“It means we can’t let him capture me,” I said, just as Harvestvanished.
“Fuck.”
We whipped around, searching. But it was too late—he ported in behind Maureen.
“It means nothing to you,” he whispered behind her. “You just need to die already.”
Jackal slammed into him mid-strike, knocking Harvest away before he could land the blow—but when Jackal hit the ground, he was empty-handed. Harvest had vanished again.
Jackal snarled, shifting protectively in front of Maureen. “Stay close,” he ordered his mate.
Barron shoved me closer to him, blade ready. “Back to back?”
“Back to back,” I agreed, and we pressed together, fighting off Harvest’s creatures as they lunged from every direction.
But the longer we held the line, the more unsettling it became.
Harvestdidn’tattack.
He just…lingered, hidden, waiting. And somehow, that was worse. The silence between strikes. Not knowing when he’d move. It drained us faster than the fight itself.
My nerves were shot. Twitchy and raw. Every groan or snarl from behind made me jump, slashing on reflex, wishing it washim—wishing I could sink my blade into the one who started all this.
“He’s stalling,” Barron muttered behind me. “We have to make a break for the portal.”
There was no time for strategy after that.
The four of us broke formation and sprinted. I stopped killing—only dodging, weaving, and conserving my strength and focusing on one goal:the portal.
Barron stayed right behind me, taking down anything I didn’t. His blade never stopped moving.
When the swirling portal came into view, I didn’t hesitate. A tether of magic pulsed in its core—thin and sinewy, like a vein holding it open. I raised my weapon and rammed it straight through.
The exact second the steel sank into the tether, Barronroared.
The sound was jagged and full of pain.
I twisted around—and my heart dropped.
Harvest stood behind him, blade buried deep. Barron was holding it at bay, his hands wrapped around the hilt to keep it from going any deeper.
But from where I stood, I couldn’t see where the blade had struck—or how bad it was.
“You’re such a coward!” Maureen screamed, her blades tearing into the demons swarming our brother.
I sprinted after them—but Harvest’s decaying creatures poured in around me, cutting me off. My breath came in ragged pants as I swung wildly, blade slicing through rot and bone. I couldn’t see Barron. I couldn’t see Maureen. The battlefield swallowed them whole.
My panic roared in my ears, drowning out everything. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’tthink.
Did I close the entrance?
Please let it be shut.
Then—Maureen’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade.
“No!”
Barron’s scream followed: “Run!”
