Chapter Seven
LUCIEN VIbrATED WITH PURE HATE.
I could feel him through the bond. Feel his seething, barely contained rage. Every muscle locked tight as he shielded me, but beneath his fury, he knew as well as I did how vulnerable we were.
The fire that usually burned so hotly in his blood was non-existent. He ran on nothing but anger, and if the men who’d come to trap us figured out he was even weaker than when he was imprisoned in Cinderkeep...
Dillon shot from the pavilion, gun drawn as he skidded to a halt and planted himself in front of me and Lucien. Gratitude filled me for my wonderful bodyguard, but it was quickly swallowed by terror.
“Dil, don’t.” I tried to reach him where I was pinned behind Lucien. “They’ll kill you.”
“And you think I’ll let them kill you instead?” He didn’t turn to look at me, keeping his gun trained on the leader on the wall. “Get back into the house, both of you. I’ll hold them off for as long as I can.”
Lucien sighed heavily. “You’re a right pain in my ass, you know that?” His tone was dark, but also held reluctant respect. Shoving Dillon aside, he pointed at the pavilion. “You get back inside. No matter what he threatens to do to me, he won’t fire. You on the other hand...”
“Aww, did you have to ruin it?” The leader cocked his head with a cruel tilt. “It’s rather touching to see how many people are willing to sacrifice themselves for you.”
Whisper crouched low at Lucien’s side, his tail lashing back and forth. With a roar, he swiped the air, his lips peeling back to reveal razor-sharp fangs.
A dart of horror from Lucien. Snatches of his internal voice echoed in my skull.
What if they shoot him—
Ice-cold panic drenched me at the thought of Whisper being killed.
Trembling, I closed my eyes and hunted for that crisp, wintery strength around my heart.
But...it fizzled out.
Melted and demolished without even the barest hint of a snowflake.
Sagging with despair, I couldn’t shed the heavy, aching weakness.
I hated it. Hated how useless I was that I couldn’t protect those I loved, even when they were all one bullet away from dying.
The leader huffed with irritation. “You’re right that I won’t kill you or your girlfriend, but...” His smirk widened as he looked past us to Auntie Mei and Uncle Wen by Lanlan’s body. “Lucky for me, I don’t need anyone else alive.”
He swung the pistol in a smooth arc and aimed straight at Uncle Wen.
“No!” Lucien bellowed, lunging forward—
The gun cracked.
Uncle Wen jerked as a bullet slammed into his thigh. A guttural grunt full of pain escaped him as he crumpled sideways, his cane clattering to the blood-covered pavers by Lanlan’s body.
Auntie Mei shrieked, throwing herself over her husband, her hands immediately pressing down on the wound as blood welled hot and fast between her fingers. “Wen! Oh no, no, no. Wen!”
Lucien went rigid. A low, animalistic growl tore from his throat, the bond flaring with fresh, blistering rage. I felt his helplessness like my own. He wanted to burn them all. To eviscerate them into ash.
But the fire still wouldn’t come.
The leader laughed again, cold and heartless.
“You owe me a thank you for not putting one in his skull. It was just a warning. For now.” He narrowed his eyes.
“You have one minute to accept that you can’t win this.
One minute to start walking toward the front gate, and I promise you—” He raised his hand in a three-finger salute.
“On my mother’s grave, I swear I won’t hurt another.
All of us will leave and life will continue as if we were never here. ”
Dillon shifted to Lucien’s side, his gun steady despite Auntie Mei’s sobs. “How about you leave, and I won’t kill you.”
The leader snickered, even as his men tensed and aimed a barrage of weapons at my bodyguard.
“You’re outnumbered thirty to one. Whatever little army you had is dead.
So don’t try to be a hero when we all know you’re only alive because I’m allowing it.
” Glancing at the bulky watch around his wrist, he swung his gun toward Auntie Mei as she tore off her cardigan and tried to use the sleeve as a tourniquet around Uncle Wen’s bleeding leg.
Her panic echoed around the courtyard, too focused on her husband to notice a gun was locked on her head.
“You’ll be fine, you old goat.” She smiled through her tears. “It went straight through the muscle. You’ll be okay. I’ve sewn up plenty of wounds in the village. I’ll get Fen to help. You’ll be okay. I’m sure you’ll be okay—”
“Wife.” Uncle Wen cupped Auntie Mei’s cheek, leaving bloody fingerprints. “Calm down. Don’t hurt your health fretting over me.”
