Page 123 of First Offense

For now.

Even if Novak trusted her, I sure as hell didn’t.

I saw how all the inmates looked at Auric, and we were terribly outnumbered. We couldn’t afford any mistakes.

The hairs along the back of my neck stood on end as the wall of inmates started to move. All eyes were on Auric.

“If you’re going to do something, cousin, you’d better do it now,” Zian said as Sorin guarded the other side.

Novak grinned. “Is there a limit?”

Zian smiled. “No limit.”

“Brilliant,” Novak drawled, cracking his neck. “Let’s play.”

33

Novak

“Kill the Nora!”the one-handed Noir commanded as if this were his kingdom.

A misconception that needed to be remedied.

Auric just sighed, his blade ready in his hand. I hadn’t even seen him sheathe it, but I wasn’t surprised he’d grabbed it in the room. He rarely went anywhere without it.

A flood of inmates ran toward him, and I yawned. This wouldn’t last long. Auric knew how to dole out death and proceeded to show me how his skills had improved over the years.

He had always been a force to be reckoned with. But now? Yeah, he practically flew as he cut each offender down before they could so much as touch him. And yet, his feet never actually left the ground.

I nodded.Not bad.

Then another swarm of inmates joined the fray, their rage palpable and underlined with a savagery that called to my inner beast.

That’s my cue, I thought, grinning as I flared my wings and launched myself into the wall of bodies.

Let.

I twisted the neck of a Noir.

The.

I grabbed a knife from his belt.

Games.

And rammed it through the heart of another Noir.

Begin.

I reveled in the sensation of death, blurring through bodies as I used the edges of my wings to slice off their heads, my feathers sharpened into a razor’s edge when I entered this state. Even with their strange ash enhancements, they didn’t stand a chance against me.

This was my power—the reason others knew to bow before me.

Because I didn’t need a weapon. Iwasa weapon.

I resembled the God of Death and War. If such a being existed. I didn’t allow this side of myself to show often, but clearly, someone needed a reminder on why the Noir considered me a king.

Blood sprayed through the air, coating me with red as I glanced back to check on Layla. The female was growing on me, and we were nowhere near done. If ever, really. As I intended to keep her. And if anyone harmed her, I’d wear their entrails as a necklace.