Page 24 of Beg the Night (Mystics of Ashora #1)

TWENTY-FOUR

athena

S till crashing from the best orgasm of my life, I shot to my feet and followed Sinner off the bed. He was seemingly unfazed by the connection we’d just experienced. For now, I couldn’t worry about that. We had far bigger issues to focus on.

His power…his power had literally burst through the barrier that held us in this room. I watched in awe as bodies fell from trees around us, guards who had been hiding in the darkness plummeted to their deaths.

Sinner was using his magic. Each time he did, there was a slight pull on my chest, like an awareness of his every move.

I understood it so clearly now. I understood him so clearly. What I had seen in those few seconds of euphoria…

It was nothing but death. Destruction. Pain.

Maybe we really did belong to each other.

He sprinted through the woods at a ferocious speed, not bothering to make sure I was following him. He wouldn’t need to anymore. If he felt even a fraction of what I felt, he would never need to look for me again.

Considering the way he had practically consumed me with his own phantoms, he had absorbed much, much more of my magic than I had of his.

Shadows slashed out around us, shielding us from prying eyes like dark clouds covering the moonlight.

We were new. Stronger. Faster. Fearless.

I was not afraid as we stormed through the forest. I was not afraid for my safety or Sinner’s. There were mystics all over these woods, yes.

But they were no match for us.

The Ministry had underestimated us. They underestimated how powerful we would be after we claimed.

From here on out, I’d never be used as a pawn again.

I was a weapon now. My own weapon.

As the mansion came into view ahead, Sinner’s shadows brought every guard we encountered to their knees. I didn’t have to fight anyone, I wouldn’t have to. Sinner’s power flared out around us like an animal with a mind of its own. If I didn’t have so much adrenaline pulsing through my veins right now, I might have been shocked by it. Mesmerized, even.

But we didn’t have time for that. The farther we ran, the more violently my bare feet screamed in protest. The rough forest floor tore at my soles, but I pushed away the pain and channeled the determination coursing through me. The strength. Power.

We were saving Margaret and getting the hell out of here.

My lungs burned as I pumped my legs, pushing to catch up to Sinner.

When we reached the small clearing around the house, he screeched to a halt. I nearly plowed into him as my feet slid against the damp grass.

The dark clouds around us tightened, as if they could shield us from weapons that may be pointed in our direction.

In front of me, Sinner glared at the balcony on the second floor, where Director held Margaret in front of her chest, a dagger to her throat.

“You make one more move and she’s dead!” the bitch yelled. “One more move, and I’ll slit her throat!”

Sinner held his hands out in surrender but the shadows around us did not weaken.

I was starting to think he couldn’t have made them disappear if he tried.

“Let her go,” he shouted. “She belongs with us.”

“And you two belong to me .”

My heart thundered so violently, I worried it would explode. I was awash in wave after wave of Sinner’s hatred and anger and darkness.

I wanted nothing more than to slip all those sensations around Director’s throat and squeeze. Tight.

Sinner snapped his attention to me, eyes wide in shock. For a moment, all I could do was watch him, confused by his expression.

Only when movement in my periphery caught my attention did I realize what had caused the reaction. His shadows had crept over the railing of the balcony and were slipping around Director’s throat, hauling her backward, away from Mags, and squeezing until her face turned purple.

“Oh my god,” I whispered.

“Athena,” Sinner said slowly, clutching my forearm. “Whatever you’re doing right now, don’t stop.”

My heart lurched. My magic was doing this? My powers were controlling his phantoms this way?

Margaret stumbled forward, away from Director and the shadows. “Sinner!” she yelled. “Help me get down!”

He took off at full speed for the front door. She couldn’t jump from where she was. It was too risky. She would have to go inside and?—

A body slammed into me from my left, my guardian dark cloud shattering as I was rocked to the forest ground with a thud.

“Stop!” Katherine’s voice was shrill and desperate. “You don’t know what you’re doing!”

My concentration slipped, no doubt freeing Director. Shit. Shit. Shit. Run, Margaret. Run. I could only hope that Sinner would get there in time.

I rolled to my back, fighting for power over my sister. She had always been strong, but she’d only grown more so since becoming part of the Ministry. Her movements were sharp and fierce, but predictable.

She clawed at my bare arms and chest, but no physical pain would stop me. Not when so much was on the line here.

