Oh...crap. She’d been punching and clawing at him instead of the assassin, and his face bore the brunt of her handiwork. He had a black eye, a bloody nose and a split lip.

Though she stilled, her heart continued to race. A lance of pain shot through her. A herald of what was to come. An instant later, excruciating pains racked her body. “Wh-what happened?”

“We crashed. Once I got you out of the vehicle, your body turned to mist, like it did on the island.”

When would the violence end? “Are you hurt?”

“I’m fine, but I need you to remain motionless,” he said, still running, running. “There’s a piece of metal embedded next to your heart.”

What! She reached up. When she wrapped her fingers around a small metal pipe, a whimper escaped.

“I will get you to safety, and you will heal,” he rushed out, desperation and concern tinging his ragged voice. “Do you understand? You will heal. Say it.”

“I will heal,” she whispered, the words slurred. Would she, though? Colder by the second. Shudders rocked her against him, aggravating the muscles around the pipe. “Where are we?”

“Don’t know. But I know where we’ll be.”

“Are we being chased?” The road portal...she didn’t remember seeing anyone standing within it, or near it, but someone had opened it.

“We are. Ronan and Petra are combatants working together. Perhaps dating. Ronan has a glowing sword able to temporarily blind his opponents, and Petra has a sword able to create instant walls out of any material it touches. Metal. Ice. Bone.”

She remembered both of those weapons from the cavern battle, especially Petra’s. The beautiful female had swung at Bane and a wall of ice had grown from the floor.

Her dark side whispered, I want the couple dead, killed by my hand. I want to rip out their hearts and feast. I want to take their weapons and slay the man who murdered my parents. I want to hold their hearts in my hands and rejoice as the organ performs its last beat.

Nola...agreed. Her limbs even vibrated with excitement. Gimme.

Just then, she understood Bane’s desire for vengeance in a way she hadn’t before.

“Bane,” she purred. The attempt on his life was another sin to lay at the couple’s door. A sin her dark side used as fuel, gaining new ground inside her mind...and her heart?

“Yes, dove?”

“Be a dear and kill them both, but save their hearts for me.” I could use a snack.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

What to do when he’s the king of cling