Page 48 of Vayn

“I don’t know,” I told her. “I think it’s because I was willing to die for our little half-human.”

“Do our shadows have wings too?” she asked.

I shook my head as I flew. “No. Only the Fallen can have wings.”

She nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”

“Did you hear me when I said I love you?” I asked.

“Loud and clear. And I’m sorry I ran, putting us in this position. Did you, uh, did you hear me when I said I love you?”

“I did, baby. I did. Because of you, I can fly again. Because of you, we are no longer alone. Because of you, we are in love, and we are loved. Destiny Porter, you have changed our lives forever. Even if we die here, it will be worth it to have met you.”

Tears filled her eyes. “You can’t die, Vayn. I won’t let you or my shadows die.”

Beastie barked, then snarled. Right! There was no time for talking. We needed to try to find a way out of here.

“Keep holding on to me,” I told her.

She did. I instructed my shadows to stay close to her. Together, we flew away from the sinister facility. But we would return with an army and wipe all of these monsters out. Drones filled the sky as we flew away.

They fired at us. My flying was rusty. I dodged and maneuvered, protecting my mate from the bullets. One struck my leg. Another struck my thigh. My body jerked as another bullet hit me.

“Vayn!” Destiny shouted.

“I’m okay,” I told her, ignoring the pain. “I’ll get us to Shadow General Hospital.”

Even if it’s the last thing I do.

“But you’re slowing down,” she pointed out. “We need to land so I can check your wounds.”

I couldn’t stop. I had to keep going. I couldn’t let them recapture her. Gritting my teeth, I continued to fly as the wounds healed. Another bullet hit me. Fuck. That one really hurt, causing my back to bow. I increased my hold on Destiny, making sure I didn’t let her go, no matter how intense the pain became.

“Shadows,” Destiny yelled. “Return to Vayn. Heal him. If he’s wounded, he can’t save any of us.”

It shouldn’t surprise me that my shadows obeyed her orders. She placed her hand against my chest and stared up at me as Beastie whimpered.

“This place took my best friend from me,” my mate told me. “I’m not letting it take my mate.”

She closed her eyes. She had to be trying to dream travel.

“Mate,” I yelled, blood pouring from my wounds that were healing slower than expected. “You can’t dream travel while we’re on these grounds. This place has wards. They let you in but don’t let you out.”

“Fuck their wards. I’m getting us out of here.” Blood trickled from her nose.

“Mate, stop!”

I wanted to say more, but two bullets struck my wings. My body jerked. My movements became slower. My shadows were working hard to heal me. And I could sense Dread trying to heal both me and our mate.

But it was just too much. There was something different about these bullets. They burned more and more the longer they stayed lodged within me. Angel fire. They had to be using the powder from Angel Fire in these bullets.

Fuck. I needed to get my mate away from here. More drones filled the sky. I could see the forest. I was so close. If I could just make it there, we’d be safe. Blood poured from my mate’s ears.

“Destiny, stop.”

Another bullet struck me, hitting my spine and shredding through my wings. And then we were falling.

“Fuck!” I yelled, wings no longer working. I didn’t care about these wings. I only cared about getting her safely away from this place.