Page 96 of Beauty At Stake
“Seren!” Daxon shouted a second later.
Both men converged on me.
“Don't touch me!” I shrieked as I fell deeper. With nothing to support my legs in the hole, I couldn't get myself out.
“The fuck I won't,” Killian growled and grabbed my arms, taking me away from the table.
He pulled me up, and I clawed at his shoulders in relief when I rose. But then something cold enveloped my ankle, and I felt a drain of energy. Not just energy—magic. I cried out again when the metal around my ankle yanked me down.
“Kill,” I whispered, my eyes wide. “Someone's got a magic-dampening manacle on me!”
“No, they fucking don't! I've got you.”
“And I've got him,” Daxon, who had his arms wound around Killian, said. “We'll pull them out with you if we have to.”
And they did make some headway. Even as I went limp from dizziness and waves of exhaustion, they drew me out of the floor like a magician's trick. It was bizarre to see my body go back and forth into the concrete. What made it truly awful was not being able to help them.
Then Rue roared and barreled into Daxon.
Other people had been rushing over to help Daxon and Killian, but they froze when they saw Rue in his werewolf form, rolling around with Daxon. Even Killian paused, and I went in to my shoulders.
“Babe!” Kill pulled back.
Seeing Rue take down Dax, I knew instantly that he had betrayed us. Which meant the sorceress was on the other end of this tug-of-war. And she would be ready for us this time. I met my husband's stare and said, “Killian, let go.”
Snarling came and the sound of things crashing, but I didn't look away from Killian.
“Not happening,” Kill said.
“It's her, Kill!” I hissed. “It will be bad enough if she captures me. But if she has two of us, she can play us off each other. Let go!”
“Nope. You go, I go.”
“Killian, let go!” I tried to push him away. “She can use me as a hostage, but she doesn't need two! She'll kill you!”
He didn't answer. Instead, he roared and the veins in his neck popped as he put more effort into pulling me out. But that pit wasn't just a hole. The magic was sucking me in, and it looked as if it were stronger than my husband. Or maybe not. Killian got to his feet, using the ground as leverage, and yanked harder. I started to move upward. He got me halfway out when I felt the tug on my ankle. It became painful.
“Stop! She's got me chained to something, Kill. You can't pull me out. You'll take my foot off!”
“Then we're going in together.” He met my stare and wrapped his arms around me.
“No! Killian, please! Kill, let go!”
I fought him, but he held on, vowing, “Never, Twilight.”
As we fell, I saw Rue leap for us. He jumped into the hole after Killian and the three of us fell into a heap on a cold cement floor. Above us, a circle glowed on the ceiling and then it winked out.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Snarling filled my ears along with my gasps. The landing had winded me. Going from powerful immortal to magicless mortal was always hard, but add a fall of several feet to it and it was ten times worse. I struggled upright to see Killian punching Rue. He had the vex on the ground and blood sprayed with every hit. But someone was sneaking up behind Killian.
“Killian, behind you!” I cried out.
He turned just as the sorceress tossed a powder over him. One second later, Killian was on the ground.
“Killian!” I got up and ran for him, but the chain pulled me up short, and I stumbled to my knees.
“Well done, sweetheart,” Sarai purred as she went into Rue's arms.
