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MARA

S ometimes, when the stakes of a situation rise so high that everything—literally everything —you do matters, the universe helps you and time slows to a painstaking crawl.

One might even say that time stops.

That’s what it felt like to me. When I realized that I would lose the love of my life…

My knight in blue jeans…

My white rose…

My wings …

Time just stopped.

But my heart kept beating— thump, thump…thump, thump…thump, thump…

The ever-growing smell of smoke filled my lungs, making me want to cough, but I suppressed it. I barely even noticed the flames that had crawled in through the doorway, licked up the walls, and were spreading like deadly mold across the ceiling .

Thump, thump…thump, thump…thump, thump…

Somewhere in my mind, I wondered where my mother was—if Wes got her out, or if she was still bleeding out someplace in these palace walls.

Thump, thump…thump, thump…thump, thump…

But the only thing that mattered was the straining of Belinda’s arms as she aimed the gun at Wes. The look on his face as his gaze drifted to mine—burning amber jewels of fiery passion igniting my own heart—reminding me that love is always worth fighting for.

Thump, thump…thump, thump…thump, thump…

Amor vincit omnia…love conquers all.

My leg cried out in pain. My hands squeezed my oozing flesh. My wrist brushed against Glory’s sheath.

Thump, thump…thump, thump…thump, thump…

I dragged my eyes away from Wes, looking down at the blood dribbling down my leg, blinking as I shifted my gaze to what waited patiently just above.

“When the time comes, Mara…fly.”

Thump, thump…thump, thump…thump, thump…

“Let her fly.”

And just like that, time snapped. My hand gripped Glory’s hilt, tossed her up into the air and took her pointed tip. I cocked my arm back, and then I let her fly.

Glory somersaulted—twirling, spinning, dancing—catching the light of the flames that threatened to consume us all, and then buried herself down to the hilt in a man’s chest. That wasn’t my intent.

I had wanted to take out Belinda, but my aim was never very good when it came to throwing knives. So I did what I did best…

I ran.

Despite the agonizing pain that threatened to crumble me, adrenaline was the only drug I needed. It pumped like liquid fire—burning my veins, consuming me from head to toe—as I threw myself into Belinda.

BANG!

A shot rang out, and all I could do was pray.

***

WES

The second that fucking dagger sank into the guard’s chest, his grip loosened, and I was unleashed. My head shot back hard, crushing the delicate cartilage that was the second guard’s nose, and he screamed out in pain.

BANG!

My heart stopped.

My blood froze.

Everything in me turned to stone.

Mara.

Desperate eyes searched, and relief crashed through me when I realized the rogue bullet hadn’t struck her.

Not this time. The gun clattered to the floor, sliding across the polished wood stained and smeared with blood.

Mara and Belinda fell to the floor, and just as I went to help her, the guard whose nose I broke punched me in the kidney.

“Son of a bitch,” I groaned out, arching my back at the throb of unrelenting pain.

WHAM!

He struck again, burying his fist in my gut, stealing my breath as I stumbled backward.

A scream.

Not just any scream, but Mara’s— my Mara— her scream. I spun, eyes searching to find her, and then the fucking guard was on me again. Air escaped my lungs as I took another hit .

Fuck me … And then I charged him.

***

MARA

The scream ripped out of me as Belinda dug her thumb into the bullet wound in my shoulder, and as much as I tried, I couldn’t withstand the pain.

I rolled off her, landing on my back as I cupped the wound, my vision going in and out as the agony threatened to steal my consciousness.

I panted again, barely hanging on, barely able to keep my vision steady.

Dizziness, lightheadedness—it made the nausea surge once again. And all I saw were flames.

Orange, yellow, red…

The roaring was loud and overwhelming, the entire office going up in a fire burning so hot, I felt like I was suffocating under the heat.

I heard Wes yell—a deep guttural roar that gave me the strength to push, to fight !

I rolled to my side, got on my hands and knees, and then shakily rose to my feet to look for Belinda.

Some part of me registered Wes cocking back his elbow and letting loose a punch so fierce, the guard who received it fell backward unconscious.

But when I spotted Belinda, I blanched as my brain registered what was happening.

She was crazed— desperate —blue eyes wild as she searched the ground, an inferno raging all around her.

And then her face lightened as she gave out a maniacal laugh, darting to grab the gun.

It had only four bullets left when I entered the room.

One took out my father. One tore through the flesh of my thigh.

One went rogue, burying itself in the walls of this fucking house.

That meant there was only one left, and I knew without a shadow of a doubt who she intended that bullet for .

I ran just as Belinda lifted the gun and took aim, barrel pointing at Wes, ignoring the flames that were consuming the walls behind her.

One swooping, elegant motion…

One deadly graceful dance…

I ran as he spun around to face her, eyes going wide as he registered she was about to kill him.

I ran, pain nothing more than an echoed memory in my body.

I ran, thinking to myself how much I loved him. How much I would sacrifice to never lose him.

I ran, praying to the heavens that I would make it in time, begging the universe to let me save him.

And I ran as I marveled about love. Because love is a beautiful thing—a force greater than all things. Because love gave me my wings.

Love made me fly .

I flew across that room, and I slammed right into my stepmother, hitting her straight on…just as she pulled the trigger.

One bullet left.

Just one.

Intended for Wes…

But meant for me.