Lorien POV

I gasped as Auren slammed into me, the force of him driving me to the floor. His weight pinned me, a warm shield between me and Lysandra’s flailing chain. A hard clang snapped across my skull and a hot sting bloomed at my hairline my fingers flew to the wound and came away slick with blood.

“I’m so sick of always being everyone’s second choice. You shouldn’t have marked her, Aurendil,” Lysandra snarled. Her voice turned into a guttural sound as something raw and ...