Chosen Guardian: A Young Adult Fantasy Romance (The Chosen Book 1) by Cortney Pearson

Author:Cortney Pearson [Pearson, Cortney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-05-26T04:00:00+00:00

21

I PLOD PAST THE SIRENS AND tromp through greenery toward them. Neither Talon nor the siren pays me any attention. Her fingers trace his face, and his hand moves to her waist.

“Get off him,” I say, blood pulsing. My voice is loud in the stillness of lazy pleasure. Neither of them moves.

Something erupts from my bones. Magic kindles to life, sizzling and fuming.

“Did you hear me? I said get off.” I shove at her while snakes of shiny electricity ribbon across my forearms. My nape itches with singeing heat.

The shove sends her flying through the air, but her wings expand, and she catches herself. I assume a stance Talon taught me. Just try it, I think, fully expecting a cat fight over him. But she simply flutters to the other end of the pool.

Talon hasn’t spoken, but his mouth parts, and his eyes search as if he can’t see anything with her gone. Another siren slinks past, and Talon’s fanatical attention pegs to her. His green eyes are glazed over, turning leaden. He crawls toward her, muscles defying the confines of his shirt, fingers getting lost among blades of grass.

“No!” I screech and lunge for him, knocking him over. I take him by the shoulders and shake him as hard as I can. His eyes wander, and he pushes me off to crawl toward a different group of sirens and their long, immaculate limbs at the pool’s edge. I haul him back and slap a hand across his cheek.

“What’s wrong with you? Talon. It’s me, Ambry!”

He pauses, but his clouded eyes remain on the group of seducers. A flicker of hope rises in my chest.

“The tears. And the Arcaians? You saved me from the Arcs, remember?”

He moves away from me again, and I panic, crawling alongside him, tugging at him. “You’re teaching me to fight. Talon, please!”

Desperation takes hold, and I slam him to the ground the way I would if we were training, forcing his arms down with my legs so I can smack his face again. His lids flutter.

“Snap out of this, Talon.” His head angles away from me to gaze at the sirens. I follow his line of sight, taking in dozens of other frozen men, men who have no chance of returning. I wonder if they’re still in there, trapped in their lust, or if they’re aware of how foolish they were and what they’ve lost now that they’ve become lawn decorations.

That can’t happen to Talon. It can’t. Dread burrs in my throat, claws at my eyes, and I break. I fold myself to his chest, hearing his faint heartbeat.

“You’re stronger than this. You’re a fighter, fight this. Fight it and come back to me.” He looks at me without any recognition.

My voice wavers. “I can’t be without you.”

“The tears, I mean,” I say, checking myself. “I can’t do this without you. I need to get them back.” Weak with emotion, I plead with his blank stare. The tears tease me from a distance, as if they know something I don’t.

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