A loud crash nearly takes my gaze away from Archer, but I stay steadfast. From my peripherals, I see a familiar face.Chase. He has blood drawing down his torso where his left arm would normally be, irritation evident in the snarl on his lip.
I’d be thrilled with the sight, if it weren’t for the girl he’s got slung over his shoulder—Desiray, motionless and dangling limply.
“Fucking Vampires…” he curses.
Beyond him, a third male approaches and I swear I’ve seen him before. Blond hair, bright blue eyes that I can make out even in the darkness, and a smile that seems carefree. He is merely Mundane by his scent, but he stands beside them as though he could withstand a building falling on him and walk away from it unscathed.
Brice and Sydni disappear just as Kayn and Niyla come to my side. The scent of blood wafts from Niyla and I peer over at her, her eyes bloodshot as she stares off toward the three men twenty or so feet in front of us.
“Assholes.” She rubs her hand across her face, smearing the crimson over her nose. “I’m surprised the girl’s alive, the Shifter was not gentle. If I had held onto her any longer, we would have torn her in half.”
Not sure allowing her to return to Lars is in our best interest. Killingher may be better, but they haven’t left yet, so I still have time to think about her fate.
“Niyla.” Kayn steps ahead of me, his knuckles cracking under the pressure of his palm. “Any hidden talents under that friendly façade?”
My neck pops as I roll my head around my shoulders.
“Just a normal Vampire, unfortunately. Sorry.” She shrugs, not really sounding apologetic. Not that she should be out of the fight—her natural strength will help. But I’m unsure what it’ll do against an Incubus and a Shifter who doesn’t give a damn about the arm she ripped off.
“Is Lars with you?” I shout. “What about Tali?”
Archer grins. “Oh, you’d know if she was here. Is Xeraphine back yet?”
My blood boils hearing her name from his lips.
As the Shifter hands over Desiray to the blond boy, I take a step toward them.
“We can exchange the girls,” he continues. “Xeraphine for the pussy Shifter.”
“Sounds like an unfair trade to me,” Kayn chortles. “Plus, none of you are leaving anyway. No point in striking a bargain with the dead.”
“This is so pointless,” Chase grits out. “Whether it is today or in five hundred years, Tali will get what she wants. You really will stand here and ‘defend her honor’ when she’d cut you all to pieces without a single fucking thought?”
The twitch in my nose accompanies my furious words. “You knownothingof her, do not speak to us as though you do.”
“Given the choice, she’d pick herself over everyone. It’s in her biology to do so. If you think otherwise, then you are afool.” He moves his gaze from mine, to Kayn, then to Niyla. “My arm; you are lucky I can grow it back, bitch.”
“Settle down, Chase,” Archer croons, his hand coming to rest on his shoulder. When he catches my gaze, he smiles wider. “I’m going to enjoy hurting you, but lucky for you… I can’t kill you, or so I’d be damned.”
He tilts his head to the side, rolling his shoulders forward. His build is no bigger than mine, but that means little for his kind. Xera’s smaller than me, and fully fed, she could bring me to my knees with the right motivation. I remember Achille saying she once took down a rhino Shifter—her kind doesn’t need bulk to be powerful.
“Shall we dance?” In a single blink, he’s gone.
The night, once pitch black, melts into hues of red as Kayn pulls the Crimson Dawn across the sky. I disappear into the shadows it casts. Moving through this phantom realm feels like a fever dream, causing a slight bit of lightheadedness, but not enough to be disorienting. The worldmoves slower here, everything muted in a vantablack, outlined by a harsh white hue.
The places I can’t exit this realm are blanketed by that pearl contrast, but with Kayn’s specialty, the entire space is possible to move in and out of.
I can see Archer reaching Niyla, and just as his hand is nearing her neck, I launch from the darkness. Grabbing his wrist, I swing my elbow straight into his jaw, hearing the crack under the force. He grunts, followed by a hiss as I keep a hold on him and, as though he is a rag doll, I throw him hard into the wooden patio flooring. It cracks and splinters upward, causing the metallic scent of blood to swirl in the air.
Just as his lips are parting to speak, my foot comes down onto his face and crushes him further into the ground.
“So much violence.” I hadn’t even heard footsteps approach me. But the voice is right at my backside.
When I look, it’s that blond. It’s that Mundane… Jay, did she call him?
As he pulls back his fist to punch me, I swear I nearly laugh. Kayn suddenly appears behind him and grabs his throat. I can't help but let my mirth come to life.
“Idiot,” I scoff. “Don’t kill him, Xera wants to?—”
