Page 192 of Ignite
But then something changes.
I feel it in my fingertips first, a faint tingling that sizzles into my palms and up my arms. Then, a thousand pinpricks tap against the bottom of my feet, and that begins to spread, too. Soon, my entire body feels as if I’ve jumped into icy water. My fingers and toes clench, while the rest of my limbs tremble at the shock in my system.
Every nerve ending is awake.Alive.
Magic swells inside of me like a tidal wave cresting, and I gasp. My knees buckle from the sheer force of it roaring back to life, as if it never left me and was just waiting to be called back.
Graylen jerks against me, the demon inside of him trying to get away.
I call on my shadows, my chest tightening as I wait for themto respond. They’ve been quiet for so long, ever since I used the shard.
Almost instantly, my shadows respond. Without opening my eyes, I can feel them leak from my body and wrap around Graylen, holding him snug against me. I don’t have time to feel relief, because as his blood fills my mouth, a delicious and intoxicating haze settles over my body like a fuzzy blanket.
I feel the air shift behind me as someone moves closer, and as if on instinct, a wall of shadows forms around Graylen and me. The world falls away; the only feeling I can focus on is the taste of his blood as it flows across my tongue.
Then, it’s just him and me.
Seventy-Nine
Invisibilia Film
Beautiful,warm deliciousness explodes into my mouth, his blood hot on my tongue. Any concern I have about Daimon and Vidaris begins to slip away with each gulp I drown in.
My vision blurs, so I squeeze my eyes shut, groaning in pure bliss as Graylen’s blood warms my insides. There’s the distant sound of shouting around me, but I don’t have it in me to care.
“That’s it, beautiful,”Graylen murmurs into my mind.“Take what you need.”
The feeling of bliss morphs into pure joy and relief. I can hear him—therealhim.
I don’t understand what’s happening, but I know that I’m not alone.
My hand grips the back of his neck, his chest pressed into me as his body fights me. If it weren’t for the warm feeling coursing through me, I might stop. But his voice urges me on in my mind, keeping me going.
“I’m here, little princess,”he says, the sound of his voice stronger and clearer now.“I’m right here.”
I growl, a possessiveness ripping through me as I sink my teeth deeper. For a moment, I swear I hear a groan rumble in Graylen’s chest—his limbs momentarily ceasing their struggle to push me away.
Within an instant, he starts to flail again, pushing harder.
“You’re hurting me, Lunaria,” the fake Graylen says aloud.
“Don’t listen,”my Graylen urges into my thoughts.“Keep going. I can take it.”
A comforting wave of warmth washes over me, wrapping me in a cocoon of love.
Graylen.
My magic stirs from within the depths of my soul, slowly waking the rest of my Essence as my shadows keep Graylen locked against me.
A scream followed by my name catches my attention—a voice that sounds…familiar.
My lips stay locked on Graylen’s throat, but my eyes peek open. All of the air in my lungs freezes at what I see through the shadowy haze protecting us.
Warm hazel eyes frantically look in our direction, though not directly at me. Her soft brown hair, worked into a single braid—so like mine—whips wildly to the side as she dodges attackers. Her light magic swells in brilliant, shimmering rays at each burst that leaves her palms.
My mother came for me.
Evelina Manor, Queen of Penyth.
