“Thad,” she whispers, smiling even as her eyes stay shut.
“I’m here, love. I’m here.”
“I love you, too,” she whispers, confusing me. “You’ll kill them all. I know.”
“Now’s not the best time for her to be in la la land,” Dice points out.
The chains rattle as I settle her down on the floor, and I peek around the corner again, trying to see if I can use any of my gatekeeping skills down here. Fucking nothing.
“Can’t get it up?” Dice asks me, to which has me groaning.
“We could break through the seals, but apparently neither of us can use our gatekeeping skills down here. But that also means they can’t dematerialize.”
Looking around I take in all the anointed weapons that have been abandoned as the bodies have dropped. I don’t know how much longer we have until Ella blows the entire place apart.
“You can’t fight them,” Reese growls, keeping Roslyn sheltered.
“Really don’t see any other alternative right now. I can’t shift. I keep trying, but I fucking can’t. It’s like they designed this to be a light or dark user only terrain.”
“Same problem,” Reese confesses.
“Great. I get stuck with the two animals who can’t be animals. I really fucking hope you two aren’t expecting me to be the hero,” Dice hisses.
My eyes move down to Roslyn one last time, and I look back to Reese.
“As soon as they’re distracted, get her out of here. Maybe Slade can ice Ella long enough to let you by.”
“Ice Ella,” Dice snorts, and I glare at him. “What? It’s funny. Her name is Ella Ice for fuck’s sake.”
Groaning, I start to turn away, but I kneel instead, and kiss Roslyn for what might be the last time. She kisses me back, moaning into my mouth, and making it really hard to pull back. But when my lips part from hers, she’s still lost to reality—eyes closed as she whispers incoherent dreams to us.
“This place is toxic to her, and her mind was too fragile to be back so soon. She won’t snap out of it until we get out of here,” Reese tells me.
“Guess I need to try to clear a path,” I say without too much confidence.
A bunch of dark users who are almost as powerful as Gavin? Definitely not making me feel confident.
“She’s going to kill you if she wakes up and you’re dead,” Dice says as I stand.
“I’ll let you figure out the problem with that logic on your own,” I grumble, looking over at Reese. “Just get her out of here.”
I don’t wait for him to say a word before I push around the corner, slinging the sword. The blade slices through the first one whose back is turned, but I’m on the ground and gasping in the next second without anyone even touching me.
Fucking magic. Fucking brilliant plan.
Chapter 40
ROSLYN
Thad cries out in pain, and fury rattles inside me. How are they hurting him? His lips have left mine, and I can’t find him. He was just in the bed with me, but now I feel his pain as though it’s mine.
I search blindly, feeling trapped by darkness, and force my eyes to open as I glance up to see my father looking around a corner, hearing him curse whatever he’s seeing.
Why is this changing? I don’t want fear and angst. I want my peaceful place back.
My body feels healed, but my mind is still fuzzy, clouded. I don’t know what’s real and what’s not, but I feel the chains still on my wrists, telling me that I’m still locked up.
The monster grows tired of the wait…