“Get off me!” I bucked my hips and shoved her off, then crawled on top of her and pinned her down with my body weight, pressing her hands into the grass so she couldn’t scratch me. “Why the hell did you do that?”

“You’re making a big mistake. You can never come back from this!” She thrashed under my grip but it was no use. She wasn’t going anywhere.

“Good!” I spat. “How can you stand this? I know we’ve never gotten along, but working for them? How could you do it so willingly? Have you been brainwashed? That’s the only freaking explanation for how you could possibly be complicit in what they’re doing! Do you not see how insane this is? They’re forcing people to mate so they can harness the power in war!”

An angry growl escaped her. “You have no idea what you’re talking about!”

“Don’t I?” Sinner’s magic tugged deep in my chest, signaling that he was wielding more shadows. Get her out alive, I pleaded. Get her out and run.

“You’re either with the Ministry, or you’re against them. And do you understand what happens to anyone—mystic or not—who is against the Ministry?”

Fury boiled in my veins. “I don’t care! There’s nothing you could say to me to make me agree that kidnapping innocent people and forcing them to live like this is okay! NOTHING!”

Her expression shifted—only for a moment—from a look of anger to a look of sadness. But I wasn’t going to fall for her tricks. Not again. Not when she had already deceived me on more than one occasion.

“You’ve been claimed now,” she whispered, tugging at my hold. “You need Director. You need the Ministry!”

I slapped her across the face. Hard. “I don’t need anyone. Certainly not you.”

She laughed as blood filled her mouth. “Is that what you thought about Mother and Father? Is that why you killed them?”

My ears rang as if I’d been struck as well, and my mind went numb. “I did not kill them.”

“No?” She laughed again. “It’s amusing how far you’re willing to go to deny it, even to yourself. You’re a monster, Athena. You’re a killer. And now that you’ve performed the ritual, your power will grow beyond your ability to control it. The only way to harness it is to be trained by the Ministry.”

Somewhere in the distance, Margaret screamed, dragging my attention from my sister long enough for her to jab me in my ribs and flip me over, this time pinning me.

“You won’t make it out alive,” she roared. “You need the Ministry!”

I tilted my chin up, peering back at that damn balcony. The scene was mostly obscured by shadows, but I caught a glimpse of Sinner’s toned body. He was still shirtless, his muscles rippling under the moonlight as he fought against three guards.

Margaret was fighting, too. She’d just landed an elbow to Director’s side when Katherine dug her knee into my chest, pulling my attention back.

“I’ll never help them,” I gasped, barely able to take a breath. “They’re monsters.”

“They are?” She tossed her head back and laughed, then glared pointedly at the balcony. “Look around you! Who’s the monster here?”

The man slinging shadows may have looked like a monster to some, but not to me. He was a quiet force, a saving grace?—

“Katherine.” A man stepped out of the woods to my right.

She immediately sat up straighter and loosened her grip on me.

He edged closer, his focus fixed on her. “Let her go.”

“What are you doing out here?” she asked.

As he came into focus, I recognized him. Benedict, her claimed.

Another scream echoed from the balcony, this time from Director.

“She won’t understand!” Katherine pleaded.

Benedict stepped closer, eyeing me for one second before returning his gaze to Katherine. “We’re leaving. Now.”

“Don’t.” She crawled off me completely, as if she’d forgotten that she saw me as a threat. What the hell was happening? “You know what will happen if you do.”

I pushed myself into a seated position, turning back to the mansion in time to see Sinner running out the front door, one hand clasped with Margaret’s.

My heart leapt. They made it. He had her.

An instant later, dread swamped me again. We were surrounded. Dozens of guards closed in on us. We didn’t have much time, not if we?—

“We’re leaving,” Benedict said again.

Katherine looked at me with wide eyes full of fear rather than anger.

I stood and took off toward Sinner and Margaret, leaving the lovebirds to deal with whatever mess they were working through.

“Margaret!” I screamed, throat raw. “Sinner!”

Somewhere in the shit show that was this life, I had started thinking of them as my family. And that was absolutely terrifying.

As I was pulling Margaret into my arms, Katherine and Benedict caught up. I spun, keeping my friend behind me, ready to fight, ready to kill them both if they got in our way.

But before I could throw a punch, Benedict raised his arms, and the five of us disappeared.