It was now or never. I couldn’t give them the opportunity to block her escape. A weak smile spread across my face as I mustered as much courage as I could for the child hidden in the rubble. For this little life, full of potential, who had yet to experience everything this world had to offer, it would be worth the sacrifice. If I could just save her, this one little soul; I would be able to find peace in my final moments.
There was no time for hesitation. I took a deep breath, shoving past my fear of death as I lurched towards the nearest darkling. “Now!”
The moment I moved, they leapt to attack me. The pathway opened, and the girl took off, tiny feet pounding into the dirt as she ran down the narrow, fire-lined street. I couldn’t hesitate, couldn’t back down. It would take just one slip and they would notice her.
I shouted, making as much noise as I could. The action was a double-edged sword; it kept the darklings I fought interested in me, but it also drew the attention of the others in the vicinity who hadn’t yet noticed my presence. I’d accepted my fate, had known from the moment I saw how many darklings I faced, I wouldn’t make it out of this alive.
If only I hadn’t exhausted my magic, I could level this group, could see to the girl’s safety myself instead of leaving her to chance. I was exhausted, though, every drop of magic wrung from me in the battles I’d already fought, and I was unable to so much as summon the strength to call out to Damien’s mind.
With each darkling that fell to my sword, two more replaced them. Before I knew it, I was surrounded by more than I could handle. My muscles burned, bones ached, and my body cried out for rest. I had to push through.Not yet.
Her scream cut through the hot air, and my blood ran cold. I turned in time to see a stray darkling pin her to the ground.
“No!” I fought to get past the darklings surrounding me. Pain seared into me as claws raked down my back, shredding my Elythian armor and tearing into my flesh. I twisted around, running my sword through the darkling, but as I did, another struck me.
Agony assaulted me and I cried out as the scent of her blood reached my nose. I watched helplessly as the darkling devoured her in the distance. My heart shattered at the sight of her tiny, lifeless frame. Her hand lay outstretched toward me, reaching for the one person she trusted in her final moments, the pale, hollow orbs of her eyes, lifeless, unseeing.
I failed her...
The darklings attacked as my despair consumed me, and I swung wildly. Their black blood splattered me, across my arms, my torso, my face. Many fell, but I couldn’t keep up with their increasing numbers. There were too many for me to handle, and my body began to fail, my muscles giving out to exhaustion.
The fires had grown so wide and so high, they stained the moonless sky with orange light. Once proud wooden homes lay in rubble, unrecognizable, and bodies of the slaughtered littered the ground around me.
This was the end... Moonhaven had fallen. The civilians had gathered here for our protection, and we'd failed them.
The attack had happened so fast, there had been no time to prepare. I didn’t know if anyone else lived, if The Order had fallen.
If Damien had fallen.
I couldn’t feel anything through our bond, as if something were blocking him from my sight, my reach. Agony tore into my soul. I wished I could’ve seen his beautiful face one last time—kissed him, held him, told him how much I loved him. Goddess, protect him if he was still alive. Keep him safe. Let my sacrifice be the last one suffered this night.
Air burst from my lungs as claws sank into my side, and I ripped myself from the darkling’s grasp, sinking my sword into its chest. My knees buckled, but I fought to stay on my feet. The warmth of my blood soaked into my shirt, down my leg, and a pained gasp broke from my lips. The world swam around me, the movements of the darklings blurring. My gaze drifted over the countless darklings surrounding me. There was no help in sight. I was alone.
I would die alone… but I’d be damned if I didn’t take out as many as I could when I fell.
Voice hoarse, I roared. “Come at me, you bastards! I’m right here!”
They crouched before I could ready myself further, and they attacked. My strength failed as they lunged through the air, my body no longer heeding my commands. They fell on me, claws and teeth sinking into my flesh as I cried out.
“Cassie!”
Damien’s voice reached my ears, barely audible over my cries. I couldn’t find him through the flurry of darklings ravaging me, and I couldn’t breathe for the pain as they tore at me. A blur of voices yelled around me, dancing in the darkness of my consciousness, echoing in my ears. The earth opened, swallowing me whole. I sank into the black depths, sinking farther and farther into the ocean of darkness.
“Calm down, it’s us!”
“Get those daggers away from her!”
Air flooded my lungs as I opened my eyes, my back slamming into something hard, gravity pulling me to the earth as light blinded me. The pain and sorrow, still fresh, overwhelmed me. Someone held me tightly, bracing me as they tried to pull my daggers from my hands. I gripped them tighter. They would only get them after I took my last breath.
“No!” I fought against the arms binding me, my body panicking, twitching as it felt like death was gripping me in its clutches. The fresh puncturing pain of the darklings’ claws and jagged fangs lingered in my flesh, my body recoiling, air ripping from my lungs as my chest caved in.
Damien’s voice was calm in my ears as he held me firmly against him. “Return to me,mea luna, please. You’re safe. It’s not real.”
2
DAMIEN
“You’re safe now,” I whispered into her ear as I held her tightly against me, her back pressed into my chest. She thrashed and struggled against me with everything she had, but whatever battle she fought, she was losing. Horror filled my brothers’ eyes as they watched helplessly out of reach. We’d finally managed to pry her daggers from her hands, but not before she’d injured Zephyr. Fresh blood dripped down his forearm where she’d struck him when he’d first tried to calm her.
