Page 96 of Midnight Kiss

She moaned underneath me.

“Alex,” she whispered. “Alex, I love you.”

The words were painful and sweet. “I love you,” I whispered.

After everything that had transpired, she still held love for me. Affection for me, and?—

Warmth started up in my torso and rippled through me, rapidly. The wounds on my chest knit, and my mind cleared. The shield slammed back into place in my mind, ejecting the first fingers of Ezekiel’s magic from within.

“Don’t bother,” he said, his footsteps echoing in the chamber. “I’ve already found out what I need to know, and Karn will do exactly what it takes to turn her.”

Emily’s hands were on my chest.

I shifted, my gaze locking onto hers. Those gorgeous blue eyes were focused on me, and her lush lips parted as she watched me with intrigue. “I love you,” she said, again.

I braced my arms either side of her, and then I swiftly pushed myself backward. I came to my feet, empowered, magic filling me to the brim.

Ezekiel stopped his approach, his eyes widening. “What the?—”

I swept toward him, forming my magic into a crimson blade, and removed his head from his shoulders. Emily cried out, but the silence that followed was heavenly. Ezekiel’s body tumbled to the floor, unmoving, and then slowly evaporated into an ashy nothingness.

He was gone.

“Come,” I said, and grabbed hold of Emily around the waist. I lifted her into my arms and sped from the dungeon room and into the hall, past two vampires who were pinned to the walls.

My time in Sanguine Nox had afforded me with the knowledge of these underground tunnels and warrens, and I navigated them with ease. Dipping into hiding places whenever I sensed another vampire approaching, more for Emily’s sake than mine. With the power coursing through my body, I was … immortal in a way I hadn’t been before.

I exited into Grand Central Station, resuming a more normal speed and placing Emily on her feet. I took her hand and walked with her beneath the ceiling, past the columns and through the ebb and flow of humans.

“Alex,” she whispered.

“Pretend everything is fine,” I said. “We’re leaving. Pretend you’re human.”

“I am human.” But the response sounded weak.

She was a Guardian, albeit an unbonded one, and that meant she wasn’t entirely human and she never would be again. And it was now my task to protect her.

Because I loved Emily. I loved her even though I hadn’t wanted to. The fact was undeniable to me now. And frustrating. Not because it weakened me, but because I had no control over it.

Outside, I bundled her into my car, and we drove off.

Emily sat in silence for a while with her arms folded and her gaze focused on the city as we drove through it. “I can still feel him,” she whispered. “Karn. I can feel him getting further and further away.”

“What did he do to you?”

“Fed me his blood. He said it made me a thrall.”

“Ah.” An illegal practice. Of course. “And the magic that came with it.”

“I think it’s gone. I don’t feel powerful any more.”

“Then those vampires you pinned against the walls will be free,” I said. “And they will be coming for you. Emily, do you understand what’s happened?”

“Yes,” she said. “I saw it. In a vision.”

There was so much for us to discuss now that I could finally talk to her, but now wasn’t the time. “We need to leave,” I said.

“Leave? I can’t just leave. What about work or Morgan or?—”