It took Trumbull that long to figure out what was going on. He fumbled for his weapon, but before he could get it drawn, Evangeline pulled her knees to her chest, floating in the air by the ceiling for a microsecond. When she punched out with her legs, I felt the percussive force of the magic she sent with them. It rocked past me, blowing me backward even as it exploded the wall outward.
Trumbull, Clark, and I all flew back, landing on our asses and fetching up against the back wall with a series of resounding thumps.
I cracked my head against the wall behind me, and stars floated in front of my face—but not enough to obscure the glorious sight of Mara leaping over the rubble and out the hole her partner had created in the wall.
Evangeline floated out behind her and wrapped her arms around her friend’s neck, digging her fingers into Mara’s ruff.
With another swirl of bright magic, the two flashed away, faster than Mara could run on her own.
I reached up to feel the lump on the back of my head, wincing as my fingers made contact with the egg-sized bump.
Beside me, Trumbull spoke urgently into his walkie-talkie, barking out commands and instructions.
As alpha, I should have been angry that one of my pack members had so blatantly refused to work with me.
But as I pulled myself to my feet, my inner wolf lolled his tongue in lupine laughter.
There was definitely something satisfying about seeing my mate best the system.
Even if she didn’t know yet that she was my mate.
I indicated Trumbull with a nod that I would head back to the yard. He waved us away impatiently.
Strolling back down the long hallway, I made eye contact with Clark.
He didn’t say anything, but the corner of his mouth quirked up in something that was almost a grin.
Oh, yeah. He definitely felt it, too.
Those two women couldn’t get very far. They almost certainly couldn’t escape the island—not even with the magical ability they had shown so far. But even if they could, they’d be picked up eventually and brought back.
No, one way or another, we would be seeing them again.
And I couldn’t wait to see what they did next.
The End
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USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and New York Times bestselling author Margo Bond Collins is a former college English professor who, tired of explaining the difference between “hanged” and “hung,” turned to writing romance novels instead. (Sometimes her heroines kill monsters, too.
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Margo Bond Collins writing as Ivy Hearne
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The Hunters’ Academy, Year 1
The Hunters’ Academy, Year 2
Abducted
Bokerah Brumley
About ABDUCTED
Magically challenged Zenith Calhoun and her best friend, Samantha, live in a shack and survive on stolen bits of food. Together, they survive on Unseen Street, in a world adjacent to the mortal realm. But, Paden, the captain of the peacekeepers, has much more nefarious plans for Zenith and Sam.
A Blackened Apple
Unseen Street
Zenith Calhoun made her way down the alley, toward the open-air market, her stomach growling so loudly she thought she might earn a snicker or two from the group of vampire younglings at the corner. None of them said anything.
Twilight tinted the sky above the red-brick buildings. Cracks spiderwebbed across the deteriorating asphalt, and purple Fae grasses grew up through the gaps. The grit of the city scraped against her shoe soles. Yeasty smells of fresh breads and spiced meats tickled her nose and made her stomach twist. She hadn’t had anything to eat all that day or supper the night before.
Zenith’s ears twitched, but she didn’t slow her forward motion. If the rumors were true, magical hybrids had been disappearing all over the city, but she couldn’t stop.
Sam’s hunger drove Zenith almost as much as her own. She meant to keep Sam alive until they could figure out how to beat Sam’s sleep problems. The end of the business day was always the best time to hit the market. Shopkeepers busied themselves counting their money for the day and packing up their wares.
Footsteps echoed about half a block behind her, the bipedal sounds too light to be anything larger than a mortal child. Perhaps one of the scamps that frequented the thoroughfares leading to the bazaar. The hurry-scurry increased the closer she got to the hub of business.
Farg, a giant of an ogre, sat at the threshold of the market, eyeing every shopper, his arms crossed. He made his living as the thief crusher, and he took his job seriously. When he glanced at Zenith, she waved. Other than the slightest crinkle of his hairy, warty upper lip, he didn’t react. She adjusted her jacket and slipped by him without stopping.
Once inside the souk, Zenith didn’t dawdle. A family of hum-fairies zoomed past her head, each one giggling like mad, probably on their way to portal to new homes. Trolls hawked spittoons, magic lamps, and the magic moss that
