Page 151 of Fractured Fates

He sweeps his thumb along the line of my jaw and peers deep into my eyes. His are a mixture of colors, one eye more green, the other more brown. I stare up into his and I feel like I’m falling. That hook in my stomach is the only thing tethering me to the ground.

I watch as the pupils of his eyes blow wide, swallowing up the myriad colors.

I don’t want to die. I don’t want to die like this. But my body has nothing left to give. I remember the man in black, kneeling in the clearing, the gun poised to his temple. The way he’d closed his eyes ready for his death, accepting its arrival. I remember the way the knife had flown from my hand before I’d even realized what I was doing, before I’d had time to think.

All I knew was that I had to save him. That I couldn’t let him die.

There’ll be no one to save me. Once upon a time there was. But she’s gone now. She left me all alone.

I wonder if I’ll see her again. If she’ll be waiting for me.

I close my eyes like I saw the man in black do, I wait for the blow. I wait for my knife.

“This isn’t possible,” the man who is going to kill me says.

And then magic collides with my body.

42

Rhi

I gruntas I’m flung backwards, landing on my back.

My breath catches in my chest. For a moment I don’t breathe. Then oxygen rasps into my lungs, my heart beats in my chest. I’m still alive.

Magic thunders in the air above me, bright sparks of it crashing through the dark. I try to lift my head to see what the hell is going on, but the pain is too great and I cry out as my head falls back against the hard sidewalk.

“Rhi!” I blink open my eyes, staring up into the concerned face of Stone. He turns his head. “She’s here. Hurt but alive.”

Boots thunder on the ground. More magic crashes against buildings. Male voices yell above the noise but I can’t make out the words.

Stone ducks low, then lifts his hand to send a stream of fire roaring through the air, the heat of it vivid against my skin.

Then as quickly as it starts, it stops.

The street is suddenly silent.

“Azlan!” Stone yells, stumbling to his feet. “Azlan.” He holds up his hands, ready to attack.

“I’m here,” a voice thunders, and then the man in black steps forward, out of the choking smoke.

“Barone?”

“Gone.”

“Fuck.” Stone steps towards his friend, resting his palms on his shoulders. “Are you okay?”

The man in black shakes him off. “Fine. The girl?”

Stone looks down at me, contempt spreading over his face. “She’ll live.”

The man in black walks towards me, crouching down and hooking his arm under my shoulder, helping me to sit.

“Rhi,” he says softly. “Are you hurt?”

“I … I don’t know.”

His gaze flickers over my face, and down my body as if he’s searching for any signs of an injury.