No.
Fury vibrated through my body, and I clutched my head.
My mind felt like it was going to calve in two. Squeezing my eyes shut, I struggled to get control over my raging thoughts. My magic flickered out, and my hold over Matthias faltered.
A modicum of relief returned, and I opened my eyes, meeting Matthias’s gaze. Khanjar in hand, he launched back into the sky and began the incantation again.
You should have killed him when you had the chance.
I howled as my muscles spasmed and the spell’s stranglehold returned. My strength left me like tidal wave, and my legs shook, unable to hold me upright.
I had to escape.
I leapt into the air, trying to call the wind. Claws dug into my side as a demon caught me and slammed me down into the rubble.
“Kill him, Rhia.” I forced the words from my throat. I’d break my promise to Zara if it meant not being bound to her father.
Tears lined my eyes as the shouts and growls around me intensified. A wolf leapt over my body in a blur, aiming for Matthias. He must have missed because the vice on my body hadn’t lessened, and my magic felt all but depleted.
A translucent collar started forming around my neck as I tried to scramble to my knees, but a savage claw thrust me down. It was almost over.
Closing my eyes, I swore I felt a cool, ocean breeze caress my cheek. The smell of pine wafted through my nose. I was losing it. My mind was latching on to memories, like what happened right before you died. Supposedly.
I’d take it.
A fireball exploded beside me, and Matthias screamed. The spell broke.
I tried to get up but had no strength.
A large, winged shadow loomed above me, blocking the sun’s rays from warming my face.
Matthias?
I scuttled backwards, but two strong arms scooped me up, cradling me against a solid chest. Warmth cascaded through me, and the smell of pine and sandalwood lulled my nerves.
My gaze fixated on two brilliant green eyes. Damian. Worry and anger streaked across his face as he flew across the street.
Having been momentarily stunned by Damian’s angelic beauty and euphoric signature, I arched my neck around, searching the wreckage.
Where was Rhiannon? Where was Matthias?
My best friend was at the center of a scene of pure chaos. Rhiannon threw her bolas at a demon, then lunged at another, driving a blade into its leg. The shifters were all in wolf form, tearing off the limbs of several pinned demons and corralling others.
And Matthias. He climbed to his feet, eyes searching the ground.
“Stay here,” Damian rumbled, setting me on the ground beside the silver cruiser before he launched into the air.
The black feathers on his wings glinted in the sun, and I couldn’t help but be awed by his magnificence. And gods damned beauty.
My traitorous thoughts had returned.
I climbed to my feet and stumbled. I was utterly drained, like a wilted daisy, or a shriveled French fry. The bastard Matthias must have nearly finished the binding spell.
Fates, what would have happened if he had? Would I be powerless? It sure felt that way, but the other genies Matthias had bound—the marid, the djinn, and the efreet— still had their magic afterward.
I wiped my clammy palms on my jeans. There was so much I didn’t understand about being a genie.
I needed answers. Fast.
My life and freedom depended on it.
Damian
Bricks and mortar crunched as I landed behind Matthias.
He turned, dismissing Neve’s old khanjar into the ether as my fist slammed into his jaw. His head snapped to the side, and he stumbled before meeting my gaze.
“Meddling with my plans yet again, brother. When will you learn that we’re an even match?” He spat a mouthful of blood onto the rubble.
“With your two genies and demon army, I’d say we might come close to even. Why don’t you step away from your bodyguards and fight me like a man, you fucking coward?”
Matthias’s eyes darted over my shoulder, and he grinned. “You mean we could end this rivalry with a go in the ring? Why didn’t you say so sooner?”
Dismissing my wings, I surged forward, striking him in the chest with my fist. I grinned at the crack of his ribs. He stumbled back but managed to stay upright, clutching his side.
He drew his fists together and moved slowly, preparing to attack. Glancing over my shoulder again, he surged forward like a viper. A black blade flashed in one of his hands as I blocked the punch from the other. The cursed weapon sank into my torso and then twisted.
Bastard always played dirty.
