I jumped over debris, kept to the wall, and when I got to the fork in the corridor, I slowed and looked around the corner. To the left was a group of Otherworld creatures fighting a slew of human guards.
And to the right it was blessedly empty, so going that way was a no-brainer.
I was panting, breathing harder than I ever had before, feeling sweat and dirt cling to my skin. Being Fae meant I was fast and agile, and because I was a female of my kind, I was also lithe but weak, with a small body that I could get into tight places in order to stay alive.
For the past year I’d been sedated, tortured, and kept like a pet for those willing to pay exorbitant amounts of money to witness my pain.
I’d been stripped of any kind of strength I wielded, and given silver—the one thing that was like acid to my skin and made me wholly helpless.
In short, this whole thing sucked.
I rounded another corner, stumbling over large pieces of rock that scattered the floor, but when I heard shouting, I felt the hairs on my arms stand up.
Electricity licked across my skin, followed by the sound of shouting, gunshots firing, then an unholy roar.
The sight before me was horrendous—something that looked like it might’ve been plucked out of a graphic novel for a scene where the villains and superheroes were at war with each other.
I knew what that creature was. Knew what it was capable of.
A Leandrean.
The male stood in the center of the corridor, seven feet of gray skin, hard muscles, long white hair, pitch-black eyes, and a mouthful of serrated teeth.
Guards stood in a circle around him, their weapons going off but ricocheting off an invisible force field surrounding the male.
I’d heard stories about the Leandrean species, how they were part of the Katara of the Otherworld, an evil faction that preyed on anyone, anything weaker than them.
But there was one thing that set the Leandrean apart from all others. And that was that they were the keepers, the key holders of all the dimensions.
I knew they could open those doors as easily as turning on a light switch.
I could feel the energy pulsating through the small space, an earthly wind whipping around the Otherworld male. His long white hair whipped around him, sparks of electricity visibly moving around his ashy, gray-colored skin.
I could hear the crackle and pop that came from him as he lifted his hands, six fingers on each, black-tipped claws dotting them.
His eyes were completely black as he looked at the ceiling, his mouth gaping open, his serrated teeth dripping with what I could only assume was human blood.
The Leandrean was chanting, his words foreign but ominous. I felt the pressure build around the room, so strongly I couldn’t breathe.
The magic coming from the Otherworld was like a heartbeat.
Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.
Although I didn’t know what was happening, if I was a gambling girl, I would have placed bets on the fact that the Leandrean was about to blast everyone’s ass into another dimension. He’d rip open a portal, if not to save himself, then to defuse the situation so he could escape.
That meant I was right in the crossfire, and there was no amount of running that could protect me from the vortex that would surely suck me in.
Shit.
I could feel it down in the very pit of my stomach, instinct telling me to run, but even then I knew it wouldn’t do any good. There was no amount of distance that would save me right now.
I watched in horror as the humans’ flesh started tearing apart from their bodies like a peel off a banana. Some exploded, as if the pressure of being wholly mortal and so close to the Otherworld creature was too much.
With one deafening roar, the Otherworld male’s jaw unhinged, getting disgustingly long as black smoke snaked out and filled the entire corridor.
A massive blast pulsated from the center of his chest, tendrils wrapping around anything in its path.
I was shoved back so forcefully I slammed against the cinder block, my head cracking against the stone before I crumbled to the ground.
And then everything went dark.
Chapter
Two
Sebastian
Not once did it ever occur to me that I was making a big fucking mistake letting the Assembly take me as their prisoner.
Yeah, I’d gladly taken up forces with the Lycans and vampires to take these fuckers out and rescue my psychotic cousin Adryan’s fated mate.
Although I didn’t have the emotion to feel happy or worried about getting Adryan’s female back, I was loyal to him above all else. And hell… bloodshed was always a good time.
My plan was to take out as many humans as possible. And I had been hungry for that, thirsty for their deaths to be new tally marks that marked my black soul.