Embraced (The Eternal Balance #2)(47)
“You never did like playing by the rules, brother.” From the other end of the room, Chase walked into the kitchen. The front of his shirt and jeans were covered in blood. “I couldn’t allow cheating.”
Sam let out an agonized howl and launched herself upright. She dove for him, and, surprised, I wasn’t able to grab in her time. “The world ends if Jax kills you,” she screamed. “I’m free to do what I want.”
Chase let her pin him against the counter. He even let her grab the butcher knife next to the sink and hold it to his throat. With an amused chuckle, he said, “Looks like the cuff is doing a number on you, Samantha.” He pointed to the clock above the door. “Time’s running out. You should focus on Malphi—something you should have done in the first place.”
The knife broke through his skin as Sam shook with rage. Part of it was mine, feeding her actions through the link, but there was a portion of it that was all hers. After years of carrying a feeling of helplessness, reliving the night her parents were killed, she’d reached a breaking point. Pushed by the situation, or simply by the culmination of everything that had happened over the last few months, the seams of her control were ripping.
“Take it off,” she growled.
Chase only laughed. “This side of you is damn sexy, Samantha, and while it’s hard to resist you, I’m going to have to decline.” In a swift movement he had their positions reversed, minus the knife. “But if you don’t wish to eliminate Malphi, you can allow me to claim you and I’ll remove the cuff.”
I jumped to my feet and wrapped my fingers around a handful of his shirt. Hauling him back, I slammed him into the far wall.
He clucked his tongue, never losing his smile. “Don’t do it. You might not care about the fate of the world, Jax, but you kill me and she’s dead, too.”
Azi raged inside me, flashing scene after scene—multiple, bloody ways to take Chase out. I felt the urge hum through every part of my body. It vibrated deep inside, waking something I kept buried deep. The borderline euphoric feeling that his death promised lingered just within my reach. All it would take was a single move. An instantaneous act that meant freedom from the pain and guilt I’d grown up with. Forget about Zenak. Screw Azirak. Chase might be my brother, but he was a bad person. And I fed on bad people, right? A part of me was terrified at the ease with which my mind justified it all. But it was more complicated than that.
If I killed him, Sam would die.
If I didn’t kill him, Malphi would have to die.
“Jax!”
My grip loosened and I stepped away. Chase beamed, an expression full of smug satisfaction. He was untouchable and knew it. “That’s better,” he said, glancing up at the clock. “There’s still time, Jax. You can still save her.”
I backed away, feeling more helpless than I ever had. I would find Malphi. I would try to kill it. But I wouldn’t succeed. I knew now that the hold Azirak had over me wasn’t something I could compete with. I could fight the monster. Most of the time, I could win. But when it came to Malphi, I had no delusions. Azirak would not allow its mate to die.
“Sammy,” I said. My throat felt thick. “Let’s go.”
Chapter Twenty
Sam
Jax took my hand and led me through the house. It was all a blur. I looked down at myself and saw that my jeans were stained with red. The blood of a stranger, someone like me, caught in the crossfire of a war we had no stake in. He’d been killed simply because the blood that flowed through him could have saved my life. He hadn’t deserved this…
We emerged from the house to find the female demon still waiting. The last thing I wanted was to get in that car. I was out of options, hours away from dying. I didn’t want to spend my remaining moments on Earth with a demon.
At least, not that demon.
When we reached the car, I stopped and turned to Jax. “I don’t want to die.” The words came out so low that I thought maybe he didn’t hear me. “Please, don’t let me go. I just—we—I’ll do anything to stay.”
The agony in his expression stole my breath. The corner of his eyes glistened as he sucked in a breath. He grabbed my face, fingers digging into the skin. “I’ll kill the bitch, Sammy. I will.”
It wasn’t me he was trying to convince though. It was himself. I shook my head. “No, Jax. You won’t.”
I watched it happen. He shattered before me, throwing his head back and letting out a scream that could have chilled the arctic. The sound blasted right through me. I felt it from the tips of my toes to the bottom of every strand of hair. Balling his fist tight, Jax slammed it down against the roof of the car, caving the side in almost a foot. Our demonic chauffer said nothing.
I waited for his breathing to even out then gingerly took his hand. He was bleeding. The torn metal had sliced the pinkie side of his palm in an ugly gash. “I don’t know much about being a Pure.” My heart thundered inside my chest. The words came without thought. “I’ve seen what—what they can do. Demons. The ways they try to break you down to get what they want.” The memory of what I’d watched them do to my mother when I was a child was permanently burned into my brain. “I can’t—if they find me before I… Whoever gets to me will have the ability to lay claim. I don’t know if I have the strength to hold out. You should do it first. Before it comes down to torture…”