Biting pain throbbed in my side, but I kneed Matthias in the groin and brought my elbow down with a crack into his back. His knees buckled and he slumped to my feet.
Grabbing the scruff of his neck, I pulled his head back so I could look at his face. His lips moved in a whisper, and every muscle in me spasmed. A spell or a curse.
“Two can play at this game,” I growled, unleashing a waterfall of flames down my arm. They enveloped Matthias’s neck, and he screamed and twisted, but my grip was iron.
The stink of scalded flesh burned my lungs. Reaching around, I grabbed the magicuffs in my pants and slammed one onto his wrist. “This ends today.”
Neve’s scream tore through my chest.
I whipped around, searching. Two demons had a hold of her arms, but she managed to kick the third in the face. She—
A burning pain stabbed me in the back.
Blood trickled down my side from the wound, and fury rocketed through me. The flames followed, shooting forth from my body like a raging fire.
Matthias howled in pain.
Neve’s eyes locked onto mine, and she gasped as one of the demons injected her with a needle. Her head slumped forward, and her legs slackened. They slid her in the back of the SUV.
I roared—a guttural rumble that ripped free of my chest.
“You’ll have to choose,” Matthias said between shrieks. “Me or her.”
The SUV’s engine revved.
“Fuck!” I slammed the other cuff around Matthias’s wrist, shoved him to the ground, and launched into the sky. My wings caught me and lifted me above a demon who raked his claws through the air, trying to latch onto my leg.
“Get her,” Rhiannon shouted from below. “I’m right behind you!”
She’d broken the neck of the demon who’d tackled her and was sprinting toward the street.
The black SUV’s tires screamed as it peeled away from the curve and raced down the street, weaving side to side. I raced through the air.
They’d drugged Neve and hijacked the shifters’ ride. Was this Matthias’s backup plan, or had he calculated this all along?
I growled and surged ahead of the SUV, landing in the middle of the street as the vehicle squealed around the corner. The demon behind the wheel gunned the engine, driving straight for me. Narrowing my eyes, I spotted Neve in the back seat with the outlines of a seatbelt secured across her chest.
Planting my feet on the pavement, I called forth my magic, feeling the flames, and ice, and darkness twining down my arms.
Fuckers chose the wrong angel to play chicken with.
Rhiannon leapt through a hedge and appeared on the sidewalk. She looked between me and the oncoming car and nodded. “Do it!”
What in the gods’ names was she planning to do?
Wind rushed into me as the car closed in. A second before impact, I stepped forward, releasing a font of energy into the hood. The grill dented in with a deafening crash, and the car lifted into the air above me, its back end rising.
I prepared another pulse of energy to envelope the car and slow its spin, but…everything slowed. The gods damned car had stopped mid spin and was floating upside down.
“Stop twiddling your thumbs, Malek! I can’t hold time forever.”
Holy shit. She’d done this trick in the djinn palace.
Lea
ping into the air, I grabbed hold of the rack on the roof and pulled myself up. Standing on the running board, I wrenched the door open, tearing it from its hinges. As it left my hand it started floating, falling downward in slow motion.
Neve was unconscious, slumped forward against her seatbelt, her breathing shallow.
“Hurry it up, man!” Rhiannon shouted.
I unclicked the seatbelt and caught Neve as she fell into my arms. Cradling her to my chest, I leapt out of the car backward, just as Rhiannon’s hold over time ended.
Unfurling my wings, I soared up as the SUV, no longer inhibited by Rhiannon’s time-stop, flipped through the air, and crashed into the street. Sparks flew across the pavement as the vehicle slid to a stop.
“Holy-mother-of-gods-yeah!” Rhiannon fist pumped the air.
I glanced down at Neve whose cheek was pressed against my shoulder. Heat coursed between us where our bodies touched, and a deep ache lodged in my chest. Her magic signature danced across my nerve endings, and my pulse quickened.
Get yourself under control, fool.
