Page 159 of Rhapsodic
I am vengeance.
I amunleashed.
Karnon’s steps approach me.
He grabs those dark, bloody things behind me, stretching them up and out. I feel my muscles stretch as I extend my arms.
But my arms are right in front of me …
I catch another glimpse of those dark things. And then I understand.
Wings.
I grewwings.
Chapter 29
At the sightof them I heave again. This must be a bad dream.
Claws and scales and wings. I’m now more beast than woman.
“How do you like them?” Karnon asks, his words taunting.
I roll my forehead against the bloody, marble floor.
Can’t bear the sight.
Far behind me, someone pounds on the doors that lead in, the wood shuddering against the force of the strikes. If I had any more energy, I would’ve jumped at the noise.
Instead I just lay here.
The doors continue to bang. And bang.
Karnon drops my wings, and with a wet smack they flop to my sides. His footfalls retreat.
BOOM!
The metal doors blow open, wood splintering every which way. The massive double doors hit the throne room’s floor, their impact shaking the walls of the room.
I sense him before I hear his agonized bellow.
Des.
He found me. A weak thread of happiness pushes through my exhaustion.
Shadows curl around me like smoke. I stare tiredly at them.
“So your mate found you after all,” Karnon says. “Took him long enough.”
The air shifts, and a moment later Des is crouched at my side.
I feel his hand glide over the sensitive fleshof my wings.
“I’m so sorry, cherub,” he whispers, his voice breaking. “For everything. He will pay.”
I begin to shake.
“Tell me, how do you like your mate now?” Karnon says mockingly. “She’s improved, no?”
