Page 136 of The Never List
Adrenaline crackles in my veins, and I shift to sit up straighter in my seat, parting my lips—
“Yeah, kitten,” Axl picks up where Pierce left off. “You can’t blame us for wanting to protect you when we have the power to do it.”
But I have power, too.
Say it.
Justsayit.
Each one of them now knows I’m an Ashlander and couldn’t care less.
I have power, too…
“Come on,” Jax says, suddenly rising from his chair. He looks down at me, a hand outstretched. “Let’s dance.” The sudden shift in conversation makes me eye him curiously.
I take his hand and stand up, scanning the features on his face. Can he sense my emotional struggle? Can he sense my intention to lie or tell the truth, and that’s why he’s offering me this out?
My heart warms at the idea of this form of protection. Both he and Pierce are giving me space and time to come to them when I’m ready, even though there’s no way that Jax knows my final secret. He must only sense my struggle.
Jax grins down at me—the smile that’s just for me and isn’t laced with threats and promises of nightmares. He slides some hair away from my face, dipping down to kiss me, his lips moving to the line of my jaw—
The subtle movement gives me a view behind him, and everything around me slows down at the sight of Turner aiming one of those powerful magical blasters right at the back of Jax’s head.
The other Legends can’t see him from this angle. Just me.
Every instinct flares to life, adrenaline rushing through me so sharp it hurts.
The crack of the magic snaps through the air, loud enough to be heard over the music pulsing not far away.
Red streaks of fire spear for the back of Jax’s head, and my power snaps through me in one great burst, wind gusting around us, moving us out of the way so quickly, Jax doesn’t even register it.
“What the fuck?” Axl shouts.
The Legends scramble away from the table, but they aren’t faster than me.
I put myself in front of Jax, using my wind to rip the blaster out of Turner’s trembling fingers.
A wave of my hand, and I steal all the air from his lungs. Another flick of my wrist, and the wind propels him up in the air, hanging him upside down as rage makes my entire body shake.
“You will die for that!” I yell, tears gathering in my eyesat how close he came to hurting Jax.
“Rylee.” My name is a plea from Kal’s lips, and I spare a glance at him behind me before I hear the sounds of more enforcers heading our way.
I release my power. Turner smacks against the ground in an unceremonious heap, gulping down the air I’ve returned to him. Enforcers spill into Jax’s private space, weapons drawn.
“We heard the shot, your highnesses,” one of them says. “Is everyone all right?”
Jax is at my side in an instant, positioning me behind him protectively, raking his fingers through his hair as he glares down at Turner.
“We’re fine,” he says, nodding to Turner. “This one is angry that I humiliated him a couple of nights ago. Put him in the dungeons where he belongs.”
“Right away, your highness,” the enforcer says, all four of them working to scoop Turner off the floor and take him out of sight.
And then Jax’s eyes are on me.
And Axl’s and Kal’s and Pierce’s.
I feel like I might buckle under the weight of all four of their stares, but I hold my head high, swallowing the fear and panic climbing up my throat.
