shaede assassin 05 - shadows at midnight by amanda bonilla Read Free Book Online

into you again.”
    “We can’t leave him there.” Desperation knocked my voice up an octave as panic raced through my blood like quicksilver.
    “He knew the risks,” Tyler said. “Xander came to me.” His gaze pinned me in place and I swayed on my feet, too exhausted for what I tried to do. His voice grew louder and more forceful, “And after what we went through to get you out of there—”
    “What about what I went through?” The words were sandpaper against my vocal cords. “What Xander will go through now that he’s there!” My breath stalled, and my brain spun out as though it had forgotten to tell my lungs how to work. Dark spots swam in my vision and all I could manage was a hoarse whisper as I forced the words out, “She cut me, Tyler. Drank my blood.” A sob lodged in my throat and I swallowed it down. “She…” I couldn’t say it. Couldn’t relive the horror of what Padma had done to the flesh she’d cut away. I went to my knees and a jarring pain shot up my thighs when I made contact with the bamboo flooring. “It’ll be worse for him.” There wasn’t enough air to fill my lungs and I couldn’t let go of the panic that gripped me. “She won’t kill him, Ty. Xander’s suffering will be endless.”
    Tyler popped out of thin air at my side. I must have been in rough shape for him to forego walking the thirty feet to where I stood. He cradled me in his arms and cool magic wrapped me in its embrace. Ty murmured words in my ear, the foreign wish he’d instructed me to make. I didn’t know what it meant, but it instantly calmed my body and mind, allowing me to draw a full breath. “He made his choice, Darian,” Ty reminded me once again. “And had I been in his position, I would have done the exact same thing. You can’t blame yourself for what’s happened, and you can’t take responsibility for anyone, either.”
    Couldn’t I?
    I’d killed Azriel. A single slice of my dagger had set all of this in motion.

CHAPTER FIVE
    Ty’s magic, coupled with his softly spoken words, calmed me against my will and I fell into a blissfully deep and dreamless sleep. The sky was painted in shades of midnight when I woke, dark endless black, deep blues and grays that reflected the light of a half-moon. I stared out of the large picture window and let the quiet and stillness soak into me. There had been times that I thought I’d never know peace again. That I’d die beneath the crushing weight and pain of Padma’s torture. Thanks to Tyler, I was home.
    Thanks to Xander, I was safe.
    A deep sigh escaped my lungs as I glanced back at my bed. Tyler slept soundly, one bare arm exposed to tuck the heavy duvet around his torso. He was almost too beautiful to look at. Too perfect. I used to compare Tyler and Xander and in my mind, the Shaede King had always been so heavy handed. But I’d turned a blind eye to Ty’s own sense of entitlement when it came to making decisions on my behalf. My fingers traced the cool silver of my ring. Padma hadn’t even been able to cut it off. If that wasn’t high handed, I didn’t know what was. Tyler had lulled me to sleep once again. Calmed the rage and fear that burned through me with his soft voice and cool magic. He tried to control me every bit as much as Xander did. And all in the name of affection. Each of us was selfish and short-sighted. Each of us serving our own wants. I’d never wanted to love anyone ever again after Azriel left. And what I’d wound up with was more love than I knew what to do with. What a clusterfuck of dysfunction. Jesus. And whatever Ty or Xander’s reasons for doing what they did, it didn’t change the choice I was about to make. It was time for me to take back my control. I couldn’t let anyone make my choices for me anymore.
     Trepidation rippled through me and I turned away. Didn’t most people get to take a break after going through something traumatic? What I wouldn’t give for six months on an island somewhere,