“Poppy.” Casteel grabbed my right shoulder and spun me around. “You’re hurt.” His gaze zeroed in on my left arm as I looked him over. Of course, his shirt had remained pristine. “Son of a bitch.”
“Eight,” I said.
His gaze snapped to mine, his dark brows slashing together.
“How many did you get?”
He stared for a moment. “You’re not going to like my answer.” He took my arm, carefully peeling back the sleeve of the cloak. I kept my expression blank, my thoughts away from what was happening as the material snagged on the torn skin. He inhaled sharply. “Fifteen.”
My eyes narrowed. “That’s bullshit.”
“And you’re actually blocking your pain,” he said.
Surprise made me jolt. “Really?” A grin spread across my lips. “Finally.”
His stare hardened. “Only you would smile at that.” He looked away. “Where’s Kieran—? Damn it.” His gaze returned to mine as he remembered he’d sent Kieran away. “We’re heading back—”
“No, we’re not. The pain is already fading.” I glanced down at my arm, seeing that the wound had already stopped bleeding. “It’s healing. I’m fine.”
“Poppy—” Casteel frowned as he did a double take. “What the…?”
I turned, following his gaze. An elderlygrulwas…twisted around, its lifeless eyes meeting mine. Its head cocked. I stalked forward, twirling the sword—
“Where do you think it’s going?” Casteel drawled, dropping my arm.
I frowned as thegrulclimbed the trellis on a home. “That’s the one that bit me.”
We watched as thegrulreached the top and pulled itself onto the slightly pitched roof. It scrambled across the tiles on all fours like…some sort of mortal spider.
Mortal spider?
Why in all the realms would I think that? Because now, all I could think about was a hairy mortal with eight legs—
Thegrulreached the peak of the roof and threw its head back, letting out an ear-piercing screech. Both Casteel and I jerked at the sound as it echoed and then splintered into a thin, chittering noise that lifted the hairs on the nape of my neck.
Up and down the street, thegrulsstopped in mid-run and lifted blood-smeared faces. They slowly turned…toward us.
“Uh,” I murmured.
Glass shattered across the street, spraying into the air as agrulcrashed through the window, landing in a messy sprawl of limbs. The repeated sound of breaking glass echoed down the street. Thegrulsstood, pieces of glass falling from the clothing they had died in, their heads turning toward us.
“I think we can assume that was some sort of call,” Casteel remarked. “How’s the arm?”
“Barely hurts.”
He nodded quickly. “Good. There are about twenty of them.” His stance widened. “And you’re behind.”
Before I could respond to that or point out the strangeness of them all focusing on us, thegrulssurged forward in unison.
“Ready yourself,” Casteel murmured, lifting his sword.
There was no time to think. The firstgrullunged, its jaws snapping inches from Casteel’s face. He twisted, bringing the sword up in a quick, brutal arc. Bloodstone cut through flesh and bone, severing thegrul’s head so quickly it barely made any noise. The body fell forward as another took its place, going straight for Casteel.
I snapped forward as one of thegrulsbroke off, running straight at me. Its mouth wasn’t doing that gruesome chomping-at-air thing. Instead, it’d stretched out its arms as if reaching for me.
Dipping under one, I sprang up behind thegruland pierced the back of its skull. I spun as another lurched toward Casteel. I could’ve tapped into the eather, but it felt…good to swing thesword—as disturbing as that sounded. I imagined that was why Casteel hadn’t summoned his.
My blade cut through thegrul’s head before it reached Casteel, his sword glinting in a sliver of moonlight as he dropped low and swung out a leg, agrulstumbling behind him, its teeth gnashing. I jumped over a body, stabbing thegrulthrough its open mouth. My lip curled as gore sprayed.
