Angelborn’s second pulse beat through my body, the necklace heating. I shut off all emotion welling up within me and sank into that primal, fury-fueled instinct. Burned ice cold with the need to protect what wasmine.
I burst into the clearing. Angelborn shot through the head of a guard, pinning him to the tent’s leather wall. Crimson oozed down the side, shining death against the dark fabric.
Starfire sang as I pulled her free and easily knocked aside the jagged knife the second guard slashed at me.
Fool.
Even with their unnatural movements and silent approach, that knife was no more than a stick compared to my short sword.
She swiped across his throat, brutal and bloodthirsty.
A tingle traveled down the back of my neck, and I whirled. The third guard swung his ax. I crouched, pulling my dagger and sheathing it between his ribs as I stood.
Seconds—that was all it had taken.
I caught my breath, listening to make sure no other guards were coming. Then, I sheathed my dagger at my thigh and was ducking inside the tent. An orange glow from a woodstove illuminated a small space with a desk, a shelf lined with weapons, and?—
I couldn’t see much more before an arm looped around my neck, crushing my windpipe.
Starfire tumbled from my grip, pommel smacking my shin.
“Took you longer than we expected,” the guard growled in my ear. His leathers pressed against my spine, vambrace hard against my throat.
A second guard lifted an ax. It hovered above me, small and sharp.
How many people had that weapon killed? Had it taken anyone I knew during the war? Did families now grieve because of the lethal blade and the sharp-eyed, remorseless warrior before me?
I didn’t know the answers, but I knew no more would weep because of this man.
Kicking out, I drove the heel of my thick-soled boot into his groin, and the blade fell. I caught it before it could hit the ground andswung.
The warrior with his arm around my neck pulled me back. Too late.
It sliced cleanly into his comrade’s skull.
But he kept pressing down on my throat, metal digging into my airway until breaths were nothing more than choked gasps.
Keeping my grip tight on the handle, I wrenched the ax out of the warrior’s head and kept swinging true. Not caring where I hit, only that I hitsomething.
The impact jolted my bones as he screamed.
He released my throat and lurched forward, nearly crushing me.
Scrambling out of the way, I watched him tumble to the ground with that ax in his side. I braced my hands on my knees, catching my breath.
“By the fucking Angels,” I panted.
“You’re glorious.” Though the voice was strained, laughter and utter adoration bubbled beneath it, and every strand of tension within me unknotted.
Across the tent, just on the outskirts of the fire’s warmth, Tolek stood tied to a wooden post.
“Hey, Alabath.” He grinned.
Despite the bruises on his torso and the exhaustion dimming his eyes,he fucking grinned.
I flew across the tent, throwing my arms around him. He grunted, but I held on tighter.
For a moment, the danger fell away. It was just me and Tol, his heart pounding against my chest, each beat tying me back down to sanity. My hand slid up his neck, running through his hair, pressing his head into my shoulder. He sighed, and the heat of that breath against my neck was the purest form of relief.
