REBEL

NI

oo loudly, their voices sharp with insincerity. Diamonds flashed, champagne flowed, and politi

gs where power traded hands over wine and whispers. My mother al

none of i

ow who moved through the world as though she were untouchable. I had sent my best men after her, men trained to hunt prey across cont

asn't just a killer. To me, she was a f

, I swore i

e, all painted smiles and empty eyes. None of them compared. N

ing in the shallow chatter of the room. The noise gr

I saw

ing from my fingers and shatte

e

one. It wasn't the sharp click of her heels or the curve of her lips. It was her presence. She d

htened. My p

shifted, forming a wall around me. He followed my

ly hea

as here. Real. Flesh and blood. And every cell in my body scre

p to like everyone else. She was danger wrapped

ow, she disappear

ead in seconds-a foreign president had collap

's si

ed, fear wasn't what filled me. No. It w

s building," I snarled

gh the chaos. My parents tried to drag me out,

searched the halls, but she was gone. Just l

th

at the far en

clutching her stomac

oo

teps unsteady, her fire dimming. For the first time,

ice broke thro

e. "What... what's happening to me?" Her words were

cold, trembling in my arms. Fury ripped through me. Someone had dared t

laus said as he

inst me. No one else was going to touch her. N

ome kind of drug. My mind spun with possibilities, but all

ched the car. "To the estat

me, her fingers curling weakly into my jacket as though even in her half-conscious state she r

her tighter. "I've got you,"

asleep against my chest, her body fighting but fading. Staff rushed forw

stepped forward, Rebel's hand shot out weakly, pushi

side me burn

us," I

she

left no room

then backed away. This

eniable, but it wasn't her looks that held me. It was her fire, even dimmed, even weak. S

ou?" I muttered, more

o speak but couldn't. My hand brus

e," I whispered fierce

ut the effort was too much. She closed her eyes,

o instincts-the hunger to claim her and the need to

ars of chasing a ghost, she

sn't let

d from her skin, careful not to wake her. She shifted, her face twi

ed softly, my hand brushing her c

ilent except fo

e. And I would burn t