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28JAIDE
I goton my feet even with the world sliding back and forth in front of me. Or maybe it was that I couldn't stop swaying. A hand to the back of my neck came back dark red. I wiped it on my leg before steadying myself, while Jett took his time getting up. I didn't think he expected that.
Hell, neither had I.
“Enough!” I pushed dirty, bloody hair away from my face before throwing my head back. “Stop this!”
“Not until I rid myself of you.” He hit me with a burst of wind which I met with my own, flinging it back at him.
He stumbled but stayed on his feet, eyes darting around as he searched for a weapon. A pile of wood was nearby, intended for roasting livestock over the flames. He picked it up, throwing the long, heavy pieces of wood at me. I drew the water from them, making them splinter and explode before they reached me.
“Clever,” he snarled.
I could hear his frustration—and so could his army—who were practically foaming at the mouth and chomping at the bit to get at me. They weren't here to watch a battle. They wanted to wage war and were thirsty for blood.
“Back away!” he demanded while the two of us circled each other. “She is still mine!”
I glanced toward my mates, who weren't struggling anymore. They were watching intently. I could feel their support, even if they couldn't help.
Burning embers floated down around us like falling stars. I couldn't disassociate the person I saw in front of me from the memories of the brother I loved. I needed to, or else he was going to kill me. But no matter what, I couldn't bring myself to land a serious blow against him. The lightning had been a fluke.
Could I bring myself to do it again, on purpose this time?
I wondered if he was asking himself the same question. Did that mean he didn't have the same power I did? Was that what he grappled with as he studied me, snarling, eyes blazing as bright as the fire between us? At least he finally looked like there was some life in him.
I stumbled and almost fell. I was still losing blood and was starting to feel woozy. How much longer could we hold the Synians back with the scent of an Omega's blood in the air?
I was afraid to even think about it.
“Just as pathetic as I remembered. You might have a few tricks up your sleeve, but in the end, you're nothing,” Jett snapped.
I drew a breath and prepared to unload on him—only I couldn't get any air into my lungs. I tried, but it was like all the air around me had disappeared. And all the air inside me? It left my lungs in one big gust.
My brother laughed as he lifted me on a cloud of air, maybe the same air he'd pulled from me, from the space around me. It was like being in a vacuum. I was dangling in the air, kicking and clawing at my throat. My mouth opened in a silent scream, as my eyes bulged.
“I knew you didn't have it in you to do what needed to be done to save yourself.” He advanced on me, but he never got any closer.
It took a second to realize I was moving backward, that he was carrying me somewhere.
It didn't matter where he was carrying me. I wouldn't make it much longer without air. I was frantic, flailing and pleading silently.
I was going to die.
He was going to kill me without laying a finger on me. Garrett, Paris, Elliot, all three voices raised in angry shouts, but that did no good. I wanted to look at them, I wanted to beg for help, for somebody to throw Jett off task, but there was no way to do it.
He had won. He was about to get everything he wanted.
I looked behind me, finding myself at the edge of the cliff. Beyond it was a beach, water, and ships. So that was how they had gotten there. All of it went through my head in a flash, that and so much more, before the world started going gray around the edges. I was going to lose consciousness.
And then, I was going to die.
He came to a stop in front of me, so close I could see the sweat rolling down the sides of his face. And the marks on his neck.
“So much for all your training,” he murmured. It was just the two of us now. He didn't have to yell anymore. “I went to all the trouble to get here, and it took nothing to beat you.”
I had to do something. I had to get through to him, to stop him before I passed out. I was so close, everything going blurry, so that now even clawing at my throat was too much effort.
It wasn't graceful. It had nothing to do with the powers born in me.
