Chapter 46

Freedom.

So close, I can taste it.

The flavor is surprisingly pleasant, resting on the tip of my tongue like a sugar cube. It overpowers everything else, including the crippling jealousy that continuously threatens to send me spiraling into a red-hot rage.

I never understood why green was always associated with jealousy.

As I watch Nick smile at Nina, a translucent veil bathed in blood shrouds my vision, darkening everything until it feels like I’m watching the events unfold through macabre sunglasses.

Mate.

The fucking Labyrinth in the flesh is her mate.

While I…

I’m just a man hopelessly in love with a woman who will never love him back.

She doesn’t smile at me the way she does the others. Her features don’t soften when she stares up into my face. I removed my flirty mask so she could see the real me—the broken, unlovable cupid.

And she still rejected me.

Maybe not with words, but she never acted as if she wanted more. As if she wanted me.

My pain sours each breath until even the air tastes like poison.

There’s no describing the relief I felt when we discovered that Kai was still alive. I don’t necessarily like the man, but I can’t stand to see Nina in pain. When she cried, acting as if her heart had been forcibly removed from her chest, I cried with her. Silent tears that traveled down my face and caught on my lower lip. It was only then that I realized…

I’m in love with her.

She can never know.

The thought springs to me unbidden as I force my gaze away from her sincere face, still in Kai’s arms as he turns towards the broken doorway.

The last thing I want is for her to pity me. Or worse, feel obligated or uncomfortable. I’ll never do anything to mess up this tentative friendship we’re forming, so if I have to love her from afar, then so be it.

I’m not used to feeling like this.

Jealous…

Heartbroken…

I’m a cupid, for fuck’s sake. I’ve gone through more men and women than I’m willing to admit. No attachments. No strings. No feelings. Those were the rules I lived by, the rules I held close to my heart as I flirted like a fucking champ and fucked like it was a sport.

Now, my heart’s at the feet of a goddess, and she can either claim it as her own or stomp on it. Either way, it’s hers forever. I don’t want it back.

What need do I have for a lump of black coal that only beats for her?

I lick my upper lip, my eyes locking on Nick.

The Labyrinth.

It still blows my mind when I think about it. I half expect him to break into laughter and tell us it’s nothing but a joke. How can one man be responsible for the entire Labyrinth? The power he must exude…

He smiles when he catches me looking, not a trace of mocking in the upwards tilt of his lips. He seems genuinely excited to see me.

I’m not gonna lie. He’s a good-looking guy, with obsidian skin, buzzed black hair, and perfectly white teeth that shine in his face. The opened brown trench coat reveals a skin-tight black T-shirt and similarly colored jeans. I half wonder where he got the outfit—did he steal it? Or did he magic it on himself?

A snort of amusement escapes me when I picture a poor inmate running around in his underwear because the fucking prison itself stole his clothes.

“Hello.” The man lifts his hand and waves it. “My name is Nick.”

“I know that,” I grunt out, bringing my fingers to the bridge of my nose and squeezing. I can feel a headache rapidly approaching.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, brother,” Nick continues, flashing me another disarming grin.

I’m sure my answering smile is more of a grimace.

And why the hell is calling me his brother? I’m not like the other men. I’m not Nina’s mate.

Though a piece of my heart begs to differ.

“Same.”

Even though I want to pound your face in for stealing a girl who never belonged to me.

“Shall we go?” Nick gestures towards the doorway, and with a start, I realize that we’re the only two people left inside the Labyrinth. Everyone else already exited.

Trepidation rushes down my back like an ice cube being dropped down my shirt, the feeling enticing goosebumps to break out along my body.

The broken doorway…leads to nothing.

When I stare through the shattered remains, I see nothing but a pitch-black abyss that threatens to lure me in and claim me forever.

“Where did they go?”

Nick tilts his head curiously to the side, regarding me with wide, guileless eyes. They’re eyes that hold not a hint of deception. Is he that good of an actor? Or is he truly as innocent as he appears to be?

“They left the Labyrinth,” Nick answers simply, seeming confused by my question. “Is that not what you wanted yourself?”

My pulse quickens as I flick my eyes back towards the doorway. Back towards the nothingness.

Where Nina is.

Loving her is like jumping out of a plane with no parachute, trusting that you’ll survive the crash.

But some people are worth the risk.

Without answering Nick’s question, I steel my spine and hurry through the doorway.

