Chapter 85
Lirael
"Where are we?" I asked, breaking the quiet as the vehicle slowed, my fingers tightening on the edge of the seat.
Marcus's voice came through the intercom, tight with something that sounded like worry. "Frost Harbor Bridge, Miss. Fastest route to the northern residence, but the structure's been decommissioned for years. City keeps meaning to tear it down."
Sebastian tensed beside me, his body coiling like a spring about to snap. The navigation screen flickered once, twice, then died with a soft electronic whine. In the sudden darkness, I felt the temperature drop—or maybe that was just my imagination responding to the unease crawling up my spine like insects.
"Marcus," Sebastian said, voice deadly calm in that way that meant someone was about to die. "Stop the vehicle. Now."
Before Marcus could comply, the world ahead exploded into chaos.
Ice spikes erupted from the bridge deck in a wall that blocked the entire width, their surfaces catching our headlights and throwing back a thousand fractured reflections. Each spike stood ten feet tall, wickedly sharp, arranged in overlapping rows that looked like the teeth of some frozen beast. Blue electricity crackled between them, the smell of ozone suddenly sharp in the air.
Marcus slammed the brakes. I lurched forward hard, the seatbelt cutting into my chest, Sebastian's arm shooting across to brace me even as my ribs protested. The vehicle fishtailed, tires screaming against ice, the smell of burning rubber filling the cabin and making my eyes water. We slid sideways, the world spinning outside the windows, finally shuddering to a stop feet from the barrier.
"Fuck," I breathed, heart hammering against my ribs.
"Armor-piercing rounds!" Marcus shouted.
The escort vehicle's rear windshield exploded in a shower of glass. Something heavy hit metal with a sound like thunder, and the engine compartment erupted in flames, black smoke billowing. The driver wrenched the wheel left, but the combination of speed and ice made control impossible. The vehicle spun in a complete circle, then crashed through the rusted railing with a screech of tearing metal. I watched it tumble end over end toward the frozen river below, my stomach dropping with it, and when it hit with an impact I felt through the floor, the ice shattering beneath it, bile rose in my throat.
"Get down!" Sebastian covered me, his weight pressing me into the seat hard enough to drive the breath from my lungs as bullets hammered our armored shell from multiple directions. The vehicle shuddered with each impact, and I heard the spider-web fracture of bulletproof glass above our heads, felt Sebastian's body jerk once as something hit close.
Then something hot dripped onto my neck. When I turned my head, I saw blood trickling from a gash on Sebastian's throat where glass had caught him, a thin red line against pale skin.
"You're hit," I said, my hands moving to the wound before I could think, fingers coming away sticky and warm.
"It's nothing." His voice was rough, strained, but his eyes were already shifting gold, pupils elongating. "Marcus, report."
"Bridge compromised fore and aft, sir. Ice barricade's electrified—reading high voltage. Behind us, the deck's been demolished with military-grade explosives. We're boxed in." Marcus's voice stayed professional, but I heard the edge of genuine fear beneath it. "Backup's twenty minutes out, maybe more with the weather."
"Shit," I muttered. Twenty minutes might as well be forever.
Sebastian pulled back, his gaze sweeping the space with cold precision, already calculating angles and odds. "We abandon the vehicle. Only chance."
"Sir, if we step outside without cover—"
"We're dead either way if we stay." He opened the armored trunk, revealing enough weapons to start a small war. What he pulled out made my breath catch—two anti-magic vests, surfaces shimmering with protective wards I could feel even from here.
He thrust both at me without hesitation. "Put them on. Both."
I stared at the vests, then at him, my mind struggling to process. "What about you?"
"I'll manage." His tone brooked no argument, but I shoved one back toward him.
"Sebastian, you can't fight without—"
A bullet struck the bridge support beside us with a sound like a bell being struck, sparks flying across the hood. Sebastian's hand clamped around my wrist, grip bruising, his eyes boring into mine with something that looked almost like terror barely contained.
"Listen to me," he said, voice dropping to something raw and urgent. "I've survived worse. But you—" He broke off, jaw clenching hard enough I could see the muscle jump. "You stay alive, Lirael. That's all that matters. You stay alive, because if you don't, nothing else in this goddamn world means anything."
The confession hit like a physical blow, stealing my breath. Before I could find words, he was fastening the vests around me, fingers trembling slightly as they worked the clasps. The weight settled over my shoulders, restrictive but reassuring, and I realized with a sick twist that he meant to face whatever waited outside with nothing but his own body as armor.
"Sebastian—" My voice came out smaller than I intended.
"No arguments." He checked the fit one last time, then pulled a silver blade from the cache—my blade, I realized with a jolt, from that first night on the cliff. He pressed it into my hand, fingers lingering over mine. "Stay close. When I give the signal, run for the tree line. Don't look back, don't stop. Just run."
"Like hell I will," I started to say, but the door beside Marcus exploded inward.
Through smoke and debris, figures emerged—a dozen operatives in black tactical gear, weapons trained with professional precision. But the man who stepped forward, removing his helmet, made my blood run cold and my fingers tighten on the blade until my knuckles went white.
He could have been Sebastian's brother. Sharp cheekbones, predatory grace, eyes shifting between amber and gold. But where Sebastian's cruelty was honest, worn openly, this man's smile held something rotten beneath the charm.
"Cousin," the stranger said, voice carrying easily. "It's been too long."
Marcus inhaled sharply beside me. "Lucas Blackwood."
Sebastian's hand found my back, possessive, and I leaned into it despite myself, drawing what comfort I could from the solid warmth.
"Lucas." Sebastian's voice could have frozen the river again. "I should have known. Only you would be stupid enough to try this."
Lucas laughed, the sound echoing off ice and abandoned buildings. "Stupid? I prefer 'ambitious.' You've held the Alpha position too long, cousin. The family thinks it's time for new leadership. Someone who hasn't been compromised by—" His gaze slid to me, lingering in a way that made my skin crawl and my stomach turn. "—inappropriate attachments to creatures that should be specimens, not bedmates."
"Fuck you," I said before I could stop myself.
Lucas's smile widened. "Oh, we'll get to that."