Laughter rang out, piercing even before it grew in volume.
The obsidian pendant around my neck burned so hot that I worried it would melt.
And then, I lost all control.
Grenade
QUINN
The kiss tasted like blood.
It was cold, colder than blood had any right to be, but the moment I tasted it, a warmth was ignited low in my throat and down into my chest, like swallowing a flame disguised as wine. I could taste the tang of copper, sharp and metallic on my tongue, but there was a deeper richness to it. Beneath the bite of iron was the sweetness that was only and uniquely Byrd. It was like the best birthday cake, the most sugary candy, and the smoothest honey. A part of me wanted to drink it by the gallon, but there was something about it that made it seem like it should be had in moderation and savored.
Suddenly, the unmistakable wetness struck me. Before I could pull back instinctively, confusion blooming in my scrunched eyebrows and frown, Byrd pushed away from me. Her hands clamped over her ears. As they did, I noticed the almost-beige coloring of her rough scars was being overtaken by bright, flaming red. They lit up the room like a warning beacon, flaring like the magic was alive and pulsating there all over again.
“Byrd?” My call to her came out as a cracked whisper.
Byrd let out a low, ragged growl. A single drop of blood fell from her nose onto my navy shirt as she jerked away fromme, striking and forming a dark bloom that spread through the cotton like a bad omen. Even more blood trickled.
“Byrd? Sweetness, what’s wrong? Talk to me! Come back to me,” I moved to try and comfort her.
She reared back and roared. The sound was so inhuman and loud that it tore through the room, shaking the windows in their panes. Our mating bond sparked and flared like it had been electrocuted. The pain stung and burned hot through my chest as if I had been stabbed by a hot needle full of snake venom straight into my veins. This pain… It reminded me of when Byrd was kidnapped.
I screamed.
Then, Byrd’s eyes snapped open.
My own blood ran cold.
My eyes widened.
They were blood red.
The dark crimson poured from her eyes like smoke, curling past her in tendrils. Byrd’s pupils were narrow slits in the sea of brown. The red filter over them made them seem far more feral and dangerous than before, when she was stuck in her partial dragon form. She breathed hard, letting out shallow and panicked breaths that made her chest rise and fall quickly. Her muscles were tight, body visibly trembling before me. There was something manic and wild about her.
As if someone had broken an enclosure and let the monster inside loose.
Without a word, Byrd shoved off the bed and sprinted from the room at a blurring speed.
“Byrd!” I called after her, and I was already moving when I did. Before she made it to the door, I was on my feet following her. I didn’t think. I didn’t reach for my daggers, still holstered around my calves. I didn’t think to grab my charging phone from the nightstand. I didn’t let my mind stray beyond Byrd and goingafter her. Barking once, Clarkson was quick to chase behind me, as if she was also worried about what was happening to Byrd.
Clarkson and I skidded to a stop just outside the hallway. We found her in the Great Room. She was hunched over, her arms wrapped around herself as if she were trying to hold herself together.Oh, I hate how familiar this movie is. Don’t let it end the same,I couldn’t help thinking, as I saw her trying not to break apart yet again. This time, instead of sobs, her breathing was a series of snarls and hisses. Her eyes darted around frantically, passing over us but not really seeing us. Sparks of her crystal magic popped and rained down around her body like shimmering fireworks. The power whipped at my skin. With the agony still radiating from our bond, her waves of magic hitting me so strongly nauseated me and drenched my palms in sweat.
“Sweetness, you’re okay. It’s okay,” I said to her, trying to keep my voice and tone even and steady. “Come back to me, baby. I don’t know what happened, but you’re safe. Please, talk to me?—”
I reached out for her. Byrd tensed and let out another roar at the movement. I clenched my teeth as it rattled my bones.
“What the fuck is going on?” Everett asked, rushing out of his bedroom with Teddy close behind. I heard more than saw them as I kept my eyes on Byrd. This situation was too fragile, my girl too unpredictable, the territory too uncharted for me to look away from her and spare them a passing glance.
“Oh, my gods, Byrd? What’s wrong, kiddo?” I saw out of the corner of my eye when Everett stepped toward his niece.
“No!” I snapped to warn him.
But it was too late.
Byrd’s blood-red eyes locked onto Everett immediately. There was no flicker of recognition, no emotion flared there at all.
Instead, Byrd roared again, even louder and more powerful than before.
