by Kimber White
“Then I guess it’s lucky for you I’m such a prize,” I said.
He was on me then. His fingers dug into my shoulders as he drew me toward him.
“I can’t get you out of my head. My blood. I’ve been afraid of having someone like you used against me. Just like your dad. Only it’s already too late for that. I’m in too deep. You can set me on fire, Cassia. Hell, you already have.”
There was no air. No light. No darkness. There was only Colm. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. I hated him. I loved him. I needed him.
When he crushed his lips to mine, I was too far gone to resist. I wanted to drown in him. I wanted to pour my rage, my grief, my hopes into him.
Because he was right about it all. We were both too far gone.
So much so I didn’t notice the floodlights at first. Blind with need, I didn’t feel the first, sharp pain as the arrow sliced through my arm.
Colm was ripped away from me. His skin went gray. His eyes, blood red as the chain went around his neck, immobilizing him.
Dragonsteel.
Instinct took over, and I found the last bit of magic I had left in me. Hands fell away as I cloaked myself and my wings spread behind me.
Colm was dragged backward. He mouthed a single word that cut through my heart.
Run!
Chapter 19
Colm
“Stop!”
I never expected the word to come from the guard beside me. He was huge. The biggest bear shifter I’d ever seen. Dressed in the black uniform of a Ring agent, he grabbed hold of the chains around my neck.
“Get the fuck off of me,” I managed to choke out. My urge to shift burned through me, but the magic in the chains kept my wolf locked away from me.
“Is this the one?” another bear shifter emerged from further down the hill. He had white hair and black eyes, and instinct told me he’d shift into a polar bear if provoked. My heart split into a thousand pieces as I saw him drag Cassia forward. Fire lit her eyes as she struggled to keep her power in check.
There were too many of them. Four more bear shifters joined the first, surrounding her.
“Is this her, Damon?” the polar bear asked again. He deferred to the big bear standing beside me.
Cassia let out a gasp as she saw me. Damon pulled a small tablet out of his pocket and pulled up a photograph. It was Cassia, smiling, holding up a trophy-sized bass.
“That’s her,” Damon said. He turned to me. “Well done.”
“What?” Cassia cried out.
“You want him out of these chains?” the other bear asked. I went rigid. I tried to transmit a message to Cassia. God. If only I’d marked her. Now, she only saw betrayal in my eyes.
No, I thought, hoping like hell she could understand. This wasn’t me. Stay calm. Don’t let them see what you are.
“Not yet,” Damon said. “Let the bosses decide how to deal with him. They want her down in the pit.”
“Come on, dog.” The bear jerked on the Dragonsteel, driving the air from my lungs. I could taste blood in my mouth.
I growled as they pushed Cassia so hard she stumbled. The polar bear grabbed her cruelly, righting her. It brought her close enough to me her hair touched my arm.
Damon came forward. He sniffed Cassia, then a slow smile split his face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a flat, gold coin. It was the same token the yellow-toothed bear had waved in front of me right before he and his friends tried to rip me apart.
Before I could utter a word, Cassia’s face changed. She saw the coin. She knew exactly what it was and what it could bring me. It was everything I just told her I didn’t want.
“No,” I whispered. I clamped my mouth shut.
“You son of a bitch,” she cried. “You lied about it all.” Her words were too hard. Her rage too forced. I kept a smile in check.
For once, I was glad I couldn’t yet let my wolf out. And I was glad to be surrounded by bears instead of wolves. Their hearing wasn’t as sensitive.
“I need you to trust me,” I said. “Don’t do anything. Don’t tap into your power. Don’t show them what you are. Yet.”
Her eyes went wide. I could sense the struggle within her. There was still some small part of her that stayed on guard. It was probably so much easier to believe I’d set this whole thing up. Hell, a few weeks ago, I would have.
