Another burst of telekinetic power comes at me. I swerve low, then keep going, intent only on somehow taking Boris down.
The air around me thins, and my pulse skitters. It’s as if all the oxygen in the space has been sucked out. Then there’s a howl from the side. There’s so much pain in it, so much anger, I can’t stop myself from turning to glance at him. Just as I can’t stop the cry that tears out of me. The net of telekinetic energy covers him. It almost looks like he’s covered in twinkling lights. Lethal lights that bite into his skin. Blood drips from the punctures on his skin. Still, he stands tall and keeps moving. He races toward Boris.
Dante grabs the net of telekinetic energy with his bare hands. The scent of burning skin seeps into the air. My stomach lurches. Bile rushes up my throat.
I want to move toward him but find my feet seem to be stuck to the ground. There’s movement from the other side. I turn to find Boris closing on me. He forms a ball of energy between his palms. His eyes gleam.
The skin across his cheeks is stretched tight. “You are both going to die. The people want to see death, they’ll get it. And fireworks, the entire package. The kind of death they’ll keep talking about for years to come. Both of you are going to find your way into the history books.” My heart begins to pound. Yet I hold Boris’ gaze. Now is the time to keep him occupied. Keep his attention away from Dante.
I grit my teeth. “What kind of a commander are you? You don’t protect your own people. You are conveniently using us as a scapegoat, a way to provide entertainment.”
I keep the words coming, only half aware of what I am saying.
It’s more important to keep Boris’ attention on me.
Keep the audience looking at me. I raise my arms at the audience. “Fae of Singapore. Is this the kind of leader you want for your Fae Corps? A man who will not hesitate to make a spectacle out of punishing his own?”
The crowd quietens.
“A man who will throw an innocent to death, and all for what? Just to have the spotlight on him squarely? Just to make sure you remember him? What say you, Fae? Are you as fallen as the world seems to think you are?”
My voice resounds around the space. Apparently, the acoustics are good enough for that. I blink. I hadn’t thought they’d listen to me, but my words have an audience.
A murmur rises from the throngs. “He deserves to die.”
“Boris isn’t fit to lead the Fae Corps, is he?” I roar at the crowd.
“Kill him,” the reply echoes back.
“Death.”
My skin crawls. Either way, these people want one thing. They want to see us die. They want violence. The need to hurt, to feel the throes of people fighting to the death. The stench of viciousness from them slams into me.
There’s a movement to my right. Dante walks up to stand behind me. “You heard the audience.” His voice is harsh and filled with loathing. I’ve never heard him sound like this. Like a man who’s made up his mind. A man who knows there’s no turning back.
“Now.” At his command, I drop to the ground.
A scream fills the air.
A growl of pain is torn for him, then he rips off the net of telekinetic energy and flings it at Boris.
At the same time, the commander holds up the ball of burning energy between his palms. It glows hot and hideous, a killer weapon. It lights his face. Shows the tapered edge of his ears.
Then he hurls it at Dante.
There’s a low cry from behind me.
“No.” Everything around me seems to fade away.
I turn to find the ball of energy slam into Dante’s chest. He staggers back. His gaze turns to me. He opens his mouth, and blood spills out. His body shakes, then slowly, he topples over.
Pain hurtles down the mating bond. It slams into me and my breath catches. The blood drains from my face. I stumble and almost fall; then righting myself I race forward.
Around me I sense the audience springing up. They begin to run for the exit. The entire ground seems to shake.
Another ball of fire hurtles toward me, and I duck.
The energy hit goes wide, crashing into the ground beyond us. All the lessons learned at the Bureau thankfully seem to be etched into my reflexes.
“If something were to happen to you, I’ll never forgive myself.” He looks at me.
I see his lips move. I shouldn’t hear him above the screams of the crowd, but I do. There’s a buzzing in my ears. I shake my head.
The hum surrounding me deepens.
“Me neither.” I bare my lips. Tremors grip my body. All my cells seem to be flooding with energy. Something deep inside me snaps. It’s as if a wall breaks. A white-hot buzz floods me. It spikes my blood, spurts out of my skin and propels me in his direction.
I seem to leap the rest of the distance between us. At the same time, there is a pounding at my temples; tendrils of energy spark at my nerve endings and contracts my veins. The tips of my ears tingle, and pain ripples down the sides of my face.
What is happening to me?
There is a feeling of letting go, like my body is no longer weighing me down, I feel like I am flying.
My head spins.
My muscles ripple.
My gums crumple and my canines drop, the sharp edge biting into the inside of my lower lip. The taste of copper fills my mouth.
Then, the energy rears up from me and slams into the mating bond that connects us. The silver essence laced with blue floods the bond and races to him. Only him. His big body stiffens, then his shoulders pull back. His chest planes go solid and he draws in a big gulp of air.
The energy pours into him; it seems to find exactly the parts of him that need it the most. The blood on his skin glows silver and blue, then his flesh begins to knit together.
He pushes down with his arms and springs to his feet.
The mating bond that links us sparkles silver and blue. He pulls on the energy, yanks it all into his center.
He holds up his hands, palms facing each other. Between them is a ball of fire. Blue and turquoise and flecked with silver, it’s our combined energies. He forms them into the shape of an arrow and hurls it at Boris.
36
Dante
I hurl the weapon at Boris.
It screeches toward him, slams into his chest and thrusts him back. His spine curves and his body makes a graceful arc. The weapon carries him along all the way to the edge of the arena. His body hits the ground, dirt flies up, then a crack appears in the ground. It radiates out from him, spidering toward me. I turn to Gia and hold out my hand. She grabs it.
Her gaze falls to my collar.
“Break it.” I lean my head to the side.
“Me?”
One side of my mouth turns up in a smile. “You know you can.”
She swallows, then leans forward and hooks a finger under the wire. She tugs at it, and the collar breaks free. The organic metal twitches in her palm like it is alive. She flings it aside, then points a finger at it. Fire whooshes out, and the collar vaporizes.
She turns to me; her face goes pale. “Umm, I am not really sure how I did that.” Her shoulders shake, and her legs seem to give out from under her. Then she slumps toward the ground.
Fear churns my gut. I leap forward and catch her. Pain squeezes my side where the telekinetic web burned me. Gritting my teeth, I shove it aside, then swing her up in my arms. I need to get her out of here.