I shake my head. “Are you on drugs?”
“Light Mages conjure illusions of the light. I can create images of myself. That doesn’t explain why you passed right through the illusion.”
“So you created an illusion to fool me?”
He chews on his bottom lip for a moment, narrowing his eyes at me, then shrugs. “Yeah. For defense, you see, and it’s not very good. I’m training. One day I’ll be able to make another of me to have some threesome action.”
“Isn’t a threesome with yourself just regular sex?” I blurt out, even though my brain hurts from this discussion.
He chuckles. “You have a sense of humor, gorgeous. I like that.” He steps closer. “Even more when I’ll have to force you into it.” He shrugs. “It’s a kink of mine when a girl doesn’t want it.”
Fucking hell, and he calls himself the Chosen One. The fucker just called rape a kink. I tense my arm and go for his face again, but then I stop. Arm raised midair, I look around myself, my entire body magically frozen. This is ridiculous. I should have never gotten out of bed today.
My eyes dart at him, watching him coming closer, a predatory expression on his face. “I don’t know how you see through my illusions. It doesn’t matter. I dominate light.” He points at the lights over the door. “And there’s plenty of light here for me to have some fun, gorgeous.”
I bare my teeth. “My name is not gorgeous.”
He spreads his fingers, and I slam into the wall. I knew supes were strong and dangerous, but this is absurd. My arms stretch to my sides, crucified into nothing, my heart thundering in my chest. Adrenaline floods my veins, the danger on a new level. I worried about two guys beating the crap out of me, but I had no clue this creeper was this powerful.
He can do anything to me.
Every step of his is calculated as his gaze wraps around my curves. “Not what I usually choose.” He pinches my belly. “Too much meat, if you know what I mean. But you’ll do for a quickie.”
My heart lodges itself in my throat. I open my mouth and take a deep breath in, preparing to scream my lungs out, but the Chosen One crashes his hand down on my face, covering both my mouth and my nose. My lungs lock up. I try to breathe in and can’t. Every ounce of energy in me goes to force myself to move, but I’m unable to. He pulls my dress up and tugs on my panties. I slam my eyes shut, my head going fuzzy.
And I remember that day when I was ten, my face in the mud, the other kid holding my head down. I remember the pain and how each bruise colored my skin for days. I remember breathing in and feeling nothing but mud and the squirm of earthworms against my lips.
The nightmare is vivid against my lids. The hand against my thigh is hot, hot like flame, hot like holding bright red metal, unable to let it go. I try to scream again, but the sound comes off muffled. Just like that night, my head held down, tears running down my face. My body is stiff and numb, but I’m not ready to give up. I would never give up.
Searing pain explodes on the back of my left shoulder. No matter how much I try to move, to cry out, nothing matters, and nothing works. The searing pain goes on even as the Chosen One stops rummaging with our clothes. Even when he releases his hold around my face and air invades my lungs.
Even the air going in hurts. I gulp it in, and then I scream. The pain shatters with the silence of the night. Light glows around me, and I glance down to find runes ripping off a circle on the ground.
The Chosen One watches with eyes so wide they take his entire face. “It’s not possible. How the fuck are you breaking my circle?”
The light disappears, and instead, I feel the darkness. My head explodes in pain, but I can feel it. I see every tiny shadow starker in the corners, clinging to the boxes and the trash cans. They move, they come to me. I feel the world tilting and changing.
My eyes meet the Chosen One’s. There’s panic on his face. And I love it.
A smile stretches on my lips, and I raise an arm. Darkness takes my vision and, when I blink again, the Chosen One slams into the wall behind him. A crack reaches my ears. He slides to the ground, next to the trash cans. Where he belongs.
The world tilts back to its place, and my mind clears. The pain disappears, and I just stare. The Chosen One doesn’t move, and as the darkness pulls back from the corners of my eyes, I see blood smearing the wall behind him. My heart beats with the aftermath, and I kneel in front of him to check on his pulse. Nothing. There’s only silence. What a fantastic way to end my day.
I just killed the Chosen One.
CHAPTER2
CASSANDRA
My knees tremble. What should I do? I killed him. I killed him, I killed him. Confusion washes over me for a moment, and my mind goes fuzzy. Get a hold, Cassandra. Breathe. I can’t stay here. I’ll be arrested, and then they’ll ask if I regret my actions, and I won’t be able to tell them I do. Ridding the world of a rapist? That’s my honor, Your Excellency.
Grey morals. There’s no way to get rid of them.
I get up and analyze the situation. He was trying to rape me. I don’t even feel bad about it. But these people like him so much I know they won’t believe me. I look around myself. There’s no way they can identify my footprints here. Too many people pass this way to analyze it or find a strand of my hair. No one’s going to know, and I don’t need to tell anyone, right? All I have to do is get home and meditate on what the fuck just happened. It’s not like I forgot that I somehow pushed him off without touching him. And the pain on my shoulder? No way I’m ignoring that. There’s something super odd going on in here.
My heels scratch on the pavement when I whirl around and start to the back street. It’s smaller, less likely they have cameras. I shoot a glance at the casino. My phone and ID were inside the jacket. They’ll be able to identify me through those. I clench my jaw and stop.
My ID. They can’t have it. They’ll get to me in no time. I have to get inside, grab my stuff, and leave. That’s for the better. No one knows my name. I’ll just have to lie low and pretend I have no idea what’s happening.