It was then that I thought of how I’d opened a hole in Warrick’s lab using magic.If I create a hole in the floor, there must be a cavern below us, right?Another cavern meant possibly more weapons or at least, an escape from the fire and the outliers.It was worth a shot.
Squeezing my eyes shut, I focused on finding that spark of energy inside myself. It was easier to find this time, probably because I had used the magic not too long ago, and I unearthed it from where it was hidden deep inside me. Wasting no time, I let my desperation and anger fuel the spark into a raging inferno, and my eyes popped open as power rushed through me, burning in my veins.
Whoa.I didn’t have time to be shocked that I had been able to summon the magic again. The first outlier attacked, jumping at Locke with its jaws outstretched, and Locke’s muscles bunched as he maneuvered his body, slicing the beast in two. Instantly, the blade caught fire, and Locke dropped the weapon to the ground.
The other four outliers neared us, and I squatted to the floor, placing my palms on the cool marble stone of the ballroom. The red fire burned around us, and sweat slid down my face into my eyes, blurring my vision. Goddess, it was so hot.
The clicking of the outliers sounded in my ears, and I focused on releasing the power inside me.Come on, turn to sand.
When nothing happened, I cracked open an eye. Power still pulsed from me, but the floor was still intact. I cursed under my breath when a deep groan came from deep in the mountain. The floor shuddered beneath our feet, and the walls trembled around us.
“What are you doing?” Locke barked.
I pulled my hands away from the floor, but energy still zapped from me. “Nothing. I’m not doing anything,” I said, standing again.
Darian cocked his head. “I can hear water! It’s about to get bumpy!”
Water?Before I could try and understand what was happening, clicking sounded to my left.
“Raine!” Locke shouted as an outlier lunged at me, snapping its teeth at my torso.
In a blur, Locke reached out, pulling me with brutal force into his muscly arms. I cried out as black wings stretched above our heads, and Locke lifted me into the air. My first thought was of Warrick and whether the vampire would punish Locke for saving me, but as the ballroom cracked and groaned around us, all I could think about was Darian and Asher below us and the power still pulsing from my fingertips.
The walls shuddered again, and a deafening roar sounded as glowing blue water crashed through the double doors of the ballroom and gushed through the high-arched windows.
The red fire hissed as the water flooded the ballroom, and steam filled the air, the warm mist brushing over my face. Monsters cried out, and panic went through me as I imagined them being swept up in the torrent, but Locke held me tight. I couldn’t see what was happening.
“You’re using too much magic!” Locke yelled in my face, but I couldn’t stop.
The air squeezed from my lungs as the energy drained from me, and all I could do was focus on the fear in his onyx eyes and the drops of water spraying on my feet. Then the world went black.
CHAPTER 29
~ Raine ~
Myeyesflutteredopen,and I awoke to find Kade’s stubbled chin above me. Closing my eyes, I groaned as memories came back to me in flashes. I remembered the sensation of my magic flowing out of me, the rush of the water as it had spilled through the high windows, and the screams of monsters from below us in the ballroom. I remembered…
“The outliers!” I gasped, my eyes snapping open again as I jolted upright.
“You’re all right,” Kade said calmly as he wrapped an arm around my belly and tried to force me to relax against him again. “You were out for a day, but you’re going to be fine. We’re at one of our houses in the city.”
I tried to resist him, but I stopped squirming when I took in my surroundings.One of their houses?Kade and I were on a large four-poster bed that had an absurd number of downy pillows and satin sheets that were pleasantly cool. Beautiful paintings of what I guessed was scenery from around Katakin decorated the walls, and to the right sat a long wood-carved wardrobe and full-length mirror. To the left, a small table held a jug of pink liquid and various alcoholic bottles.
Locke stood in front of the large window not far from the table. The curtains were pulled back, and the moonlight cast his shadow across the floor. The vampire was facing me rather than peering outside, and it was hard to make out his face.
“Are— Are we dead?” I croaked.
Locke’s chuckle was low and devoid of genuine humor. “You saved us,” he said quietly, and I didn’t miss the strange softness of his voice.
“You gave us a scare, but no, we’re not dead, Mahare,” Kade said as he nuzzled the side of my neck.
I breathed in deeply, taking in his scents of sandalwood and coffee. The faint scent of smoke also lingered on his skin, and I frowned. Had he made it to the ballroom?
Kade brushed my hair away from my eyes, and I swallowed. There was a dull ache throbbing throughout my whole body, but nothing too painful.You saved us.Locke’s words repeated in my ears, and I struggled to believe them.
“Asher and Darian,” I said, my voice tight. “Did they—?” Darian, I hoped, was alive, but I knew Asher was too much to hope for. The fire had consumed him. There was no way he could have lived, but still, I had to ask. My heart pounded faster, and my breath caught in my throat as I waited for one of them to answer me.
Before either Kade or Locke could speak, the door to the room opened, and Darian entered the room, carrying a stack of plates and cutlery, followed by a grinning Asher, who held a large silver tray laden with food. He was wearing a clean shirt and trousers, the kind he usually wore when he was relaxing in the rooms, and he was completely healed, from his violet horns to his forked tail.
