I was almost starting to feel hopeful that we would make it out of this situation alive. Until Xavier was knocked from his horse.
And a blade was placed at his throat.
Chapter 28
Jessiah
Everyone froze. Xavier included. Our enemies quickly dismounted their horses, and three of the men held Xavier in place while one placed the metal of his sword at Xavier’s neck.
I was ready to kill them all if I had to. Every fucking last one of them.
But with one motion, Xavier could be dead.
“Get down from your horses,” the leader of our attackers ordered.
Rummy glanced at me with a question in her eyes, but I nodded, and we both slowly lowered ourselves from the animals.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” Rummy spat, raising her hands. She took two steps backward toward me, but we kept our eyes glued on Xavier.
Still, we were surrounded.
And a few moments later, there were swords drawn on us, too.
“A single drop of blood gets spilled, and you’re all dead,” I said.
The man holding the sword to Xavier just laughed. “You’re outnumbered, angel. I have to say, I expected more from you.Your kind is supposed to be invincible, no?” He cocked his head sideways. “Yet here you are, at our mercy.”
“I’m at nobody’s mercy.” I gripped my sword even tighter and pushed my angel wings out until the left grazed Rummy’s shoulder.
“Let him go,” Rummy said. “He’s not the one you want.”
The man holding the sword didn’t budge. “You’re right. You’re the one I want. If you prefer your friend alive, you’ll come with us.”
A second passed. I knew what Rummy’s next words would be before they even left her mouth.
“Fine,” she said. “Release him.”
“No,” Xavier argued. I was already shaking my head in protest, too. “Don’t do this, Rummy.”
“We have no choice,” Rummy argued.
“Nobody’s going anywhere,” I ordered. “We don’t obey commands from Pericius scum.”
The men holding Xavier kicked the back of his legs, forcing him to his knees before us.
Rummy sucked in a breath as the sword swung high in the air. “Perhaps you’ll reconsider.”
This was it. Xavier was going to die, and there was nothing I could fucking do but stand and watch.
That’s when I felt it. It was a buzz in the air—unnatural yet primal at the same time. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up and my wings instinctively stiffened. I couldn’t have moved if I wanted to—a force similar to fear pinned me in place.
Rummy stepped forward, her face emotionless. Her eyes determined. Her gaze locked on those holding Xavier, her focus shifted to the man swinging the sword.
And there was only one thing that came next.
Death.
Rummy didn’t necessarily wield the power, but it moved through her all the same. One by one, the men holding Xavier dropped to the ground without another breath.