4
Neve
Wincing at the pain, I snuggled into the warm, pillowy goodness that smelled of lavender and herbs. Every muscle in my body ached like it had been stretched beyond its limit. But the sheets were silky and crisp. Freshly laundered.
Sighing, I let drowsiness and the smell of the ocean and sandalwood soothe my—
My eyelids shot open, and I gripped the comforter cocooning me. Holding my breath, I peered over the peaks of the white duvet until my eyes locked onto Damian’s forest green eyes.
He was seated on a chair at the far end of the room with a smirk stuck on his face. “I like the way you look in my bed.”
His bed? Panic flared, and I looked under the sheets.
Oh, thank fates, I wasn’t naked.
But why was I here? And oh my gods, I was in my underwear and an oversized T-shirt that definitely wasn’t mine.
I couldn’t remember anything. What had happened?
My cheeks burned and I sank under the covers before releasing my breath. Did we…?
I was going to curse the fates if we had, and I’d forgotten. Because the memory of Damian’s head between my thighs on the beach in Apollonia Parva was something I never wanted to forget.
Damian chuckled softly and cleared his throat. “Your virtue is safe. You’re wearing my shirt, but that was Rhiannon’s doing.”
The traitorous part of me sulked. Time to face the music.
I sat up gingerly and glared at him, my head a little cloudy. He’d changed since Matthias’s house. Blue jeans and a black shirt that hugged his chest in ways that should have been illegal.
The memory of Matthias made me wince, but Damian sitting on that chair with his legs spread and that sexy look on his face made my insides tingle in all the right ways.
One ticket for the Damian ride, please.
My gods, my mind must have pranced away on holiday, leaving my rather untrustworthy body in charge.
I rubbed my face, hoping to clear the vision of Damian that was seared into my neurons. I glanced around the room. “What happened?”
Nope, the vision was still there.
“Matthias attacked you, then his demons drugged and kidnapped you…or tried to.”
So that explained why everything felt fuzzy. I stole a glance at Damian. The smugness from earlier was replaced with concern. His eyes darkened and he stood, and just like that, the stone-cold angel had returned.
So much for that ride.
Man, those drugs were really doing a number on me.
I had to ask, though I dreaded the response. “Did we get Matthias?”
Damian scowled. “No. He got away.”
Despair sank into my soul. This would happen again and again and again. Until he caught me. Or we killed him.
Worry crept into my chest, and all my muscles tensed. “Where’s Rhia? Is she okay?”
“She insisted on picking up hot dogs and gelato.” Damian paused and frowned. “Why she would do that is beyond reason. But she refused to budge, so I sent her with my security detail. She’s safe.”
Relief poured through me, and I forced back a knowing smile. “Wait, you sent her with the shifters?”
“Yes. Why?”
I smiled, and my eyes watered from the strain. “Oh, she’ll be just fine, but they won’t.”
“Speak of the devil.” Damian glanced out the window. “I’ll check on my men.”
I laughed as Damian left the room, then I sank into the pillow-top goodness.
For the moment, I was safe.
Shit had been bad, and was bound to get worse, so I was going to savor these few minutes of happiness—drug induced or not. I pulled the duvet over my head and breathed in the clean-sheet perfume that was laced with hints of Damian.
I must have dozed because I jumped when Rhiannon barged through the door.
“Oh fates, sorry! Damian said you were awake.” Rhia clutched Sammy’s signature white-and-red takeout bag and a melting cup of lemon gelato. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m starving.” Wincing, I scooted upright and gave her my best grabby hands. “You are my savior, Rhia.”
I dug into the gelato first, and she plopped the bag of dogs onto my lap. “Oh my gods, this is so good,” I moaned.
Rhia grinned. “Other than your gelato-gasm, how else do you feel?”
“Drugged out of my mind, and like my body was run over by a truck.” Having shoveled the three scoops of gelato down my throat, I tilted my head back and poured the last dribbles of lemony goodness into my mouth.
“Well, that’s not far from what happened.”
“Wait, what?”
Her eyes rounded. “What do you remember?”