When we reached the bottom of the hill, a dark van sat idling. The bears shoved us forward. Two new guards waited with a length of Dragonsteel chain. It looked new, polished. Cassia saw it too. It was forged recently. Only one man could be responsible for that.
Her father.
Cassia stiffened as they looped it around her. They weren’t watching her face. I was. Just the tiniest smirk lifted the corner of her mouth. Then they picked her up and threw her into the van. I felt her pain as she jammed her shoulder against the floor.
It took everything in me not to growl or lose my temper. They couldn’t know I cared.
“Him next,” Damon said. Three bears surrounded me, readying themselves to lift me off my feet.
“Save it,” I said. I hopped into the back of the van. Then, I was plunged into darkness as they slammed the doors shut.
“Are you okay?” I whispered.
“If you’re still lying to me,” she shouted.
“Cassia,” I said. “I swear on my life, I haven’t sold you out.”
She drew her knees up and moved to the corner of the van. Its engine started, and we were jerked forward.
“Listen to me!” I said, my tone growing more urgent. “I’m not taking payment for you. I swear it.”
“Then why did they bring it?” she said.
“Look at me. Feel me!” I tried to will my heartbeat to slow. Let her feel it. Let her focus. Let her know the truth within my heart.
Tears rolled down her face, but her expression softened. Finally, she met my eyes once more. She knew me. Just as I knew her.
“Where are they taking us?” she asked.
I sniffed the air. “Not far,” I said.
“There’s a courtyard,” she said. “At the back of the resort. Heavy guard presence.”
“Listen to me,” I said. “I’m going to have to say and do some things. Those chains, can they hold you?”
Her eyes glinted in the darkness.
“It was your father’s magic that made them,” I said. “So, I’m guessing no. We can use that.”
“We?”
“Yes!” I hissed. “We. Only I’m no good to you if they don’t take these fucking things off of me. You have to help me with that. You have to play along.”
She gritted her teeth.
“Look,” I said. “We have exactly one chance to get you out of this in one piece. Just…hang tight.”
She didn’t have a chance to answer. We barely had a chance to take a breath. The van jerked to a stop. Light nearly blinded me as the doors opened and the bears dragged me out by the chains.
I turned to stone as they did the same to Cassia. She was right. They’d just driven us to the back of the resort to a large courtyard. It was heavily guarded by more bear shifters.
There was something else. I got to my feet and followed Damon into the yard. Though two wings of the resort seemed deserted, I sensed the population at the hub of the hotel. Shifters, maybe a dozen. Mages. One or two. But the scent that made my heart twist was the humans.
Desperate. Panicked. Prisoners. I tried to lock in on where their scent was the strongest. It seemed concentrated in the east corner of the hotel.
The courtyard opened up to the beach. From where I could see, it was entirely unguarded. I’d seen how high Cassia could levitate. Did she have enough control to glide down to safety?
As my eyes met hers, I saw her looking in the same direction. Likely making the same calculation.
I gritted my teeth and jerked my chin at her. Her eyes flicked to the water, then back to the guards in front of us.
“General?” Damon called out.
Besides Damon, there were five other bear shifters here in the courtyard, including the polar bear who had a hold of Cassia’s chain. This had been the pool deck at one point. The wrap-around bar had been pulled out. The kidney-shaped pool was drained and covered with gold mesh. More Dragonsteel.
The polar bear pulled Cassia forward. I strained against my bindings as he pushed her to the pool. She screamed as a trapdoor in the mesh gave way and she fell to the deepest parts of the pool.
The Pit.
The polar bear covered the mesh. I couldn’t see her. Her pulse thundered in my ears. She was angry. Scared. But not hurt. Dammit. If I couldn’t see her, then she couldn’t see me either.
The double doors leading into the hotel opened up, and a mage stepped out. He was old. Ancient. I couldn’t always tell with mages, but this one’s power damn near hit me in the face. His source was water. Of course.
“General,” Damon said. “The girl’s in the pit.”
“You?” the general stepped down and came to me. I held my ground.
