Chapter 7 #3
I jerk forward with my full strength, but Isra’s just too fucking strong. Jace turns his back on us and makes for the door. The growl of a dragon outside sends my blood boiling.
“If you intend to kill me, do it yourself King Ashborne,” I hiss. He stops mid step, the muscles in his back rippling. “Just like your father, commanding someone else to take the blood that falls on your fucking hands.”
The temperature plummets, and the earth trembles. Jace rolls his shoulders as he turns to face us, his midnight eyes darker than the deepest of cosmic voids.
“Oh, this’ll be good.” Isra scoffs. His hands loosen around me, and that terrifies me all the more.
“If that’s what you wish,” Jace says. The shockwave hits me without time to react. One moment I’m standing tall with defiance tight in my chest, next, my knees crack against stone.
Fear itself tethers me to the floor, holding me captive with no chance of escape. Jace prowls toward me with a deadly glint in his eyes. His lips mold into a snarl as he kneels beside me, draping a hand over his thigh.
“Final words before you meet Morvayne?” he asks.
“Fuck you,” I spit. My head whirls. There’s so much to say, yet I’m at a loss for where to start. My life has been a violent one. A ruthless one. It’s left me prepared even for these uncomfortable flirtations with death. My thumb traces the knife tucked in my boot.
“Isra, go make sure Tenebris hasn’t eaten anyone yet,” Jace says, his eyes never leaving mine.
Their starry swirls of steel hold me captive until my thoughts go silent.
Everything outside of his devastating gaze fades.
There’s no room for anything besides of Jace fucking Ashborne and the dark haze swarming me.
Isra mutters a response, but I’m not listening. He’s worlds away now. Are we still in this barn, on this continent? Or have we gone to the cosmos?
“Intelligent enough to find your way over the border. Skilled enough to get your blade in Isra. Brave enough to coat your lips with my name. What an intriguing little creature you are, starling,” he whispers. It’s a rough, primal sound that prickles my skin.
Have I forgotten this man is about to execute me? I suck in a breath, stifling the scent of being a hair's width away from the King of Shadow himself…again. My fingers curl around the hilt.
He pulls his blade from its sheath and raises it toward me. The steel edge tips my chin, leaving the soft flesh of my neck vulnerable and exposed. Every nerve in my body sparks like metal against granite.
“Drop the knife, starling, you’ve met your match,” he says.
My breath catches. H-how did he know?
Jace raises a brow. “You’ve never faced an opponent like me. So, drop the knife.”
“And you’ve never faced an opponent like me,” I spit, using his words against him.
His lip twitches, like he’s enjoying our vicious game. Rage fumes right to my ears as Jace leans into my space and brushes his nose to mine.
“There’s only one faction marked with violet eyes, and we both know it isn’t Smoke,” he whispers.
Every instinct begs me to look away, to adhere my gaze to the floor, but I don't. I look this death in the face. I will not cower. Not today and not for the King of Shadow.
“You’re as horrible as they say, Jace Ashborne.” His name on my tongue is the sharpest of blades, like steel fresh from its whetstone.
“Say my name like that again, and I’ll take my time with you.” He lets out a low breathless laugh that sounds like my execution.
Before he can continue, shouts erupt outside, and the night glows amber with torchlight.
Jace breaks our locked eyes, and I don’t waste the opportunity. My knife slides like butter across his throat—not deep enough to kill, but desperate enough to hurt.
I leap to my feet and fucking fly. Faster than I’ve ever gone in my life. The rush of air on my heated cheeks pushes me further as I barrel toward the exit, leaving the King of Shadow in the stale, mildewed dust.
Unfortunately for me, he’s the least of my problems. I’m empty handed, exhausted from combat, and met by a leviathan beast when I scramble through the barn’s exit.
An obsidian dragon with massive outstretched wings, and teeth three times my height, looms over me.
It cocks its head before rumbling low in its throat.
Astora help me. A Blightfang? No, not possible.
They rarely make their presence known, especially to humans.
But those goddamn jaws are very real when they snap in my direction.
My body shakes, and I nearly miss the line of torches following the wooded trail toward us. The shock of primal terror steals my breath right along with the sliver of escape I’d managed.
“Jace! We’ve got to go!” Isra booms from behind the dragon. My vision blurs and I fall to my knees, locking eyes with it. My body refuses to move, to even function. I may have even pissed myself, I can’t tell anymore. I feel nothing but horror. Nothing but all-encompassing fear.
Hands grip my waist and I’m tossed over a broad, sharp shoulder. Everything blurs until there’s nothing but darkness.