Page 66 of Knight’s Salvation

Chapter 15

Zenon flew above the compound,circling the building’s perimeter for the tenth time. Going in held no appeal. Every room in his apartment reminded him of Mia. Even the goddamned elevator made him think of her, of holding her in his arms.

It had been a week since he’d hurt her—the last thing he’d ever wanted to do. But seeing that look in her eyes, the way her whole face softened when she looked at him, he’d known in that one perfect moment just how badly he’d screwed this up.

She truly cared about him. What happened to him.

Everything he’d ever wanted had been staring back at him in her beautiful blue eyes.

And he’d lost it. He’d never felt so much rage in his entire life. Because he had to turn away from it, turn away from the female he wanted with every fiber of his being. So yeah, he was angry.

But what choice did he have? If he stayed and carried on with what they were doing, it would only hurt her more when he was gone.

When Zenon landed, he strode from the balcony into the control room, keeping his head down. Avoiding people had worked so far. He’d been giving his brothers a wide berth. The last thing he wanted was to talk. Talking led to questions, and right then he didn’t have the answers. None he was willing or able to give.

But as soon as he stepped over the threshold, he knew something was wrong. Low level electricity skittered across his skin, lifting the hair on his arms and the back of his neck. Something was way off. Rocco sat at one of the desks, his booted feet propped up on its surface, tapping away on the keyboard resting in his lap.

“What’s going on?”

Rocco looked up. “Well, I’m up to level twenty-seven on Angry Birds Star Wars. You?”

Zenon growled. “Can’t you feel it?”

Rocco dropped his feet to the floor and stood. “Feel what? What’s going on?”

“Where’s Mia?” He was already moving toward the door.

“In the training room, far as I know—”

Zenon was out the door and pounding down the hall toward the stairwell before Rocco finished his sentence. Shoving the door open, he jumped the rail to the lower level, then the next, and the next, and the next, until he hit the floor with the training rooms.

A weird kind of static buzzed through the air, its intensity rising with every second. He hissed, pleasure and pain assaulting every molecule in his body.

Shit.

When he reached the training room door, he could feel Mia inside. He didn’t hesitate and kicked the fucker in.

The sight that confronted him stole his breath. Mia stood in the middle of the room, her long red hair flying around her face and shoulders. Eyes closed tight, tears streaked down her cheeks. Her hands were held out in front of her, glowing fiery orbs of energy flying from her fingers. They hit the opposite wall, leaving behind singed circles in the padding that smoldered around the edges.

James stood to the side, holding his arms up, looking freaked.

Zenon stepped farther into the room.

“Stay back, Zenon.” James’s voice sounded distant.

Like hell. His heart pounded as he felt a familiar need crawl up his spine, hitting him in the back of the skull. Stepping to the side, he put himself in the line of fire. The first one that hit knocked him to his knees. He grunted but staggered back to his feet and took another step toward Mia. Her eyes flew open and she tried to turn away, but Zenon called her power to him, and each ball she sent flying changed course midair and came at him, nailing him in the chest.

Oh fuck. So good, so fucking good.

He kept coming at her until he was standing beside her. “Stay back. I…I can’t stop,” she cried.

Grabbing her wrists, he forced her to face him and pressed her hands against his chest. The intensity of all that power moving through his body had his eyes rolling back in his head. Each hit jarred his body, sending pleasure-pain streaking through his nerve endings. Mia fought him, her screams echoing around the room, but he was too far gone to explain what was happening.

After the last hit he dropped to his knees at her feet. Rough hands grabbed at him, pulling him back up. Voices talked over the top of each other but he couldn’t make his jaw unclench enough to tell them he was okay. Finally, the last wave of energy pulsed through his system and he slumped against the big body at his back.

When he opened his eyes, he realized he was surrounded. Every knight stood watching him. Chaos was at his back, holding him up. Mia stood to the side, sobbing silently, her arms wrapped around herself.

Shrugging out of Chaos’s hold, he moved toward her on unsteady legs. She backed up like she was afraid of him, and he couldn’t blame her after that little show. He didn’t stop until his chest brushed hers. Cupping her chin, he forced her to look at him. “I’m okay, Mia.”