I unlock another butterfly rune and take a deep breath.
Her eyes narrow.
I unleash a violent surge of energy, weaving fire into it, dark-red flames stretching like claws. The room glows hellish as I twist the power in my hands and hurl it at her. The explosion rips through the air, and for a moment, I think I’ve hit her — but the next second, she’s gone.
Too fast.
A shockwave slams into me, throwing me up into the air, and this time I’m knocked into the wall. Fire licks up my spine as pain flares, and I crumple to the floor. A low, feral snarl rumbles through the space and my heart twists.
Jayce.
I can hear the pure fury in that sound. He’s trapped on the other side of the barrier, and with every passing second, he’s getting angrier.
Velasara’s chuckle slithers through the air. She moves like a shadow, appearing above me in an instant, claws bared. My power surges instinctively, raw and chaotic.
The barrier erupts around me, thick and wild, throwing her backwards. The entire room trembles with its force.
She lands in a crouch, licking a drop of blood from her lip, her eyes gleaming with something terrifying.
“So it was you…” she murmurs, amusement curling in hervoice. “The one who weakened the barriers. The reason we got in.”
I stiffen.
What?
She’s about to speak when she tilts her head, listening to something I can’t hear. Then she tsks. “Until next time, Mordana. I do hope you survive long enough for me to end you myself.”
Then she vanishes into the shadows.
The moment she’s gone, and I know she is, as I can no longer sense her aura, what is left of my protection spell shatters. Exhaustion slams into me like a tidal wave. My limbs won’t move. Every muscle screams. I roll onto my side, just struggling to breathe.
“Sienna!”
Jayce’s voice is raw with something I can’t name, and then he’s there, dropping to one knee, lifting me as if I weigh nothing. My head spins as he cradles me against his chest. I barely register when he places me on a desk, his hands brushing my thighs, gliding over my skin, examining every wound.
The moment they caress the cut on my inner thigh, a shudder rips through me, and it’s not from pain.
His touch is a fire of desire, his presence overwhelming. He’s close, too close. His hands linger, sliding up my legs, tracing every bruise, every cut, every mark Velasara left on me. His jaw is tight and his breaths uneven.
“Damn it, Sienna,” he growls. His fingers press into the smooth skin of my thigh, firm and possessive. “That was the most reckless thing I’ve ever fucking seen.”
I look up at him, but I feel so tired. Just keeping her away drained me, and knowing she could have killed me if she so wanted.
The heat between us is suffocating, but his hands don’t leave me, one hand wrapped firmly around my waist, the other still on my thigh.
I swallow hard, my voice hoarse when I speak. “Did you hear what she said? I was the reason they got in-”
His grip tightens as he cuts in. “Don’t,” he warns, his voice dangerously low. “Not now.”
His gorgeous green eyes burn into mine, dark and intense. I can feel his rage, his worry, his anger and his relief.
His thumb brushes against the cut on my inner thigh again, and this time it makes my core clench with a hunger so intense I swear my heart stops.
“Jayce…” My throat is so dry.
“I got you.”
“Jayce, I...” What do I even want to say?
