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“What?”

I clench my jaw and stare straight ahead. “They’re trying to get the bad guys to follow them so we can get to the portal.”

“What portal?”

“One that will take us topside.”

“What if I don’t want to go topside with you?”

Stopping dead in my tracks, I let her go and stare down at her. “I don’t want to go with you, either, but we don’t have much of a choice right now. You won’t find it on your own, and I don’t want Azrael hunting me down when I leave your dead body behind.”

Zia scowls and crosses her arms against her chest. “I’m not going to die.”

“That’s not the fucking point, Azizia.”

“Well, I’m not going into that portal with you while you’re acting like a jerk.”

She tilts her chin in the most stubborn way.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I check to see if anyone is heading our way yet, then scrub a hand down my face. “Fine, I will stop acting like a jerk and keep my mouth shut if you’ll come with me to find the portal.”

“Why would I want to go anywhere with a jerk who keeps secrets from me?”

“What?” This female is insane.

Zia nods then marches past me. “You didn’t tell me you had wings, Felix. And that’s hurtful.”

“Oh this is fucking grand.”

“You didn’t tell me about that, or how huge you really are. I don’t even know you right now.”

“Jesus fucking Christ,” I groan as I turn to follow her. “None of that fucking matters, Zia. You betrayed me. You toyed with me for several days just so you could get me to Hell to give me to Davina. That’s like the pot calling the kettle black to the nth power.”

“I didn’t do any of that!” She whirls toward me, arms flailing in anger.

“I was there, Zia! You did all of that!”

“No!” she shouts then she’s charging toward me and I, once again, have to remind myself I don’t want her and we’re fighting, because her expression right now, I’d love nothing more than to fuck it off her face.

Except, Azizia flies past me and before I can turn, I hear a sickening thump followed by a crunch and now we’re both covered in blood.

“Did you have to make such a mess?” I try wiping the blood from my chest but end up smearing them in.

“No thank you for saving me, Zia?” she asks sarcastically as she shoves the sword deeper into the vampire's skull before twisting it free. “He was coming right at you.”

He isn’t the only one.

About seven more guards come out of nowhere, heading right for us at full speed and no matter how pissed I am, Zia and I make a good team.

We watch each other’s backs, working together to quickly and efficiently destroy everyone who comes at us. It’s poetic really, seamless and fluid.

If she hadn’t destroyed my heart the same way, this would be the exact moment I’d ask her to stay with me once we came out on the other side of the portal.

But she did, so I won’t. Because no way am I making that mistake a third time.

“Felix,” Azizia pants. “Are you listening to me?”

“No.” Because I wasn’t. “We need to go before more of these assholes come.”