The darkness presses in on me from all sides, stealing the oxygen from the room.

Is this what Nina experiences daily?

This…darkness? This oppressive, restricting, nauseating darkness?

It clogs my airways like barrels of sticky tar, and I can feel panic overwhelming my senses. My breathing comes out in ragged, stuttered gasps as I force my feet forward.

And forward.

And forward.

The first thing I’m aware of is the sun beating down on my face.

A hysterical laugh escapes me, the noise joining in with that of my brethren. My friends, if I’m even allowed to call them that. I can hear Nina’s giggle as Kai releases another whoop of pleasure.

When was the last time I felt sunlight like this? Felt its warm rays caress my skin, the touch lighter than a moth’s wings?

It’s a bittersweet sensation. Security doesn’t instantly flood my system. The warmth from the sun doesn’t completely chase away the ice permeating my body.

The sun actually blinds me, forcing me to squint against the harsh glare. It feels too hot on my pasty skin, too demanding, and I find myself scratching absently at my arms, almost as if I’m trying to peel away the raw, abused skin.

It takes me a moment to orient myself to my surroundings. I squeeze my eyelids shut before forcing them open.

“We did it! We fucking did it, Bambi!” I hear Abel exclaim as I focus in their direction. He takes her from Kai and spins her in a circle as she giggles madly.

“Where the fuck are we?” The cold, disdainful voice belongs to Damien. He stands near the edge of the group, the only one not smiling. His arrogant face is drawn tight as he peers into the distance.

I follow the direction of his gaze towards a large, foreboding building.

Nightmare Penitentiary.

It’s nothing but a speck in the distance, the orangish sun casting strange shadows around the ominous structure. It’s just as creepy as I remember it being when I first arrived.

Have we really walked that far? This entire time, has a cavern of tunnels and monsters been lurking just beneath the red sand, accessible to anyone who dares ventures this far out? The door we came out of is nowhere to be seen—almost as if the Labyrinth spit us out and then burrowed back beneath the sand like a worm. I don’t know if I should be grateful or terrified.

Like, if I piss my pants right now, would it be a happy piss or a scared one?

That is the real question.

I resist the urge to flip off the prison, which has been my home for far too long—not as long as the others, of course, but long enough to give me a healthy appreciation for walking the straight and narrow path. A life of crime? Not worth this shit.

Peeling my gaze away from the prison, I study our surroundings.

In every direction, I see nothing but a canvas of bright blue sky and red, compacted dirt.

From my research before I entered the prison, I know that the main exit has a dirt road you’re forced to follow for miles and miles until you finally find some semblance of civilization.

But apparently, the Labyrinth—I glare in Nick’s direction—has a twisted sense of humor and dropped us off on the wrong side of the fucking prison.

“We’re out, man!” Abel squeals, jumping up and down and shaking his ass. “I feel sunlight.”

“It fucking hurts,” Cain grumbles, folding his arms over his chest as he glares at nothing in particular.

“Where do we go?” Bronson turns towards Kai, all of them falling back into their usual roles now that their leader is back. Despite no longer being in prison, I can see that the guys will still defer to the hierarchy from before.

Kai scratches at his chin as he twists his head from side to side—towards the prison in the distance and then straight forward, where miles and miles of red sand spread as far as the eye can see.

“We can’t risk getting caught,” Kai states. “Right now, we have no reason to believe the guards even know that we escaped, but we can’t hope for that anonymity to last. There’s no way we can cross by the prison without being seen.” He reaches absently for Nina’s hand and twines their fingers together. She smiles softly up at him, and my heart gives a painful squeeze. I force myself to look away, catching Nick’s gaze, who once again, smiles and waves at me.

Fucker.

“He’s right,” Damien announces curtly. “We need to keep moving forward. Hopefully, we’ll run into something that can help us get farther away from this fucking place.”

“Is that really the best idea?” I interject for the first time. When all of their eyes swivel my way, I find myself struggling to keep my head held high. These men? They’re scary as fuck. I’ll just find a nice little hidey-hole and live there the rest of my life, thank you very much. No reason to stare at the cupid. But my stupid voice keeps spitting out words, despite my better judgment. “That way,” I jab my finger over my shoulder, in the direction of the prison, “has trees we can use for cover. Over here, we’re sitting ducks.”

Kai considers my words carefully as his gaze once again flickers towards Nina. “You make a good point.”

