Be aware of the shadow beasts if they come for you. They may not be under my command for much longer.
They descended, and my heart lurched. Something deep in my bones demanded I run, take cover. Flames sparked to life at my fingertips.
“Above!” I shouted, and warriors looked skyward to the rain of death descending upon us.
A bloodied hand shot up from the sea of bodies, and light erupted from the palm, shooting up before exploding into a white mist that fanned out above us. The Coronis crashed into the shield of light, some of them disintegrating into nothing while others spread their wings and rose to fly elsewhere.
“Focus on the darklings! I’ll keep the Coronis off as long as I can!” the light wielder shouted, and I stumble as I returned to my search.
My bones ached more with each muddy step. This battle had dragged out far longer than it should have, the darklings coming in endless waves, bound and determined to exhaust us, and now, with their attack on the city we were divided, our numbers already decimated.
“Lucia!” I shouted, carving my way through the crowd.
My warriors fanned out, aiding the equally worn and weary units who had held the last line of defense within the pit before the darklings could reach the rear where the healers worked. There had already been so few members of House Latros. We couldn’t afford to lose a single healer.
The warriors standing their ground were worse off than I thought. Too many darklings had gotten past the front lines, spread their dark magic like a plague to bolster their ranks and tear us down from the inside.
As I broke free of the chaos, my blood iced over at the sight of Lucia on her knees, her hand clutching her swollen stomach. I ran for her, shoving past warriors before I fell to my knees before her.
“Lucia!” I called over the shouts and shrieks as I laid a hand on her shoulder.
Her head rose, face painted with exhaustion, and gods, she was covered in blood. Her lips curved into a weary smile, relief faintly lighting her silver eyes.
My gaze fell to her stomach, where her hand remained, and my heart stilled. “Are you hurt?”
Her brows rose, and she followed my gaze to her stomach. “Oh no, I’m fine. Just winded.”
“Are you sure?” I pressed, unable to miss how heavy her breath was, how her fingers trembled as they clutched the hilt of her sword anchored in the ground to stabilize her. “I can take you to a healer.”
She smiled, and fuck, if it didn’t offer some comfort in this hell to see it. “I’m fine. Have you seen Damien?”
I bit down on my response and averted my gaze.
Her gaze hardened. “Tell me, or I won’t ask nicely the next time, Barrett.Where is he?”
I let out a sigh. I couldn’t lie to her—she’d know the second the deceptive words left my lips. “He went to the front lines.” Her eyes flashed and briefly flitted to the chaos at my back. “They became overwhelmed when our forces were split to stop the darklings attacking the city and?—”
A shriek pierced the air followed by a cry. Lucia gasped and shoved past me. I twisted around to see a warrior pinned on his back by two darklings. As I leapt to my feet, Lucia slammed into the darklings, their bodies hitting the ground with tremendous force, and I cursed as she rolled away from them before stabilizing on her feet, sword at the ready.
One of the creatures rose, turning on her with a hiss before I plunged my sword into the back of its head. She dropped to the ground, kicking the legs out from under the other darkling before she sank her sword through its heart.
They both crumbled into dust, and I paced back a few steps toward the warrior as Lucia ran to his side. I grimaced at the sight of his shredded stomach, blood already coating his armor and pooling onto the ground beneath him.
“Were you bitten?” Lucia asked, her voice somewhere between gentle and commanding. “Can you get up?”
He tried and failed to rise, letting out an agonized grunt, and it only aided in causing more blood to gush out of him.
“Were you bitten?” she demanded.
He shook his head and gasped as he clutched his stomach. “They nearly got me, though.”
Lucia turned to me. “Get him to the healers.”
No. I couldn’t leave her here. “You should take him. I’ll stay here and fight.”
“He can’t stand, let alone walk,” she bit back, rising to her feet. “Does it look like I can carry him, Barrett?”
I couldn’t argue with her there.
