If I died down here, then so be it, as long as he had his arms wrapped around me and we were together at the very end.
I kept ducking, dodging, and moving out of the way of the absolute chaos. Death was all around me as I searched, too afraid to call out to Sebastian and draw attention to the wrong kind of company.
As if I were still replaying that same day, I rounded a corner and skidded to a stop as I stared at the scene before me.
The déjà vu left me feeling off-balance. I stared at the Leandrean standing in the center of the hallway with human guards all around him. Their bullets ricocheted off the Otherworld’s body as this unnatural wind whipped around him, his white hair a flurry around his face.
No. Gods, no. I was not going back there again. I’d kill the fucking portal opener—and probably myself in the process—before I was dragged into that hell.
I reached down and picked up a broken-off piece of metal that lay amid the rubble. With my hand wrapped fully around the jagged length, I took one step forward to try and get close enough to use the weapon.
But before I could take another step, I noticed a huge shadow coming up behind the Leandrean and felt the air become frigid.
A hand suddenly burst through the Leandrean’s chest, fingers cracking open his ribs, the portal opener’s heart now in the fist, blood dripping down and splattering on the ground.
The next sequence of events happened so fast I stumbled back, my voice lost as I watched a demon and an Angelis seem to appear out of nowhere and make quick, efficient work of killing the human guards.
A sickening, squelching sound pierced through my shock as the fist that was buried within the chest was wrenched back, and the creature crumpled to the ground.
The demon and Angelis were tearing apart the humans, laughing maniacally as they threw insults at each other while ripping off arms, legs, and even gouging out the eyes of their enemies.
“My body count is higher than yours, motherfucker,” the Angelis growled as he reached into the mouth of a human and ripped out his tongue. He tossed the slab of muscle toward the demon. “Hungry, Bane?”
“Fuck you, Vox,” the demon snarled and kicked the tongue aside before he pressed his mouth on to the neck of the flailing human he held easily and ripped out his throat.
I looked away from them. A sob was tearing out of me as I stared at who stood across the hall, blood splattered across his face, his shirt soaked, and his eyes having this crazed cast to them.
And he was staring right at me as if I were the very air he needed to survive.
Sebastian.
I dropped the weapon and ran toward him, throwing myself at him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs around his waist, and buried my face in the crook of his neck.
A broken sob tore out of me as Sebastian held me, his big hands cradling my ass and his face buried in my hair as he took in a harsh inhale, his entire body shaking.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here.” He didn’t put me down as he strode out.
And I was more than okay with that. Having him hold me again, when I didn’t know if that would ever happen, was an incredible feeling and I wanted to hold on to that for as long as possible.
“What in the hell is going on?” My voice was muffled against his neck. He tightened his arms around me and kissed my temple. “How did we get here?”
“I’ll explain it all once I have you out of this shithole and safe.” One more kiss to the crown of my head before he grunted something low in passing to the demon and Angelis but never stopped.
With the Leandrean gone and the threat of being thrust into another world no longer an issue—at least as far as I knew and hoped—all I wanted to do was get the hell out of I felt my here.
After a few moments I squirmed out of his hold. Although he was quick, even with carrying my weight, I knew if we had to fight, it would be safer and more practical to have him not holding me.
He gave a disgruntled sound as I slid down his body, even tightened his hold on me for a second, but then he took hold of my hand and we were moving again.
He kept me behind his body, using himself as a shield as he led us out of the facility. Smoke was starting to fill the corridors so we hunched over more but never slowed our pace.
And then Sebastian stilled, a deep growl vibrating out of him. He reached behind him and grabbed my waist, his fingers digging into my skin as he pulled me against his back.