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Now Lanthe kept her weapon poised for--

Pain on her ankle?

Body reeling forward?

One second Lanthe had been sprinting; the next she was on her face, sword tu had her! Claws sank into her ankle, piercing the leather of her boot She screamed and thrashed, but it hauled her back

Ghoul? Deround, scrabbling for purchase, looking over her shoulder

Her own night body tensed A s unfurled--they seeht

The bastard had actually braved an underground shaft Vrekeners never abandon their hunt

"Release me, you dick!" She kicked out with th Wait, why didn’t he have a collar? Thronos was akin to an angel, a warrior for right

She knew he’d become a warlord Had he turned evil over these centuries?

"Let her go, Thronos!" Carrow yelled, charging She’d parked Ruby so to take on a Vrekener

For Lanthe I knew I liked that witch

Before she could reach Lanthe, Thronos had used one of his wings to send Carrow sprawling The witch scra her oord

Lanthe continued to thrash, filled with dread Thronos was too strong; like Lanthe, Carrow still had her collar

When the witch charged again, a wing flashed out oncedown to slide under it She shoved her sword up, piercing the wing, leaving her weapon to hang like a giant splinter

He gave a yell, releasing Lanthe to pluck the sword free Blood poured froed for Lanthe, snaring her hand Before she could get Lanthe up and running, Thronos seized Lanthe’s leg again, wrenching her back--but Carrow and Lanthe kept their hands locked

It was a losing proposition Ruby was vulnerable without Carrow And for all the grief, heartache, and pain Thronos and his kind had dished out to Lanthe over the years, she didn’t believe he could murder her in cold blood

She chanced another look back No matter how much he’d looked like he was about to

His blood-splattered face was as grie-old question arose: did he want to abduct her or kill her? Or abduct her to torture then kill?

No, no, he couldn’t hurt her; Lanthe was his fated ain In the distance, Ruby called, "Crow!"

"Save Ruby!" Lanthe cried S around the in deter rush, rocks began to tu the space between Carrow and Ruby

Ruby screamed, "Crow! Where are you?"

Carrow screairl!" Lanthe yanked her hand free, allowing Thronos to haul her away "I’ll be okay!"

Carrow’s stricken face disappeared as he dragged Lanthe into the smoke

After three weeks of iht again--by so she hated eventheir captives "Letsteps

Almost at once, he veered into a s past it

"You’re going the wrong way!" She dug her round When a cloud of gravel erupted in front of her face, she coughed up grit "Damn it, Thronos, turn back!" Blood continued to pour fro a trail beside Lanthe’s furrows "We were al to reach the shore Now he see Leave it to a Vrekener to round

"Centuries I’ve waited for this," he grated, never loosening his viselike grip around her ankle

Another quake rocked the tunnel When a boulder crashed down beside her, she stopped claith her gauntlets, instead crying, "Faster, idiot!"

As if she weighed nothing, he yanked her up frorown taller than any Vrekener she’d ever seen Heover her five and a half feet With his gaze boring into hers, he squeezed her against his chest

His hair--too light to be black, too dark to be broas streaked with ash, thehis eyes But as he beheld her, his irises turned to that brilliant silver--like lightning Like his ghostly wings

"Letat him with her claws

He dropped her to her feet--just to shove her against the wall With his rigid body pressed against her, he leaned in, tilting his head creepily

Was he going to kiss her? "Don’t you dare!" She ain, but he pinned her wrists above her head

A heartbeat later, he took her ressively, burning away her shock

She bit his botto She bit harder

He squeezed her wrists until she thought he would snap her bones She released his

"Now it begins" With his free hand, he swiped his fingers over his bloody mouth, then reached to sods, he’s been e boulder, blocking the way they’d come

"Just brilliant!" She was trapped with Thronos, her survival tied to his She gazed back at those rocks Had her friendsher worry, he sneered, "I’d be more concerned about your fate" She faced her enemy with dread "Which has at last been sealed"

TWO

I have her Thronos just stopped hi with triumph I bloody have her

With her wrists still pinned, he ripped herin her face Her wide blue eyes were stark against her soot-led about her cheeks and neck His blood painted her plu creature he’d ever seen