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“When you were achild.” Rukia resisted the urge to throttle him over his nonsense. “You are no child, Isaiah, and I refuse to believe you could hurt me, even unintentionally.”
The sirens were growing closer now, and Rukia glanced toward the home that was swiftly enveloping in flames. Windows shattered as the heat of the fire increased, the smoke billowing out of the broken panes of glass.
Charred wood and paneling began to show on the sides of the home, the red lick of flame dancing before their eyes. The smell of burning plastic and wood was pungent in the air, the smoke wafting toward where they stood on the opposite curb, shadowed by the ten-foot hedge.
Isaiah had followed her gaze before his eyes narrowed. “We should leave before—”
Splitting pain registered on his features a half second before he clutched his head in his hands, the look of agony written in his eyes as he doubled over.
“What’s wrong!?”
She protectively encircled his waist with her arms, unable to see him vulnerable and in such clear pain. Rukia gasped as she saw the evidence of broken ear drums in the blood dripping from between his cupped fingers that pressed against his ears.
“They’re here,” Isaiah sputtered in a panic. “Rukia, go! I can’t concentrate enough to teleport and I’ll only slow you down.”
“I’m not leaving you!”
Desperately, she looked around, her Elemental senses flaring outward. Sirens shattered through the nighttime silence as they drew ever closer, but the sound of Hummers roaring toward them was far more sinister.
The squeal of breaks screeched through the air only moments later. Desperation sounded in Isaiah’s voice. “Go, Rukia—I can’t lose you!”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Isaiahpleadedwithherto leave, trying desperately to get her to abandon him as the soundwave tore through him with unrelenting ferocity. Fighting against the overwhelming tide of nausea, he gripped her hand.
There was no way he’d make it out of here alive. “Leave me!”
Staunch determination flared across her beautiful features and in that second, he knew she’d never abandon him. “I’m not letting them hurt you.”
In a singularly graceful move, Rukia drew water out of the air and into long, dagger-like weapons. She bared her teeth a second before she sent them hurtling toward whoever had the misfortune of arriving first.
A muted grunt, followed by three more, gave him hope. But as more cars and trucks drew near, he knew that Rukia’s defense would soon risk exposing her to the world as what she was: an Elemental.
Booted feet hit the pavement only seconds later, the sound of rifles being cocked and voices yelling at them to get on their knees. In that moment, Isaiah realized that he’d been wrong before.
He did have one more thing to lose: Rukia.
With the soundwave distorting every sense he had, he spun to envelope her feminine form in his arms, forming a body shield around her. His psychic senses and balance were distorted in the wake of the abrasive noise, and he couldn’t even telepathically call for help or utilize his abilities to save them from coming doom.
He wouldn’t call any of his people here to save them, anyway. They’d walked into this trap willingly, and they’d meet the certain death that was coming.
If he could use telepathy, a remote teleport would have worked—but the only ones powerful enough to accomplish such a feat were the three sovereigns in Lexington, two of which he’d just turned into enemies.
“On the ground, now!”
Isaiah’s eardrums barely registered the noise, the sound garbled as twin trails of sticky red blood streamed down his face. More voices barked commands, all of which he dutifully ignored.
“I love you, Rukia,” Isaiah whispered into the deafening sound around them, knowing full well she wasn’t affected by the soundwave.
His mate would have no problem hearing him.
She nestled against him, her face wet with tears. Above the ruckus that surrounded them, he smiled as he heard her echo the words that spoke to him on the deepest level.
The mating bond flared to life. Brilliant color illuminated his mind, reached into his very soul, and dragged him into the light. Gasping as the shockwave of sensation rippled through him, he experienced firsthand the depth of Rukia’s passion as it bloomed in his core.
As the mercenaries yelled around them, Isaiah merely held her, relishing the last moments of his life in perfect harmony with his mate.
Torrential wind suddenly kicked up around them, but Isaiah stayed motionless, intent on guarding his mate with his life. Gunfire sounded seconds later, but as he braced for impact, he felt only a cool breeze at his back.
