Chapter Thirty-Six #2
Daena jerked back as if I’d slapped her and narrowed her eyes.
She snapped her perfectly manicured fingers, causing her magic to lash out.
Cuts littered my body in the wake of her abilities.
My skin split open across my arms, shoulders, and thighs — shallow at first, enough to sting and leave thin ribbons of blood trailing down me.
I bit the inside of my cheek, hard enough to taste the copper tang of blood, refusing to cry out.
Her friends’ laughter rang out like a chorus of cackling hyenas.
“You should beg,” Daena cooed. “It’ll make it sweeter when we tear you apart.”
I forced myself to meet her eyes and spat out the blood pooling in my mouth. “I’d rather choke on my tongue,” I hissed.
The fae gripping the wind spell that held me tight snarled and twisted her hand. Agony speared through my chest as my lungs compressed violently; I wheezed and buckled against the invisible hold. I slammed to my knees on the hard cobblestone as the magic released me.
Daena crouched in front of me, her fingers reaching out to take my jaw in an iron grip.
She tipped her head as she held me in place, studying me like a bug caught in her net.
“Let me tell you a secret,” she whispered, leaning closer as her grip tightened.
“We’re going to make sure every one of those males you covet so much sees you broken.
When we’re finished, you’ll be nothing but a pathetic smear they’ll turn away from in disgust. It won’t matter what spells you cast to try and snare them — they will have seen you for what you truly are: a weak, pathetic little creature.
Someone that no male could ever want standing by his side. ”
She released my chin with a sharp jerk and stood, nodding to her friends.
The air whipped around me once more, yanking me to my feet as it squeezed me so tightly my body felt like it was about to pop.
My vision grew dim around the edges, hazy as magic lashed at my skin.
I lost track of the sensations causing my pain, left with only the knowledge that my body was being battered and broken.
It overwhelmed my senses until I sank into a numb place in the recesses of my mind.
A sound like shattering glass rent the air, dragging the world around me back into focus.
The barrier’s shimmer shifted, pressing outward.
All at once, the magic holding me snapped away, and I collapsed onto the cobblestones, gasping raggedly as blood dripped from my body.
A low growl rolled through the path, dark and dangerous, raising goosebumps on my arms and forcing me to lift my head.
A figure stepped through the shattered barrier, eyes burning with rage.
Gabriel looked like a dark angel of vengeance as he strode toward me. Every cruel taunting word he’d thrown at me seemed forgotten. He didn’t look smug, or amused, or conflicted. He looked furious. I trembled under the weight of his glare, but it wasn’t aimed at me — it was aimed at them.
“What is the meaning of this?” he hissed, baring his fangs at the females gathered around me.
Daena stepped forward, a placating smile plastered to her face. “We’re merely showing the dud her place.”
Gabriel moved too fast for my eyes to track. One instant, he was yards away; the next, he was standing in front of me, his hand wrapped tightly around Daena’s throat.
“Touch her again, and you’ll beg me to end you quickly,” he snarled, his voice low, guttural, laced with threat.
“You can't,” Maera cried, her voice trembling. “She’s Vallynn’s betrothed. If any harm comes to Daena—”
Gabriel turned his attention to her, his eyes blazing. “And yet the prince doesn’t seem to care much for his betrothed. In fact, I’m almost certain he would thank me for ridding him of any responsibility toward this harpy.”
Gabriel squeezed Daena’s throat, causing her breath to come out as a wheeze.
Her eyes bulged, and I could practically taste the fear rolling off her in waves.
I shifted without conscious thought, wanting a better view for the moment he snuffed her out.
The movement caused a pained whimper to tear from my lips, and Gabriel’s head snapped in my direction.
His eyes narrowed as he took me in — bloodied, battered, broken — and then he tossed Daena aside with a carelessness that spoke to his anger.
“Leave,” he snarled as he stalked toward me. “All of you before I change my fucking mind.”
The females scattered, carrying Daena with them as they raced away.
The echo of their hurried footsteps faded, leaving me alone with Gabriel.
Fear licked up my spine as I studied him, his body taut with unspent rage.
The most primal part of me understood I was in the presence of a predator, and even though I could feel my magic once more, I knew from past encounters that I was outmatched.
“Fuck,” Gabriel breathed, squatting to my level. I shrank back on instinct, pressing my lips together to contain the whimper that threatened to escape. His eyes softened, worry creasing his brow. “I’m not going to hurt you.”
I flinched as he reached for me. Gabriel went still, horror flashing in his eyes.
The sight of his horrified expression caused a twinge in my chest, and my body swayed toward him.
My body collapsed under the weight of the movement, but before my face could hit the stones, he’d swept me into his arms. He stood carefully and let his eyes take in my tattered uniform and blood-soaked skin.
“I should have killed them,” he muttered, drawing a whimper from my throat. “Fuck, you need a healer, but if I take you to the infirmary, those worthless females will get exactly what they want.”
I shifted in his hold, letting out a pained groan.
Darkness was encroaching on my vision, and my body ached too badly to care that I was now at the mercy of a male who’d made it his mission to hurt me.
I gave in to the strange pull, too tired and injured to fight it, and let my body go lax against him.
Gabriel’s gaze moved to my face, and I barely made out the determined expression he wore.
“I’m going to fix this, Bechora,” he murmured. “As long as you’ll let me.”
I didn’t bother responding. There wasn’t anything I could say.
As if my silence were all he needed, Gabriel put on a burst of vampiric speed and carried me across campus to Daemonium House.
For a moment, I thought he was taking me to Zypher, but then he carried me into a room I wasn’t familiar with.
Gabriel’s scent filled my nose as I lifted my head and looked around.
It became obvious by the disarray that he’d taken me to his room.
Unlike the room I shared with Shadrie, his held a lone bed, a desk, and a small living area with a loveseat all in the same space.
It was almost like what I’d imagined a human college dorm would look like.
Gabriel muttered to himself as he carried me toward his bed and gently placed me on it.
I whimpered, not sure if it was from the pain or the sudden absence of his arms.
“You have to take my blood, Bechora,” Gabriel said, stepping back from the bed.
“It’s the only way to heal you without taking you to the infirmary.
Selir knows if I take you there, Daena will find a way to get word around the school about what she and her little band of deviants did to you.
” He paced at the foot of the bed, one hand raking through the curls at the top of his head.
“She’ll have someone from the infirmary confirm that you were treated, and it will only lend credence to her words.
More will try to hurt you if I let that happen.
I can’t let that happen, do you understand? ”
He froze, turning toward me with his face twisted in agony. I could only nod as that strange pull tightened its grip on me.
“This will change everything,” he whispered.
“I need you to understand that. My… my brother found something that told him as much and he passed the information on to me.” My eyes stayed pinned on the vampire as he continued to ramble.
“If you take my blood, our bond will be complete. That’s what he said.
But it’s the only option, and Selir, I’m so tired of fighting this.
You haunt my every moment, making me ache for you.
Every bit of coldness I’ve thrown at you has only served to rip me apart.
I shouldn’t want this, shouldn’t give in, not when I know what my father will do when he finds out, but Gods! I can’t deny you anymore. Not after…”
Something came over me as Gabriel laid himself bare.
Maybe it was that strange pull that drew me to him, whether I wanted it or not, maybe it was the desperation in his tone.
Or maybe it was sheer insanity. Whatever it was didn’t matter as his words struck a chord deep within me.
I forced myself upright, my body trembling from the pain as I reached my hands out for the male who’d wasted so much time shifting between hot and cold toward me.
“Heal me, Gabriel.” The words were thick with pain as I spoke. “Whatever comes next, we will figure it out. Together.”