The air screamed.
A lance of concentrated force—invisible but devastating—ripped through the space they had occupied moments before. The collapsed billboard disintegrated. The wall behind it cratered. Debris exploded outward in a lethal cloud of shattered concrete and twisted metal.
But where Julian and Emma had been, there was only darkness.
Shadow tendrils coiled and retracted, revealing Julian crouched low, one arm wrapped protectively around Emma, the other extended—palm open, fingers splayed. The shadows around them still writhed, having absorbed the brunt of the impact and redirected its force into the surrounding rubble.
Julian's eyes swept over Emma in a fraction of a second. "Are you hurt?"
Emma's face emerged from behind the curtain of shadow, and instead of fear, her eyes blazed with something far more dangerous.
Excitement.
"Heh." A wild grin spread across her features. "Hurt? Julian, I'm pumped."
Heat detonated from her core.
