No, together we are stronger because of our love and our bond.
Dawn is quiet as the elevator doors shut, then presses the button to the very bottom floor of the basement.
Which is surprising since I know the tech department is one level up.
“Uh…” I look over at her. “I think you pressed the wrong button.”
She glances at me coolly, keeping her hands in front of her. “No, I didn’t.”
Nobody goes to the basement, I think.
But before I can process it, Dawn moves in front of the call numbers, arms folded.
And for some reason, she’s grinning ear to ear.
“Dawn…”
Before I have time to say more, the elevator is already whirring to a stop. But beyond the door, I can hear strange voices, loud and angry.
“This is your stop,” Dawn says with an ominous glare.
28
Tanner
“Any last words, commander of nothing?” The chaos soldier above me points his wand at my chest as two soldiers behind me hold me by the arms and shoulders.
I fought well, considering this suppressor makes me feel like I’m going to have a heart attack and die when I use my magic.
The ground is littered with the bodies of fallen chaos soldiers.
But still, it might not be enough.
The suppressor feels as if it’s burning a hole through my wrist, and if I can’t find a way to remove it… I’m not sure what I’ll do.
Suddenly, a ding sounds in the basement, and all eyes turn toward the unexpected sound. I look past the chaos soldier in front of me at the elevator doors opening twenty feet away.
The metal doors slowly slide away, and the first thing I see is Eva.
My heart drops, though my bond is glad to see her, know she is safe, at least for now.
But why on earth is she down here?
The next thing I see, when the doors fully open, makes my chest tighten.
Dawn, Ray’s wife, has her hand on Eva’s shoulder. And when Eva turns to move, I see the hand tighten, forcing her forward and out of the elevator.
I can already see black wings unfurling behind Dawn as she does, chaotic and ugly and twisting up in thorny-looking, see-through tendrils that are tinted green and dark gray.
Nothing like the pure black flames of a dark fae’s wings.
“Tanner, what’s going on?” Eva’s eyes fill with worry for me as she tries to run forward, but she’s yanked back easily by the chaos princess behind her.
I can already see the rest of Dawn’s true form as her human shape melts away.
She’s taller, with long, red hair that’s turning black midway down. Slick, blackened armor that looks like it has been resting in a bog for a hundred years.
Her eyes are like black holes, turning up at a sharp angle, and her cruel smile makes my body recoil.
There’s nothing left of the polite, smiling woman I remember.
Chaos technology is really something.
I muster my remaining strength now that the soldiers around me are realizing they should have taken the chance to try and kill me when they could.
“Let go of her!” I shout at the top of my lungs, and a blast of dark energy cuts through the men around me, sending them toppling onto the floor. In an instant, I’m bolting toward Eva, even the sight of her giving me just a little more strength as draw my wand from my back.
I don’t care if my heart stops due to this suppressor. I’ll defend my soul bond until my death.
Suddenly, a twisted black shape appears in Dawn’s hand, and she points it at Eva.
I skid to a halt, stopping in my tracks.
“Ah, ah, ah. I wouldn’t do that if I were you…” She grins at me malevolently.
Suddenly, I hear Ray’s office behind me open, but I don’t take my eyes off Eva as another shape appears at the edge of my peripheral vision.
“Nice timing, Jessetra.” I hear a voice that sounds like Ray but much deeper, much eviler.
A moment later, I hear slow, deliberate clapping as the chaos prince, once Qualtechnics’s CTO, walks up to stand beside his cohort.
“You jumped the gun a little, didn’t you, Kainz?” She glares at him in annoyance. “You were supposed to wait to strike when I had the beacon with me.”
“Ray?” Eva stares wide-eyed as Ray melts away into a similar form as his partner. Only, his hair is gray, and he doesn’t have wings either.
But his eyes are soulless and black, the same hatred and disgust for all things in them.
“All this work. All this waiting. It’s finally going to pay off,” Kainz says, standing beside his partner. “You have no clue how difficult it was assuming human forms. Pretending to work, pretending to be in a relationship.”
“It was worse than torture,” Jessetra exclaims, rolling her eyes.
“‘How was your day, honey?’ ‘What would you like to do today, sweetie?’ Utter human nonsense,” Kainz says. Though, as he does, he puts an arm around Jessetra.
“Get your fucking hand off me,” she says with sheer hatred in her voice, and Kainz steps back.
“Sorry. Habit.”
Because chaos fae can’t form bonds, it only makes sense that these two actually hate each other deeply. I’m just surprised they were able to hide it so well for so long.
Chaos is nothing if not determined.
“Are you okay, Tanner?” Eva asks, ignoring their bickering.
Around me, the swarm of chaos soldiers are waiting as if unsure whether to pounce on me now but certainly fearing the fact that I was able to pull my wand out in spite of the suppressor.
“I’m okay. I’m fine.” I reassure her. No matter what, I don’t want her to be afraid.
“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” Jessetra screams. I can see the energy in her wand flicker as it powers, and the soldiers step back, deferring naturally to the highest-ranking fae in the room.
“I’m the one you want. Leave her alone,” I say, pointing my wand forward. I know I have just enough energy for one shot. That’s it.
“You?” Jessetra raises an eyebrow at me mockingly. “You were good for awakening her. That’s all. I care not for the chaos general’s plans, though I won’t cry over your grave; that’s for certain.” She leans over Eva, breathing in deeply like a creep. “Mmm, more than enough magic for both of us once you’re out of the way.”
I lock eyes with her, letting her see that no matter how powerless I may seem to her, I’m still more powerful than anyone who has given up their bonds.
“You don’t have a chance against me,” I retort.
She throws her head back and laughs. “Oh, I’m going to enjoy this. I’m no soldier, but even I know how many chaos agents you have killed. And I, Jessetra, will be the one to defeat you.”
The dark energy in her wand glows even brighter, like a black hole forming at the tip of it, allowing no other light beyond it.
I raise my wand, ready to shoot her and take her shot so that Eva has a chance to get away.
Suddenly, Eva’s fist shoots up, punching Jessetra’s elbow upward. Her shot flies wildly, hitting the back of the basement with an explosion. Men go flying amongst the rubble, but Eva merely uses the distraction to jump away from Jessetra.