“But we can’t risk going near the prison,” Damien argues. “We can’t?—”

As the two of them argue, I allow my eyes to drift towards Nina, as they always seem to do nowadays. A smile tugs at my lip as her cute nose wrinkles, her head tilted curiously to the side as she listens to Kai speak.

Almost as if she feels my eyes on her, she twists her head in my direction.

Time stops.

My heart rate picks up speed, thrumming erratically in my rib cage, as her beautiful white eyes lock with mine. I know she can’t see me, but I swear she’s staring into my very soul, tearing through layers and layers of bravado until the vulnerable man beneath is stripped naked before her. Watching. Waiting. Begging.

She takes a step towards me, and her presence siphons all of the oxygen from my lungs.

“I can feel your eyes on me,” she says with a teasing grin.

“Well…” I fork my fingers through my messy blond hair. “Your head is in my line of sight.”

She gasps in mock horror. “Are you saying my head is big, Logan?”

“Err.” I shrug, a wry grin playing on my lips. “Above average for sure.”

“Shut up!” She giggles, the sound traveling through my body and ending at my cock. I wish I could make that sound my ringtone. You know, once I get a phone again. And if I don’t die.

I pantomime zipping my lips shut and tossing her the key. Smiling, she captures the “key” from the air and places it in her dress pocket.

The smile on her face fades as suddenly as it arrived, and she shifts from foot to foot. “Logan, there’s actually something I wanted to talk to you about.”

Warmth blazes through me as she unleashes the hurricane force of her stare on me.

What does she have to talk to me about?

Oh my god. I’m quivering like a schoolgirl giving her crush a card that says, “Do you like me? Yes or no.”

Fucking hell.

Instead of immediately responding, I quirk a finger at her. Her brows dip in confusion.

“What?”

Sighing, I move closer to her and reach into her dress pocket, ignoring her sharp intake of breath as her eyelashes flutter, and grab the “key” she stashed in there. I pantomime unzipping my lips and then gasp dramatically.

“I thought I was going to die of suffocation,” I confess, panting. “I’m not much of a nose breather.”

She chortles, bringing both hands to her mouth to stifle the adorable sound, and my grin widens. I suppose being a renowned, debonair flirt has its advantages. If I’m able to make my girl laugh even for a second, then it’s worth it.

A noise pulls me from my thoughts.

My brows scrunch together in confusion as I turn towards the strange sound. The rest of the men are completely oblivious, still arguing with each other over the best course of action. My breath leaves me when I realize it’s the distinct sound of tires on sand.

A black SUV with dark tinted windows drives forward, rapidly approaching us. And then three more crest the hill behind the first, seemingly materializing out of thin air. And then three more. And then three more.

And then three more…

“Guys!” I bellow, but they’re already watching with wide eyes.

Kai grabs Nina the same time Bronson does, both of them shielding her with their considerable builds. Rion shifts down to his tiger form…before his power fizzles and he’s forced to be human once again. It’s a miracle he was able to hold his cat form as long as he did in the Labyrinth.

Even though we’re outside of the prison, our powers are still weak. My own sparks and fizzles before instantly depleting like a fire being soaked in water. It’ll return in time—I can already feel it growing inside of me—but not soon enough.

“Do we run?” Abel demands, turning frightened eyes onto Nina.

“Nowhere to fucking run,” Damien snaps as he removes his suit jacket and tosses it on the ground. He rolls up his dress sleeves as he waits for the SUVs to arrive.

“I am so going to stick my fist up their asses,” Rion singsongs, a familiar, dangerous glint in his eyes as he swaggers forward, cock swinging. It’s the same one he wore when we first reconnected, when he pinned me against the wall and threatened to kill me.

It’s a look ravaged by anger and madness.

My heart stutters and gets caught in my throat as the SUVs slow to a stop in front of us.

Are they from the prison? Have they come to take us back?

I don’t want to go back, dammit. I’m too pretty to “drop the soap.”

One by one, men in black exit the vehicles, each one holding a machine gun.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

We’re getting anal fucked so bad right now…and not in the way I normally like.

“You here to take us back?” Kai asks darkly, his skin rippling as ruby-red scales slash across his skin. I can see his dragon struggling to break free.

“I’ll have you know that I have a mighty craving for testicles today,” Rion says casually, whistling as he stalks forward. He doesn’t have any weapons on him, but then again, Rion doesn’t need weapons to be a formidable opponent. He may not be as skilled at fighting as Damien, but he’s crazy enough to kill a man with his bare hands.

