Page 11 of Remnants
“All lies,” he admits easily with a shrug. “She was a means to an end, just like all the others.”
The others?
Charles’s gaze flicks beside me. “Did I hear correctly that you’re Dane?”
Dane tenses, his expression growing dark. There’s no use denying it, but we don’t confirm it, either.
Charles smiles, appearing pleased. “I’ll take you with me as well, then. Just give me a moment to dispose of my mistake and we’ll be on our way.”
To dispose of mymistake.
Yup. I’m done.
Rage burns the emotional pain away, flooding my senses until there’s nothing else. My gift activates all on its own, ready todisposeof this man first.
Fuck him. And fuck his lies.
“Don’t talk about her like that,” Dane snaps. “And I’m not going anywhere with you, you piece of shit.”
I duck around Dane and charge at Charles, closing the distance before he can raise the gun. I grab his wrist first, then snatch the gun with my other hand and turn it to ash. Charles cries out when my gift cracks and spreads up his arm.
His fist smashes into my face, and I involuntarily release him as I stumble to the side. Dane catches me from behind before I fall, pulling me against his chest. My face pounds from the impact, and I reach a hand up to let my cooler fingers soothe the building ache.
I had enough of him to destroy that one arm. It’ll put us at an advantage against him, which I have a feeling we’ll need. He’s too confident for me to believe he’s just a paperwork guy. And somehow, he managed to incapacitate Kellan. We can’t take him lightly.
When I check on my handiwork on his arm, my lungs constrict. The sleeve of his shirt is destroyed, but instead of ravaged andcracked skin, I stare at burnt gold scales. They’re a dark and dull comparison to Kellan’s, but otherwise unmistakable.
“Fuck. He has the same gift as Kell?” Dane breathes incredulously.
Charles laughs, turning his arm before himself as if admiring his own gift. “Truly marvelous,” he commends himself.
What the—?
I glance at Kellan, remembering the time Charles had watched Kell’s gift activate.
His interest in it had been subtle, but it was there.
“He stole it…” I whisper, in shock.
Dane curses, his arms tightening around me. “Keep him talking. I’ll sneak around behind him to mute his gift, and then you can use yours.”
“Can I use my gift on him while you’re touching him?”
“Guess we’ll find out.”
He slides his arms down, releasing me slowly to avoid drawing Charles’s attention back to us. He’s so excited about his new gift that it’s like we no longer exist.
Or we’re not a big enough threat for him to bother keeping tabs on.
It’s that thought which makes me hesitate.
“Dane…” I start, pinching his hoodie before he’s out of reach. “I don’t like you getting close to him. He’s after you.”
He covers my hand with his, gently tugging the fabric free. “There’s no portal around right now, so now’s the time. We don’t have much choice if he has Kellan’s healing and invulnerability.”
Still, my stomach twists into a knot.
Something appears in my periphery, and I nearly collapse with relief.
