He’s been broody this morning, but honestly? He’s got nothing on Baelfire, who has been worryingly quiet and downcast. He knows Crypt bound with me last night, leaving him the odd man out. Once we get away from here, I’ll give my poor, praise-loving dragon shifter some much-needed attention.
Then, we'll track down my next target.
I snort, replying to my testy elemental. “Nice try. I’m not staying.”
"It'll be brutal out there—a bloody massacre,” Ross warns, dread written all over his face.
"I already said I'm going. Don't try to sell me on it.”
Crypt laughs at that. He’s in a phenomenal mood this morning, and I’ve noticed his markings have been lighting up far less. I’ll ask my Nightmare Prince what that means later.
In the meantime, I’m enjoying how right it feels to be bound to him.
“Fine,” Everett grumbles. “Let’s just get this over with.”
“Unless you four want to stay in here,” I offer. “That way, if I lose control?—”
“Shut the fuck up. We’re sticking with you, and that’sfinal,” Baelfire snarls savagely, not sounding like himself. Then he squeezes his eyes shut, rubbing his temples. “Holy shit. I’m so,sosorry, Mayflower. Mr. Alphahole Supreme is really on one today.”
“Keep your distance from Maven during the fight,” Silas advises.
“And mind your fucking tone with our girl before you become a lizard-flavored kebab.” Crypt pulls out his lighter, which morphs into a sword faster than I can keep up with.
I expect Baelfire to snap back, but he grumbles in agreement, not meeting my gaze.
Once again, he must be struggling more than he lets on.
Silas rolls his shoulders, his bleeding crystal in one hand as he approaches the door. He fed from me earlier this morning to fuel his magic for this fight. I may enjoy him feeding from me almost as much as he does, partly because it feels good but especially because of how worked up and out of control he gets.
“Are we ready?” the blood fae checks.
“Wait,” Ross says, facing me. “Do you have a phone? Because if there is ever a time you need assistance with anything at all, it would be the greatest honor of my life to assist?—”
He yelps when Baelfire drags him up by his collar to glare at him with searing amber eyes. “Are you seriously asking my mate for her fucking number right in front of me?”
“No, not at all! It’s nothing like that, I promise. I was only trying to?—”
“Scram before I roast your ass.”
He drops the gifted acolyte, who rubs his chest and grimaces at me. “Right. I’ll go. Please be safe, my lady—Maven, I mean.”
He hurries back to the inner circle of the Sanctuary as I turn to face the invisible door.
“Okay, let’s do this.”
With a collective breath to brace ourselves, we watch Silas magically unlock the outer ring. The moment we all step out of the temperate green sub-realm and into the bitter cold, chaos unleashes.
Hellhounds howl. Magic crackles to life in the hands of dozens of caster bounty hunters and hirelings who surround us. Others shift or take aim with their weapons, the clicking sound of guns rising as a chorus in the wintry wild filled with dozens of tents, proof they were camping here in wait. Dozens of red laser dots appear on me like tiny dancing lights from the guns.
Douglas is at the forefront and aims at the center of Crypt's forehead.
The moment his finger moves on the trigger, a thick shield of ice slams up into place in front of us. Deafening gunshots fill the air, their thunderous echoes reverberating over the stark wilderness around us–but the bullets imbed in the thick ice in front of us.
As soon as the first barrage ends, Everett drops the wall of ice and lifts his arm to send a wave of icy spikes toward the massive group of hunters. At the same time, Baelfire races forward to slam into a lion shifter charging toward us, Silas releases a blood magic spell that neutralizes several magic attacks flashing to life, and Crypt drops into Limbo to wreak total havoc.
They're working much more like a team now. I let myself feel proud for half a second before I roll out of the way of another gunshot and dart towards Douglas. He's probably the most capable opponent here, so it's best to take him out quickly this time.
Whipping Pierce out of his hiding spot, I feign a blow before going for his gut. He sidesteps, but instead of returning the attack, he rolls away and dashes toward an area of the now-raging fight where other bounty hunters are starting to tear into one another, courtesy of the Nightmare Prince.