“You always have a craving for testicles,” Damien murmurs, and Rion swoons.

“Awww. Bitch Mage! You understand me. Are you,” he flutters his eyelashes, “offering me a taste of yours?”

If looks could kill, Rion would be dead faster than a bullet from one of the guns pointed our way.

“We don’t want a fight,” one of the largest men declares, slowly removing his hands from his weapon so it swings against his chest, the strap over his shoulder keeping it in place. He places both hands up in surrender. “We just want the girl.”

Every one of us goes perfectly still. Not a single breath can be heard as we stare at the army surrounding us. Because that’s what this is—a fucking army.

Come to take our girl.

Dammit. Their girl. Not yours.

Is this really necessary right now, mental me?

“What the fuck do you want with her?” Bronson growls, his eyes flashing amber. I can see his wolf struggling to break free, to destroy these men who threaten the woman we all love, but he’s still too weak to do more than growl threateningly.

“We can be friends,” the man continues in that same condescending tone. It makes my teeth ache.

“How can we possibly be friends with you when you are threatening our Nina?” Nick asks in bewilderment as he steps forward, his brown coat swinging around him. He tilts his head to the side, resembling an animal hiding beneath abnormally tall grass, just waiting for the sweet gazelle to take a sip from the stream so he can pounce. His strange, yellow-brown eyes dance with an indecipherable emotion. “If I am not mistaken, that would make you our enemy.” He glances towards Kai for confirmation, but the dragon shifter only has eyes for our enemy.

“Leave if you want to live,” he threatens, and even I get goosebumps from his low, threatening voice. My manly bits tingle a little too.

Hot damn.

The man from the SUV sighs heavily, though he doesn’t seem surprised by our answer. He turns towards a tinted window in the closest SUV, and the door opens, an unfamiliar man stepping out.

Or…

A familiar man.

As I watch, horrified, his face flickers from male to female. Old to young. Young to old.

Once again, my surroundings blur as I try to stare directly at him, try to see past the illusion spell concealing his true features from view.

“Smith,” I breathe as horror engulfs me.

“Smith?” Abel whips his head to glare at me, an accusation in his verdant green eyes.

But how is this possible? I didn’t tell Smith anything about Nina. How did he?—

“Good job, Logan.” Though it’s still impossible for me to see his face clearly, I swear he’s smiling. I detect a hint of amusement in his low, baritone voice. “You did good bringing her to me.”

“I didn’t…” I struggle to defend myself as all eyes turn to stare at me. But I don’t focus on them. My attention is fixed on Nina.

Her white, guileless eyes are wide with unshed tears. Betrayal is etched onto her face, morphing her beautiful features into something unrecognizable.

“Logan, is this true?” Her voice wobbles.

“Of course it is,” Smith declares with a haughty laugh. This time, his voice is high-pitched and decidedly feminine. I wonder if he’d still be laughing if I stick my fist down his throat and rip his vocal cords out. “I know what he told you. It was exactly what we wanted him to tell you. He said he came into the prison to kill you, am I correct?” Another laugh. Another vivid daydream of throat punching the fucker. “We wanted him to build trust with you, Ms. Nina Doe. And once he did that, he would get you out and bring you to us.”

“Us?” Rion hisses, baring his teeth. “Who the fuck is us?”

Nina’s voice is the barest breath of sound. A whisper that carries in the stale, stagnant air. “The Compound.”

“You’re not as dumb as you look,” Smith taunts. He lifts a hand, beckoning Nina forward. “Now come with me, and your men don’t have to die.”

“Logan,” Nina’s face twists, a tiny crease appearing between her brows, “is what he’s saying true?”

“Yes,” I confess as desperation courses through me. I lunge forward, ignoring the threatening growls from Nina’s mates, though they remain focused on the larger threat, and take both of her hands in mine. “But I swear to you, I never intended to go through with it. Maybe at first…but then I got to know you. I fell in love with you, Nina. I will never hurt you.”

“He is telling the truth,” Nick interjects. “I have never sensed any deception from him in his interactions with her.”

