Page 114 of Caressed By Sin
They slung more spheres.
The whole nursery shook.
A few kids cried.
“Zoe, do what I told you to.” Azar headed toward the glass wall.
“Azar, come back!” I yelled.
Growling, Azar raised his crystal sword and raced toward the glass.
“No. Come back so we can go!” I turned to Zoe, raised my eyebrows, and asked, “What is he talking about?”
“Think about Jade.” Zoe walked over to me as he held Jade.
“But. . .” I turned around to Azar. He stood at the glass wall. Rage filled his eyes and twisted his expression. Then, he placed his back to me and then got into a fighting stance.
More cracks appeared.
No. No. No.
Five new sorcerers ran to the nursery.
A couple of the children began to wake up from their beds. I wished I could take them all.
I returned my focus to Azar. “Come over here so we can leave!”
Zoe’s arm came around my waist.
I froze, snapping my head back. “What are you doing? You’re just teleporting Jade. Azar is going to take me.”
“No, Fati.” Zoe avoided my eyes. Jade shifted in his long arms, still dreaming. He leaned down to me. “The demon changed the plan.”
“What? No!” I pushed against Zoe’s arm, but it remained locked to me. I turned my face back to Azar and yelled, “The plan wasn’t to fight if we didn’t have to it was to—”
“No.Myplan was always option one.” Azar kept his back to me. “I was always going to turn myself in. I just wasn’t sure how I was going to get you and Jade out, but now I trust Zoe to do that for me.”
“Get over here so we can go!” I hit Zoe’s arm.
Jade stirred a little but remained asleep.
Zoe whispered, “Say your goodbyes so we can leave.”
Tears dripped down my face. “I didn’t want you to sacrifice yourself!”
He spun around. A blast came from behind him on the other side of the glass. There were now thirty sorcerers flinging balls and casting spells. It was only a matter of time before the window would collapse.
“Adae would never stop searching for you and Jade. He can’t get into the outer world, but he could hire others to go in.” Azar’s chocolate eyes pierced mine. “If I traded myself for you, he’d forget about you both. You would be free.”
“No,” I cried, shaking my head.
One tear fell from the corner of Azar’s eye. He brought his hand up to his face, wiped it away, and then looked at Zoe. “Take them!”
“No. Wait.” I quickly struggled to break free, but there was no use. Zoe’s grip was too tight.
“I’d kiss you right now.” Azar grinned. “But you’d just bite my neck and try to take me along.”
The world began to spin. I waved my hands around, screaming and trying to stop Zoe from taking us away. I could see the glass wall shatter into tiny pieces and heard Azar say, “I love you, Fatou!”
