Rori held her ground, his gaze, the hairsbreadth of space between them. Fingers tightened on his shirt, knuckles pressing hard into his smooth skin. His magic left her skin tingling, the whisper of his strength both frightening and utterly tempting. He was everything she dreamed of without understanding what she wanted most and everything she dreamed never to cross out of fear for her safety, sanity, and self-worth.
He was her biggest internal conflict. The one entity who could give her the universe or stamp her out of it.
A moment later, he provided an answer she least expected, but drowned in as he consumed her mouth with a kiss that struck straight through to her soul. His kiss was far from soft and gentle, claiming her mouth beneath each full sweep of his tongue, the unspoken prowess of seduction unraveling her by the second. The tension in her body, the front to keep him away, weakened. She leaned into him, softened in his strengthening hold, melting beneath his kiss. He tasted delectable, a potent mix of sweet and sultry and spice. His lips were far softer than she’d imagined, his kiss far more powerful and demanding than she had the will to resist.
She gave in to him against every screaming cell in her head. She gave in to the heat of his body, the steel of his muscles, the possession in each crush of his lips and plunder of his tongue. He did more than kiss her.
Heclaimedher.
His fingers loosened against her skull to spread upward into her hair. The softest moan fled her chest. She slipped her arms around his neck, the thick fall of his hair tangling in her fingers like cool silk. His flighty magic teased her skin, rushing across him, caressing her, entwining an unseen connection between them.
His kiss faltered, a brief hesitation.
Rori opened her eyes and began to lean back. He held her firm, keeping their lips together. His eyes opened a mere slit, but she caught the reflective blue cut to the corners of his eyes as if he sensed something behind him.
His lips curled. A pulse of power rippled along her blood.
Their mouths tore apart.
He wrapped an arm around her upper body, twisting them around as he swung his free arm up, his dagger—wait, what?—perpendicular to his forearm as he cut it with lightning speed across a man’s throat. She shrieked, wetness splattering across her face, the potent scent of metal and minerals stinging her nostrils.
She looked up in time to see Thaddeus twist the dagger in his hand with ease and stab the bloodied blade into the dying man’s chest. A plume of magic erupted from the man’s hands and mouth, but dissipated before it reached them.
The force of a car plowed into her from behind, stealing the air from her lungs. She flew through the air, arms and legs flailing wildly, pain spearing through her chest.
Iron cocooned her body as she plummeted to the ground. The hit wasn’t nearly as hard as she anticipated, but panic seized her as she stared up at the frightening vision hovering over her from where she lay on her back. A feral beast, his entire body covering hers, feet dug into the cement, fist beside her head, blade-wielding hand out at his side, prepared to attack. Thaddeus’s eyes sparked blue bolts of icy energythat rushed over his face, his chest, his hands. Every exposed area of skin thickened with evidence of building magic. Those fierce eyes cut down to her, her chest, her legs before his head snapped up. She tipped her head back. Her heart sank.
The dead man lay in a puddle of shimmering crimson laced with gold. Such strange coloring for blood. But the half-dozen new golden Faerymen who surrounded them sent her into a full-blown anxiety attack, their magic-wielding hands sporting different sizes of smoky purple orbs.
Six against one, because she held nothing against magical creatures. And that was if Thaddeus cared to step in on her behalf.
I’m going to die.
All at once, orbs rained down on them.
Rori curled up, covering her head with her arms as she screamed.
Grunts and scuffles erupted, and when she didn’t feel the strike of magical balls, she pulled her arms from her head. Jerked around, to her hands and knees, and froze.
Never in her life had she ever imagined she’d witness something so utterly fearsome and beautiful at the same time. Six huge Fae creatures rushing Thaddeus as he moved around her with ethereal grace and precision, warding off multiple attacks at once. His blade swung and cut, never missing a target, spilling blood with strategic moves. He pulled magic from the palm of his free hand, and it took her a few moments to realize never once did he strike with his ever-flowing power. No, he used it for barriers, shields, protecting her, defending himself, while striking true with his bloodied blade.
All the while, he fought with effortless ease, a Fae born to battle to victory.
A stream of shadowy purple shot toward him. He spun away, toward the offender, and stole the sword from his belt.
“Bloody—”
Thaddeus had his dagger hilt-deep in his chest before the Fae could finish, blood pouring from his mouth, eyes bulging.
Rori scurried to her feet, her legs threatening to buckle beneath the weight of her body and the fear that bubbled inside her until she could barely breathe. The ache in her chest didn’t help. Nor did a stabbing pain along her leg. She glanced down to see a gaping wound above her knee, blood streaming down her calf. Several abrasions bloodied both legs, but the burn came from that one wound.
A blast of air shot by her face, sending her hair awhirl. She spun around, saw no one behind her, and twisted back to Thaddeus. He had struck two more down, leaving three to go.
One vanished.
Reappeared at his back.
Rori lunged forward. “Thaddeus!”
