“Not as concerned as you should be about that spreading rot in your hip.”
I don’t make the mistake of looking at my wound, and it’s a good thing because his sword slices toward my neck. I block it, and the clash of enchanted steel against steel sends sparks flying and our swords ricocheting in opposite directions.
Diametrically opposed.
“Do you even know how to fight with a broadsword?” Roman taunts. He has no idea that every Zodiac brother has studied swordplay. I have years of practice with this weapon, and a dragon’s strength and instincts too.
He settles into ochs, the point of his sword threatening me from high guard.
I smirk. “Enough to take off your head.” I counter with plow guard, blade low but poised, feet light on the grassy lawn.
The first exchange comes in a blur. Roman slices down with an oberhau, forcing me to parry with my hilt held low near my hip. Sparks leap as our weapons collide again, and I groan as the hilt drives into my wound. My dragon growls in pain, but I immediately counter with a cross-strike, my blade sweeping horizontally toward Roman’s temple.
“Fast, but sloppy,” Roman barks, blocking my blow again.
I snort. “If there’s one thing a Taurus never is, it’s sloppy,” I shoot back.
Roman lunges again, this time feinting high before driving up toward my ribs. I meet it with a sliding parry, then bind our swords together, the blades sparking like two live wires between us.
“You’re exhausted. Drained of blood and infected with the power of the destroyer. You know you can’t last long like this, Sebastian. Yield. I’d hate to have to kill you when your blood is so highly in demand,” Roman says through clenched teeth.
“You’ll have to kill me, Roman, or I’m taking you out. And this time, I’ll make sure you’re dead.” I twist my wrists, disengaging, and thrust toward Roman’s heart. The point enters his flesh, but Roman rotates away before I can pierce his rib cage.
He roars, and veins of light branch under his shirt, originating from the wound, but he does not lower his defenses. We circle, my bare feet feeling steady, grounded. He will pay for what my mate suffered. What she will suffer.
He’s breathing hard, sweat cutting channels through dust on his face.
“It seems that my blade carries a different poison, and it’s spreading fast, Roman.”
In fact, I can see the branching light all the way down his torso now. This isn’t a battle of swords; it’s a battle of magic, a battle of rings. He makes a choking sound, and his sword lowers as his eyelids flutter. I take the opening. I attack. This time, I don’t aim for his neck or his heart, but his wrists. I take off both his hands in a single blow and watch as the sword disappears and his clenched fists roll across the grass.
This time, Roman screams. He collapses onto his back, his arms trembling. “Destroyer, help me!”
I raise my sword above my head, its light shining over Roman like its own sun, tingeing everything gold. I can feel the creator’s energy buzzing through me as I say, “Haven’t you learned from that face of yours, Roman, that the destroyer can only destroy? It cannot heal. It cannot create.”
He meets my eyes with his own and seethes, “Fuck you, dr?—”
My blade comes down across his neck, severing it. I put so much power behind the blow, my sword lodges in the dirt. I draw it from the ground, the blade steaming. Roman’s blood burns off in white-hot flames. The sword disappears, and there is only the ring.
I look around, then search the area psychically to ensure we’re alone. If anyone else was here, they’re gone now. I tear off a section of Roman’s shirt and use it to gather his hand and ring from the dirt. No way am I leaving it behind to be recycled. I give Roman’s headless body one last kick, check the map of the stars above me, and take off toward home.
Chapter Forty-One
SEB
I limp through the door to the safe house, naked and covered in blood, and slam the door behind me. “Zoe?”
Remus appears out of nowhere, eyes going wide. “Creator bless us all. You’re free!” He rips his phone from his pocket, hits a button, and yells, “Send a message to all zodiac brothers to return to the safe house immediately. Seb is back.”
His automated assistant confirms the message as I hand him the blood-soaked shirt-sac I’m carrying.
“What is this?” he asks.
“Roman’s ring.”
“Holy fuck! Is his hand still attached to it?” Remus holds the bag away from his body.
“Yeah. He’s dead. This time permanently, unless the Order finds a way to reattach a head to a bloodless body. Now, where is Zoe, Remus?”