“Colm,” I said. “Colm…Devane.” I hadn’t uttered my full name in almost fifteen years.
The mage nodded. He was completely hairless. His dark skin practically glowed in the moonlight. His teeth shone white.
“Good to see you, Devane,” he said. “You might not remember me. I had some dealings with your father a very long time ago. They used to call me Dotson.”
“Used to?” I asked. And I did remember. A million years ago, my father’s pack traded with a coven of water mages. It was before the attacks. Before everyone picked sides. Now, Dotson had picked his. I was about to pick mine.
“Now you can just call me General,” he said. “That’s what I am for the Lake Erie borderlands.”
“Nice gig if you can get it,” I said. “Look, I’ve done what your people asked. I’m tired. I need to hunt. And I’m damn sick of Dragonsteel. If you’ve got the power to give me my ticket, let’s get this over with. Your man just threw your merchandise in the pit. She bruises easily so you’ll want to take it easy with her.”
Dotson smiled. He walked to the edge of the pool and looked down at Cassia. He leaned far over. I felt the air change, becoming charged as Dotson drew on his magic.
“Bring her out,” he said. “I want a taste.”
Sweat beaded my brow. Damon came to the edge of the pit. He peeled back the mesh and dropped down.
Cassia struggled as he pulled her out and held her arms back. Dotson got close. Too damn close. He held Cassia’s chin in his hands.
“Show me your gifts, darling,” he said.
He did something. Breathed into Cassia’s face. He let loose some kind of magic that sent a shockwave of pain through her. Her body responded defensively, on instinct. Blue sparks shot from her eyes, driving Dotson back. His wicked laugh burned through me.
“Test her later,” I said. “You have her. Leave me the fuck out of this!”
Dotson waved an absent hand in my direction. He was too enthralled with Cassia to pay me much heed. I was counting on it.
“Pay him,” Dotson said as he grabbed Cassia’s chin again.
“Let’s see what else you’ve got locked in that body of yours,” he said.
Damon came to me and unlocked the chains. He reached into his pocket and handed me a chip. It glittered in my palm.
The token. A shield. It had more worth and power than any bounty I’d ever collected. I could show it to any border patrol, any agent of the Ring and they would let me pass without question.
It was everything I thought I’d ever wanted. But, as Dotson licked his lips gathered his magic, I knew there was only one thing left for me to do. I knew once I’d done it, there’d be no coming back from it. I smiled. It would be worth everything.
I shifted. Fast. Brutal. Deadly.
My fangs dropped. My claws came out. I dove through the air and went for Dotson’s jugular.
A moment. One beat of Cassia’s heart. Her eyes widened.
She took a step back as Dotson fell to the ground. His blood filled my mouth and his life drained away.
No more magic. No more power.
Except for Cassia’s. I saw her through a field of red as she let her wings out, knocking Damon away. Then, blue fire engulfed her as she rocketed toward the sky. I always wondered if you feel it when you die. It would be nice to think you don’t. But, when the three bear shifters landed on my back and tried to rip me apart, I felt it all.
Chapter 20
Cassia
My power shot through me, becoming something that felt bigger than I was. I vaulted skyward with the force of a cannon blast. The bears below shrank to dots. They raised their weapons, shooting Dragonsteel bullets that couldn’t hurt me. They could never hurt me.
Space was my defense. I was too far. Too high for them to even see, let alone hurt. But I could see them. I could see it all.
Colm lay sprawled on the ground. Blood poured from the deep wounds on his back. His pain pulled at me. It forced the air from my lungs.
His pulse slowed. I faltered in the air, losing control, careening downward.
GO!
I heard Colm’s ragged voice in my ears. His heartbeat wrapped around mine.
He would claim me. He was called to betray me. He would die for me.
Then another voice reached me. As Colm’s gasp pulled me downward, this one pushed me sideways.
I heard one word. My name. Then my heart broke apart.
