Page 126 of Enchanted

As he spoke, a shadow crossed one of the high windows.

Another.

A third.

“Rami’s going to kill you,” I said, raising my voice almost to a shout, trying to cover the beating on the air. “If you hurt me, he’ll kill you.”

Something deep in my bones told me Rami was going to kill him regardless. After seeing firsthand what Damien was capable of, that thought didn’t scare me. It reassured me.

“He can try,” Damien said as he contemplated two different scalpels. “Many have tried, but none have succeeded.”

An unfamiliar voice rang out. “Probably because they didn’t have intimate knowledge of your weaknesses.”

Damien dropped the scalpels onto the tray with a clatter, before whirling around. “Ezra, my favourite son.”

I peered around him to see a tall, handsome man standing off to the left-hand side. From the sneer on his face, he was about as much of a fan of his father as I was.

“Rude,” another voice said. I whipped my head around to see another man stepping from the shadows. This one had a piercing glinting in his eyebrow. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to have favourites?”

A third figure appeared, this one to my right. Covered in tattoos, he was almost as big as Rami. “You forget, Elias, that’s Damien’s whole M.O. Favourite toys that he wants to see how far he can push them before they break.”

“None of you ever did,” Damien said casually, his hand drifting to the back of his trousers. “Look how strong you all are because of me. Emerson, you should be especially grateful.”

Emerson glared at his father. “I feel many things when I look at you. Gratitude isn’t one of them.”

Another man stepped into my field of vision. “We’re strong in spite of you.” His voice was quieter, but deadly, nonetheless. “And I suggest you don’t pull out that stake. It’ll only make matters worse.”

Damien dropped his hand away with an amused smile. “Ah, Erik. A full family reunion. How fitting, given we’re about to add another member to our clan.”

I jolted as heat licked around my hands. Weirdly, it wasn’t burning me, despite feeling like I’d shoved my hands directly into a fire.

Elias, the one with the piercing, caught my gaze. He shook his head ever so slightly, and I went still. A small curl of his lips told me I’d done the right thing.

The heat increased, and suddenly my hands were free.

I didn’t move. Kept them together behind me, waiting. For what, I didn’t know. Obviously, a plan was playing out, but what terrified me was that none of them knew.

None of them knew about the other bombs.

The power that lay in Damien’s pocket.

But I did.

“We won’t be adding to the clan today,” Ezra said, taking a few casual steps forwards. His three brothers moved at the same time. “We’ll be removing from it.”

Damien smirked. “Oh, so you’re all grown up now, are you? Shall I remind you of what happened last time you challenged me?”

“We’re faster now,” Erik said. He spoke so quietly I had to strain to hear him. “Stronger, too.”

I knew almost nothing about their world, but Erik had this aura about him. One that said, ‘fuck around and find out.’

“Most importantly,” Elias drawled as they all drew nearer, like predators herding their prey. “We’re not alone.”

His words must’ve been a signal.

Figures dropped from the ceiling of the warehouse. All of them winged. They hit the concrete with several resounding cracks.

Right before me, less than six feet away, was Rami. Lightning crackled around his hands as his huge chest heaved. He might’ve been an angel, but right now, there was nothing angelic about his expression.