive mess to deal with, a long way beneath my feet—but I would clean it up tomorrow.

Or the day after.

Or next year.