Chapter 15
Marco
The mixture of pure terror and fury was an intoxicating mind numbing time stopping effect. The basement door of the rental house Jed owned flew towards the man, knocking him into the wall and skewering him as wood pushed through his chest. His cry went on empty ears though because the room around us shook as I realized my magic had exploded out.
Maya.
The feral woman continued to hit her and I tossed her to the side with ease, hearing bones crunch as the others, I hoped, went to take care of them. I dropped to my knees and felt terror slice through me.
No.
No.
No.
Absolutely fucking not.
My chest constricted and my dragon pushed at my skin as I tried to undo her wrists. Her little golden face was pressed to the side and her back was shredded to pieces. Her throat had bruising. I snapped the leg restraints and lifted her into my arms off the bed where I knelt on the floor. She wasn’t breathing. Her face was a tinge of blue and her blood soaked my dress shirt.
“Maya, honey,” I whispered, knowing it was useless but not caring. My heart began to slow and I realized that the fracture in my chest, the cavern where my heart used to be, was void without her. Void and breaking. Shattering at the very real fact that Maya was…
Dead.
For the first time in my life, tears pricked my eyes and not even the sounds of the two pieces of shit dying made me feel better. Instead, I buried my head in her neck and quietly asked her to wake up. Again. And again. After a few moments or hours, I realized the room had filled with an icy silence. My breathing was rough as I pulled back and I didn’t need to look around to feel the absolute heartbreak that filled the room. No one knew what to do.
My eyes closed as a single tear dropped off my chin and my dragon let out a low pained sound.
The drop landed on her skin and the sound of sizzling had my eyes snapping open.
Maya’s neck was turned, but where my tear had slid down, her skin began to shimmer in a scale like pattern. I could feel the others shift closer but I couldn’t bear to look up at them. My eyes widened slightly as a fine fissure, almost like lava, cracked the center of her chest and sent the painful sound through the room. Henry’s hand on my shoulder had me laying her down on the ground.
Right in time because, from that center crack, her entire form lit up.
I mean truly became a live wire of open gasoline flames that wrapped around her body and turned her skin a charred ash. I cringed as her body shook and I felt as though I had to be hallucinating.
“She’s being reborn,” Henry said softly with a bit of awe his glassy eyes. I looked back and watched as the inferno soared with color and shades of reds, yellows, and oranges hitting the ceiling and spread out around the room, burning everything but us. My eyes refused to stray from her though and the flames grew so thick I couldn’t see her form for a moment, the tiny bit of hope I had was backing away.
Then the flames retreated and my eyes widened at the unconscious form of our mate.
I leaned forward, resting my jacket across her, and cupping her jaw. Her pulse was strong and vibrant, the smile on her face nearly serene. She looked completely untouched.
“She’s alive,” I choked out.
“She’s a fucking pheonix,” Henry added, his voice completely blank.
That was accurate, but I didn’t care about that right now. I leaned forward and picked her up gently as her little brow furrowed. I watched as those stunning, chocolate brown eyes littered with gold flecks opened and pinned me with a wide eyed expression.
“Marco?” She whispered her voice clear as a bell. I wasn’t positive what had caused the raspy nature of it before, but that was gone. Completely.
“Maya,” I murmured.
Her eyes flickered around as she sat up and looked down at her body. Then she met everyone’s gaze looking absolutely in shock. Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Holy shit. I’m alive.”
Thank fucking god.
∞∞∞