Page 59 of Burn of Obsidian

“Why would he see you as a threat?” Thea asked, her skin tingling, as if her whole body was touching iron. It had started when Faye had first poked at her shoulder and had slowly grown.

“Because of what Leo is.” Faye seemed careful with her words. “But he – ”

“Jax.”

“Jax,” she quickly corrected, “needs to know he wasn’t the one to call the Unhallowed, or the Lesser.”

Thea blinked, her eyesight blurring. “Lesser, as in the Skull-face?”

Leo grunted, his arcane puffing out as he crossed his arms. “Gideon’s getting impatient. Lessers have been spotted throughout the city, growing in numbers. It’s getting harder to hide.”

Jax made a sound, and Leo nodded as if he understood.

“Why would you need to hide?”

Leo took his time to reply. “Because not all of us agree with him. Some of us just want to live peacefully, free and without the threat of war.”

Faye grabbed one of the vials, breaking the glass. Leo stepped forward without a word, ignoring Jax’s growl as he used the broken shard to cut along his wrist. Blood swelled, and Faye caught a few drops in the other part of the vial, mixing the liquids.

“We need to go. The hound may attract others,” he said.

“I’m almost done.” Faye’s touch was gentle, fingers cold as she brushed along Thea’s cheek. “Now, this is going to hurt,” she said, and before Thea could explain she was feeling pretty good, Faye dug her fingers into her shoulder.

Chapter 23

Jax

Ignoring the large wound on his thigh, Jax yanked on the jeans his brother had thrown him. The shift had healed his muscle enough to hold his weight, but it would take some time before it was back to normal. He’d taken a dangerous hit, one that would normally leave him bed-bound for a week, but he’d been too distracted with Thea to realise.

“Fuck, J.” Sythe let out a long whistle. “That needs to be stitched, otherwise it’ll be a fucker to heal.”

Jax ignored the concern, instead grabbing the boots and shirt several sizes too small. The fabric stretched across his chest, ripping slightly on his biceps.

Thea giggled, her legs resting vertically on the wall as she laid with her back flat to the floor, looking at the sky. Which was better than her staring at a decomposing vampire.

“What’s wrong with her?” Sythe asked, crouching down.

“Hey Sy,” she said in a dreamy tone, her head rolling to the side as she turned to him with a grin. “You still a misogynistic dick?”

“I can see why you called me and not Axel,” Sythe laughed. “Is she high?”

Jax shook his head. “She was bitten by a hound.”

She was also pretty high, but at least she didn’t feel any pain. He hoped.

Thea sat up at his voice, looking over her shoulder at him. Her lips were parted slightly, her pink hair a mess from where she’d laid on the pavement. “You’re not fluffy,” she whispered, almost disappointed.

Sythe’s smirk dropped, the colour draining from his face. “Did you say bitten? How the fuck is she still alive?”

After the initial scream of the witch sealing the wound, Thea had passed out. His beast had gone crazy, and it had taken everything in him to change back into the man – to fight for control that had been quickly slipping.

MY TURN, Beast snarled, pacing in the confines of his mind.

Just a little longer, he replied, hoping his beast understood enough to ease back.

“I’m fine.” Thea went to swipe at Sythe, only to miss. “The witch made me glow green.”

“Witch?” Sythe frowned. “What happened?”