“Mama?” I cried.
Reason left me. I’d been told stories for years about my Uncle Kian and how he’d almost been lost to mating sickness. My father and his brothers made a pact before each of them found their mates. If any one of them crossed a line, the others would destroy him.
It seemed so shocking. So final. But, as rage and bloodlust filled my veins, I finally understood. I wanted the world to burn. As Colm slipped away from me, I wanted them all to pay.
“Cassia!” It wasn’t just a dream. It was my mother. Her scent filled me. Her desperation. Her love.
In an instant, I knew where she was. I gathered my strength around me. The bears below dispersed in confusion. Running for their lives, perhaps. They knew the threat might come from the air, but they didn’t know where.
“Damn right,” I said. Then, I refocused, gained control, and dove.
Gravity pulled me back to the earth. My wings controlled the fall. I took a great gasp of air and unleashed my killing red and orange fire.
I caught the polar bear as he arched through the air, ready to deliver a killing blow to Colm, who lay face down on the ground.
“Cassia!” my mother screamed.
At first, she called for me. Now, fear laced her voice. I sensed danger all around her.
I pulled my wings back and glided hard left. I landed awkwardly, rolling sideways on the eastern corner of the roof of the Lodge.
Instinct drove me. I got to my feet and ran to the service door. I didn’t wait to see if it was even locked. I let loose another column of flame, melting the thing right off its hinges.
I tore down the stairs, letting my mother’s voice act as a beacon. She was close. She was in pain. She was alive.
I ran down to the first floor and went left. One whole wall was made up of windows. A banquet hall.
My mother was in the kitchen behind it. I raced inside.
They had her and five other women backed up against the wall. Two bear shifters held weapons trained right at them. They each wore earpieces, waiting for the kill order. They never got the chance.
A fireball erupted from me. I launched it, taking out both guards. They were dead before they hit the ground.
“Mama?” I cried.
She was skinny. Her normally lustrous red hair hung in strings around her face. Her eyes were hollowed out, but her heart beat strong. She rose.
“Baby?” she gasped. “Are you real? Are you here?”
I ran to her. Even though my fire still sparked around me, she took
me in her arms. My heat could never burn her, nor my father’s. She was part of us both.
She peppered my face with kisses. Thin as she was, she held me with strong arms.
“Daddy?” I said.
“My beautiful…foolish, girl. They’re going to kill us all.”
“No!” I shouted. “I’m going to get you out of here.”
“But how…how are you staying in control?”
I straightened my back. “There’s no time for all of that. I need to know what you know. The guards outside are dead. The water mage, the one who called himself the General. He’s dead. I killed them all. Who else do I need to be aware of?”
My mother’s face fell. A look passed among her and the other women. They were all human. I shuddered to think what fate might have befallen them if Colm and I hadn’t gotten here in time.
“Colm,” I said. “Mama, we need to move. Now. I have… I came with a friend. He’s hurt. I have to get to him before it’s too late. Do you know a way back to the courtyard that’s safe?”
She covered her face with her hand. “Nothing’s safe, baby.”
I went very still. She still didn’t understand.
“Mama,” I said. “I am the thing the Ring needs to be afraid of now. Can you all walk? Can you run?”
“Yes!” one of the other women answered. She was young, roughly my age. She had an unruly mass of black hair and a stone-cold look in her eyes.
“I know a way,” one of the other women said. “There’s a corridor that leads to the west wing. They keep it empty. If we hurry…”
“Let’s go,” I said. I took my mother’s hand.
We moved. The west corridor was empty, just as the dark-haired woman said. We came to a fork in the hallway. One led toward the courtyard and pool deck, the other led to the woods.
I turned to the dark-haired woman. “What’s your name?” I asked.
“Lin,” she said.
“Lin, get yourself and the others into the woods. Head west. I can’t… I don’t know what’s out there, but it’s got to be better than what’s waiting for you here. If I can, I’ll send help.”