“Nina, please.” I’m not above begging. Even if I were to die today, die fighting for her, I’d die a happy man if I knew she didn’t despise me. “I think…” A shaky laugh escapes me. “I never felt this way about anyone before. I think…I think you’re my mate. You already know that I used to work for a man named Narian…and you also know how evil that bastard is. When I was offered a job to break a beautiful girl out of prison, I agreed. I thought it was the only way to free myself from him. To make a better life for myself, one where I’m not an assassin or a killer. So I stole a stupid feather from Lionel Green and was sent here. God, I was so stupid. So na?ve. I thought I was doing what I had to do to survive. I know you don’t trust me right now, I know you hate me?—”

“I don’t hate you,” she interrupts vehemently. She gently places her hand on my cheek, her thumb inching dangerously close to my lips, before she lowers it and turns a fierce glare onto the Compound members. “How did you find us? And don’t you dare say Logan told you. I know that’s not true.”

Her trust in me is humbling. I’m once again struck by my feelings for her—feelings unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before.

Smith sighs heavily, as if this entire conversation is beneath him. As if he doesn’t like the fact Nina addressed him directly.

“You’re right—Logan didn’t tell us. But we still figured it out from him.”

I break away from Nina and lunge forward. I probably would’ve gotten myself shot from one of the men pointing guns at me if Cain didn’t grab the back of my shirt, pulling me to an abrupt halt.

“You lying piece of?—”

Smith points to his arm, and I whip my head in the direction of my own limb.

“What…?”

Damien releases a fierce growl and stalks towards me. When he lifts his dagger, I legit think he’s going to murder me. I’m man enough to admit I shit myself a bit.

But instead of slicing my throat, he digs his blade into my skin, ignoring my hiss of pain, and rips out a tiny black device.

A tracker.

“I swear I didn’t know that was in there,” I declare immediately.

“Of course you didn’t,” Kai grunts. “They probably put it in you when you were unconscious.”

Smith’s smug silence is answer enough.

“Enough of this,” he barks out at last. He lifts a hand, dark red magic sparking on his fingers, and a second later, his illusion fades.

My breath leaves me, and I stagger back a step. Horror squeezes my heart in an iron vise as I stare at the familiar man standing before me.

Beside me, Damien rasps out, “I killed you.”

Narian Teres, the leader of the assassins’ guild who hired both me and him, smiles. He looks exactly as I remember him, with pitch-black hair peppered with gray and a thin, muscular build. He has a bald spot on the top of his head that he desperately tries to hide with a few wispy strands of hair.

“You killed a man wearing my face,” Narian corrects with a laugh. “I’m the best assassin in the fucking world and a master of illusions. Did you really think I would be that easy to kill?”

“You’re Narian,” Nina says on a gasp.

He bends his waist in a dramatic bow as I struggle to refortify my defenses.

My tormentor, my abuser, my rapist is standing in front of me.

Staring at the woman I love.

The woman I believe is my mate.

That’s the only logical explanation for all of this. For the way my heart pounds unsteadily when she stares at me, the way I was drawn to her from the very first moment, the way my hands sweat and my body shakes. I didn’t want to look at it too closely, because if it wasn’t true, a piece of my heart would cease to exist, but I’m surer than ever that Nina Doe is meant to be mine.

Or maybe…

That I am meant to be hers.

The helplessness dissipates, and anger rushes to the surface in its place. My pulse races, the sloshing of blood in my head so loud and deafening, I can’t think straight.

“You’re part of the Compound,” I say in realization.

“I’m not just a part of the Compound,” Narian says with a huff. “I am the Compound.”

“You worked with Alyssa and Raphael,” Kai deduces with a snarl. “To…what? Create mutant super assassins?”

Nina’s face has drained of all color, her spine ramrod straight.

“You’re not going back, Bambi,” Abel whispers to her. “I swear to you, we won’t allow that to happen.”

“But—”

“You’re not going back,” Cain agrees earnestly. He gives her a hand a squeeze.

“It’s simple, really,” Narian continues, waving his men forward. A few of them branch out in either direction until we’re completely surrounded, all guns aimed on us. “Alyssa and Raphael were determined to create and experiment on rare supernaturals. I saw it as a business opportunity—purchase their prisoners and train them for myself. But when Alyssa and Raphael were killed,” his upper lip curls, “the operation fell apart. We lost most of our assets. Except for one.” His smile rests on Nina, and she shrinks away.

“We’ll fight you,” Damien promises, vengeance in his eyes. “And I’m betting on us winning.”