“Don’t you tell me what to do! Just focus on staying alive, alright?”
“Fine, fine. Always so bossy—”
“Your time is almost up, Ashfall.” The leader narrowed his eyes, aiming at the bickering married couple, bouncing his gun from Uncle Wen to Auntie Mei. “Are you walking, or do you require some more encouragement?”
“Wait.” Lucien bared his teeth, his heart pounding against me where I stayed plastered against his back.
I picked up on his racing thoughts as he tried to figure out how to win this.
But each scenario ended with those we cared for dead.
Without the power that’d tormented us since we were born... we were useless.
And an even deeper fear filled me because...why?
Why couldn’t we tap into the ice and fire we’d earned after decades of pain?
Why had it decided to abandon us when we needed it the most?
Uncle Wen groaned as Auntie Mei grabbed a stick from beneath the gnarled tree and used it to tighten the knot in her cardigan. The tree was dead thanks to Dillon locking me in this courtyard and teaching me how emotions turned the ice into weapons of war.
Why couldn’t I do it now?
Why couldn’t I—
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
Lucien’s fury bled through the telepathic bond. His hand tightened around my wrist until it hurt—possessive and desperate and just as lost as me on how to fix this.
Lucien glowered at each man, following the wall into the distance where so many lurked, memorising all their faces. “I’ll make you all pay for this. Painfully.”
“That’s nice.” The leader raised his arm again, glancing at his watch. “Time’s up.”
My heart stopped as he fired.
The shot cracked like thunder.
My gaze shot to Auntie Mei in horror, but...it was Dillon who dropped to one knee. He barely made a sound as his right hand spasmed and dropped his gun, his left hand flying to the hole in his shoulder.
“Dil!” I tried to get free to go to him, but Lucien snatched me like a beast. “Dillon!”
Blood bloomed dark and fast across his jacket, droplets splashing against the ground. He clenched his jaw, breathing hard through his nose. Locking down his pain, he grabbed the gun he’d dropped and pointed it at the leader. “You’re a dead man.”
Two men on either side of the leader raised their weapons. Glowing red dots appeared on Dillon’s forehead as they aimed.
“WAIT!” Shoving Lucien off me, I tripped toward Dil and flung my arms wide, protecting him the only way I could.
“Rook!” Dillon tried to push me aside. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“Protecting you.”
“That’s my job! Stand down.”
Lucien roared and crashed into me, placing me behind him again, forming a wall in front of Dillon. “ALRIGHT!” Lucien roared with barely-leashed violence. “I’ll do what you say, alright? Just stop fucking shooting everyone!”
The leader inhaled as if everything was Lucien’s fault, but he did lower his weapon just a fraction. “I’m unsure if I believe you.”
The bond between us pulsed with hate. Every ounce of Lucien’s frustration slammed into me as he sank inside himself and hunted for his missing fire.
His fury burned hot enough to incinerate every last one of them. If he could tap into the same catastrophic power that he had on the mountain, they’d be pillars of ash—
He sagged as the flames failed to respond.
I rested my hand on his shoulder, sharing his grief.
It’s okay. I pushed the thought toward him. We’ll just go with them. As long as we’re away from those we care about, everything will be okay.
He stiffened. Do you honestly think they’ll stay true to their word? Can you trust them not to hurt everyone the moment we let them take us?
My heart ached with sorrow. No, but...what other choice do we have?
The leader clicked his tongue in impatience.
“Still not walking, Ashfall? Fine. More encouragement it is.” He swung the pistol in a lazy arc, aiming once more at Auntie Mei.
Her cardigan had soaked through with crimson as she fought to stop her husband’s bleeding.
Uncle Wen’s face had gone ghostly pale, grimacing in pain.
“No! Please.” My voice broke in horror.
Whisper let out a deep, guttural snarl that rattled the very wall beneath the invaders’ feet. Exploding forward, he raced toward the man threatening everything.
The leader smirked and pointed his gun straight at the attacking panther. “How about that. I’ve always wanted a nice rug.”
“WHISPER!” Lucien bellowed. “Don’t—!”