My mind was beginning to work again. Slightly. “I mean, I remember Matthias and Damian swooping in. But after that, it’s blank.”
“That’s a blessing. But damn—” She leaned close and glanced back at the open door. “Damian was badass. When the devils took you, he went nuts. He chased you down and flipped the freaking car with his bare hands.”
I blinked twice and sunk my teeth into my Chicago dog, another moan escaping my lips. “So that’s why I feel like roadkill.”
I didn’t quite understand what Rhiannon was describing, but man was this dog good. Rhia had asked for extra magic peppers, too. The bomb.
A knock on the door stole my attention away from my lunch.
Damian stood in the doorway with a stern expression. “Once you finish up, we should all talk. There’s an extra toothbrush in my bathroom and feel free to use the shower.”
I nodded, my mouth stuffed like a chipmunk.
Damian disappeared from the doorway, and Rhia rubbed a smudge of ketchup off my chin.
I blanched. “Crap. I’m a mess, aren’t I?”
Rhia grinned and took my measure. “You’d better climb into Damian’s shower. Scrub off all that filth.”
Damian’s shower? Heat flashed through me. “Wait a sec. When you say filth, are you talking literally or figuratively?”
She hopped up and unzipped a weekender bag that had mysteriously appeared at the foot of the bed. “Both. I picked up some of your clothes. Damian’s shirt looks good, but the way he keeps staring at you in it is making me uncomfortable.”
“You, uncomfortable? Unlikely.” I grinned as she handed me a neatly stacked pile of clothes. Black jeans, a cream sweater, and—a thong! “Seriously, Rhia? Couldn’t you have brought me a pair of granny panties?”
She chuckled. “Sorry, I grabbed the first pair I saw.”
“Why are you so okay with this?” I gestured around the room with a sweeping circle motion.
“With Damian you mean? Look, I know he’s a scary beast who may or may not want to eat your magic, but after seeing him in action today, I know two things for certain. One, he’s crazy about you. And two, he’s the only one here”—she did a replay of my sweeping circle gesture— “who can protect
you. So, I’m giving him a chance, but I’m also keeping my eye on him.”
“Uh huh, and the shifters, am I right?”
She strutted to the door and turned back with a wink. “Girl, you know me too well. Holler if you need me.”
I smiled and hobbled to the bathroom. Boy, was I stiff. I needed a stiff cocktail. Not to mention a stiff—
Holy heck.
I needed to purge these dirty thoughts from my mind, ASAP.
Unsurprisingly, the bathroom was big. A huge white soaking tub, which I could use right now, a ginormous walk-in shower lined with river pebbles, and…a double vanity?
Did Damian entertain regularly?
Brushing aside the irritation that simmered in my chest, I stripped and flipped on the hot water.
“Instant hot water?” I murmured. And a rain showerhead. The hot water in my old apartment flowed like a trickle, tended to sputter, and sometimes smelled like the lake.
The shower felt divine, but I made quick work of it. As much as slipping away from reality was amazing with a capital A, we had shit to do.
Like finding Matthias and figuring out what it meant to be a genie.
The drugs that Matthias’s demons had hit me with had clearly worn off, because by the time I stepped out of the shower, I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders.
Shit was grim.
I stared at myself in the mirror as I brushed my teeth with the spare toothbrush Damian had left me—on his side of the vanity judging from the other toothbrush beside it.
I’d take that as a win.
Five minutes later, I strolled into the living room fresh as a daisy.
My jaw dropped. Rhiannon was perched on the couch surrounded by four shifters. Correction. Four hot shifters, and they were totally digging her.
I rolled my eyes and caught Damian’s gaze in the process.
He approached me carefully. Maintaining a distance, his eyes roamed over my body, stoking a deep heat inside of me. “Feeling better?”
“Yes. Much.” The words lodged in my throat, but I forced them out, my voice sounding a little too high pitched.
Rhia materialized by my side and squeezed my shoulder. “You’re looking refreshed.”
Broken Skies: Dragon’s Gift: The Storm Book 4 Page 3