“Or maybe,” Narian continues on, acting as if Damien never spoke. “We can end this once and for all. Kill all of you and eliminate the last trace of the Compound.” He shrugs his broad shoulders before flicking his gaze between me and the stone-cold mage. “My disgraced sons.” His eyes drop to Nina. “My failed experiment.”

“Narian…” Damien warns.

“Or maybe I’ll just kill you guys and keep the girl for myself,” he states, cocking his head to the side. I can see the moment he comes to a decision, his eyes hardening until they resemble granite. He lifts a hand in the air. “Kill them. But spare the girl.”

Everything seems to happen in slow motion.

The guards’ fingers tighten on their triggers, and I stare at the gun nearest to me.

I’m going to die.

We’re all going to die.

And Nina will be at the mercy of this sadistic asshole.

That realization bolsters my resolve.

If I’m going to die, I’ll be damned if I don’t go out kicking and screaming and blowing so much lust into my enemies’ faces, they come in their pants.

And then I hear a strange noise from beside me. I want to call it a scream, but that seems too tame for what it truly is. Too…simple.

It’s a sound ripped from a person’s soul. Shredded and bruised and bleeding, contaminating the air like the acid inside the Labyrinth.

It’s also coming from Nina.

Her mouth is open, an anguished scream emanating from her tiny body, as she lifts her hands.

As I watch, unsure if I should be entranced or horrified, her face distorts until there’s not a trace of softness left. Her eyes turn blood-red as horns curl on either side of her face. Wings erupt from her back, splitting open her white dress.

Demon. Angel. Human.

She raises her hands in Narian’s direction, and all of the men in the immediate vicinity go flying head over heels. They land in undignified heaps on the ground, releasing pained groans. The SUVs shake, almost as if the ground beneath them is breaking open, before flying backwards, tumbling chaotically like tumbleweeds.

“Kill them!” Narian roars, staggering to his feet.

Nina twists her attention towards the guards to the right of us and lifts her hands once more.

“Oh my god,” Abel breathes in horror as the men begin to convulse on the ground. Terrified screams leave their parted lips as blood cascades down their chins from their eyes, mouths, and ears. One by one, they explode, guts and blood flying in all directions.

Nina lifts another hand, and screams and grunts fill the air as the machine guns begin to smoke, flames eating away at them.

All hell breaks loose.

The remaining guards rush towards us, some attempting to fire off their rapidly melting weapons while others use their bare hands. A man lunges at us, shifting into a big ass bear when he’s mere feet away.

But then Nick’s there, not a trace of his customary smile in place, as he swings his cane like a fucking pro. He jabs it into the bear’s side, and the shifter roars in agony as green goo erupts from the tip, penetrating his flesh.

I turn away, just as the toe-curling smell of burnt flesh permeates the air.

Desperate to do what I can to help, I reach towards one of the fallen guards and grab a dagger from out of his sheath.

And then I fight for my damn life.

I cut, slice, duck, and gift the guards illusions of all of their sickest sexual fantasies until my power sputters out.

Damien and Rion are fighting back-to-back, the differences in their fighting styles plain to see as they tear down their enemies.

Damien fights with a lethal grace, while Rion is all brawn. The two of them together are nearly unstoppable.

“Does this mean you want my babies, sugar daddy?” Rion calls as he flips a guard over his shoulder and snaps his neck.

Damien stabs his dagger into the stomach of one of the men before twisting and slicing open the neck of another.

“Shut up before I kill you,” he threatens, completely serious.

Rion pouts. “Buttercup! He’s threatening to murder me again! Spank him for me and call him daddy!”

But Nina doesn’t hear him—or if she does hear him, she doesn’t respond.

She stands surrounded by the twins, Bronson, and Kai as she absolutely obliterates her enemies. A group of around twenty men runs towards her—most of them vampires, if their speed is any indication—and she flicks her wrists, sending them flying backwards. The ground opens up beneath them and swallows their bodies whole.

Holy shit.

I’m sooo going to masturbate over that for years to come.

Movement out of my peripheral captures my attention.

Narian stands behind his men, using them as human shields, and has a handgun gun, which must’ve been hidden when Nina destroyed their weapons, raised.

At an oblivious Nina.

I don’t think, just react.

As the gunshot ricochets through the air, I race forward and throw myself in front of Nina.

The bullet hits my chest.

I’m sorry, Nina. For everything.

Darkness.