Page 83 (1/2)

Finally, I ignored his teeth entirely and just s pierced ue trailed along his lower lip, he started to relax The process ay faster this time; I assumed it was because of the amount of blood involved, but it could also have been the fact that we’d done this before

As soon as he started to kiss me back, I ripped my mouth away from his before the depth and sweetness of the kiss could consume me I needed to stay sharp, and as ht now

I moved into a crouch and peered over Xero’s head Gavriel was taking his sweet tiathered around him

Basking in his own genius, I bet Savoring the moment before the final kill

“Keep savoring, old man,” I muttered Then I turned to all my men

A wave of relief surged through azes met mine—they were all as beat up and bloodied as I was, but their eyes were clear, their expressions deterether

I jerkeddeeper into the massive cave “Come on Quickly Quietly Watch our backs Run”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

We crept quickly and quietly down the die until Gavriel’s hideous roar exploded behind us, then we broke into an all-out run

Kingston snatched up a torch without breaking stride, di the space ied to stay ahead of Gavriel and his fiendish duo I was trusting Kingston to lead us to the stones, knowing his dragon’s love of treasure would guide him there Meanwhile, all of my attention was on our backs, where I could feel Gavriel closing the gap

“Faster!” I gasped

The space between my ribs was on fire and I could barely catch a breath, but the roiling black rew stronger around us until it was a palpable rew thicker with every step until I could barely see Kingston in front of me Then, with a startled yelp, he disappeared entirely

I didn’t have time to process what’d just happened before I stepped off the sae he had and slid down the same steep slope that’d snatched him away I fell on top of him, then rolled us both out of the way as Xero, Jayce, and Kai tumbled down after us

“Over there,” Kingston rasped, gasping for breath

I followed his pointing finger to a large dip in the ground that reminded me, ridiculously, of a model of a dinosaur nest I’d seen in ele-shaped stones of all sizes and colors Kingston pulled the precious list out of his pocket