My fear spiked, making my sword flicker, and I cursed under my breath. I forced myself to focus, steadying my magic beforethe blade could disappear entirely. Once my power was secure, I scanned the area around me, exhaustion crashing over me all at once. Something wet dripped from my nose, and I brought my hand up, brushing my fingers against the warm liquid. A smear of blood spread along my fingers, and I quickly wiped it off. My body was reacting to the strain of using too much magic. I needed to end this soon, before it got any worse.
Spinning around, I kept an eye out for the female while checking in on the others. I couldn’t see Kieran or Ezra, but I could feel Kieran’s magic vibrating in the air as the wind picked up, and storm clouds loomed overhead. Samian and Vivi were okay, Vivi holding her own while Samian had the vampire in front of him tangled in vines. I pushed back my relief and turned to search for the vampire again, only to come face to face with her. Gasping, I stumbled back when pain shot across my arm as she disappeared again.
Leaves crunched behind me, and I whirled, grunting as her blow landed. Her nails clashed against my blade when she stabbed her other hand forward, but I fell away, dodging the attack, twisting as I swung my sword. My blade caught her across the chest, causing the female to screech. I winced; the sound was so loud and piercing that my ears rang. The black veins along her face spread across her face, and she let out another shriek of rage, tackling me to the ground.
I cried out from the impact, my breath coming in sharp pants, my back aching from the painful landing. The female’s claws tore through the front of my uniform, and I screamed. Grabbing her wrists, I tried to push her away, but my strength was quickly failing, along with my magic. I could feel her power sucking mine away. Panic threatened to take over as my blood roared in my ears. The female pushed down harder; her teeth coming closer to my neck. My arms trembled from the exertion, and I yelled out as lightning struck close in the trees behind me.I heard someone call my name, but I ignored it as I called what was left of my magic to me, forcing it to gather in my hands.
Sharp spikes shot through the female's wrists, and she shrieked while trying to pull away from me, but I held onto her, not allowing her to move. Bucking my hips, I pushed out my legs, throwing her off balance enough to roll on top of her. The spikes along my palm moved together, forming a dagger. The female’s eyes widened before I roared out, using all my strength and magic to shove the sharpened tip through her neck. I felt the blade pierce her skin, the feel of her blood hot on my hands, staining them black. I pushed back the nausea that rose while I watched her, my eyes wide in disbelief as she choked on her blood, the life slowly leaving her eyes.
I waited until I was entirely sure she was dead before falling back, my magic winking out as I gulped down large breaths. My body shook uncontrollably, my muscles too weak to move. Footsteps rushed toward me, and I turned my head in time to see Samian fall to his knees beside me. His hands tore at my uniform to check my wounds, but I swatted him away.
“I’m fine,” I said, my voice sounding weak and tired.
“Sybil, you’re bleeding. I need to check your injuries to see if you’re okay.”
“I told you I’m fine,” I grunted, attempting to sit up. Samian cursed, but helped me up, his thumb brushing against my face to wipe the blood from my nose. “I’m good, I promise. Her claws just nicked me, and the rest is from using too much of my magic. But I’m okay. I swear I’m okay.”
Samian sighed, but nodded, his face hard. I searched over him, finding nothing. He didn’t even look tired—the bastard. A scream from another vampire sounded in the distance, and I looked, finding Ezra’s sword lodged in the female Vivi was fighting against. Vivi was bleeding on her side, but she seemed fine. I looked around the clearing, finding the female Samianhad fought, but her body looked odd and bloated. There wasn’t any blood coating her skin. The sound of a branch snapping pulled my attention away before I could think more of it, and Kieran came out behind some trees. He had a cut along his left cheek and chest, but he was unharmed. Relief swallowed me whole, and I tipped my head back. I was so tired, but I couldn’t stop the smile that rose on my lips.
“I did it,” I breathed. “I was able to defend myself.” I slid my gaze to Kieran, who chuckled at the triumph in my voice.
“I’m still upset with you for not listening to me,” he growled playfully. “You and Amara are two fucking peas in a pod and will put me in an early grave.”
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” I laughed, but my heart clenched, filling with a fierce determination. With Solaris teaching me how to break this bargain, I refused to let fate take me away from my mates. I would do whatever it took to make sure it never happened.
Chapter 36
Sybil
As soon as we made it back to the council room, Samian disappeared to bring back Aster to heal everyone. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, every ache screamed at me—every place the vampire’s nails had torn into my skin burned—but I didn’t care. My mind felt light, my heart so full of hope it threatened to burst. I couldn’t stop smiling, even if I had wanted to. Soon, I would be free of Ambrose, and I was growing stronger. I was changing the fate Queen Cassia had warned me about. I was sure of it, certain enough to feel it deep in my bones.
Rough hands tightened on my sides, and I tipped my head back to meet Kieran’s proud gaze. Ever since we’d been back, he hadn’t been able to stop touching me. My body heated at the feel of him, and I relaxed, letting my back rest against his stomach. Kieran bent down, pressing his lips against the top of my head, lingering to breathe me in. I loved every minute of his tender affection.
“You did good today, Princess,” he murmured low enough for only me to hear.
“Good enough to forgive me for Hale?” I asked, giving him my sweetest, most innocent smile.
I could feel his chuckle rumbling from deep inside his chest, and I couldn’t help but close my eyes from the pleasure it gave me. “I’ll forgive you this time, but don’t do it again, understood? I don’t want to think about what I’d do if anything ever happened to you.”
“What? Would you destroy a town or something?” I laughed jokingly.
“Princess, I would destroy this entire realm. I would watch it all burn just to get back to you, and then, as the fire decimates everything around me, I would find whoever hurt you and slowly rip them apart to make sure they felt every pain they ever caused you. And that would just be the start.”
I opened my eyes, meeting his darkened gaze. There was a fire in them that made electricity surge through my veins, making my body come to life. Reaching my hands up, I cupped the sides of his face, feeling breathless under his stare. I pulled his face closer, pressing my lips to his.
His hands twitched, as if he wanted to move them along my body, but someone cleared their throat, breaking the moment. Kieran grumbled at the interruption, and I let out a laugh, lifting my head. Aster stood in front of us, her lips pursed together, looking very unimpressed.
“I heard you killed a vampire,” she said, walking up to me while reaching for my hand.
I held it out for her, letting her power coil around me, healing my wounds and aches from training. “I did,” I breathed, my pride growing at the respect that gleamed in her eyes. “It was hard, but I can feel my strength and my magic growing.”
Aster nodded, her eyes dipping to the blood that still stained my skin under my nose. “Just be careful with how much you use at a time. You still need to work on your endurance. If you push yourself too much, you’ll get more than a nosebleed. You or your mates could die from it.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said softly, fighting the urge to wipe at the memory of the blood rushing down to my lips.
Aster patted my hand before moving to Kieran, healing to cut along his cheek and chest. Kieran gave her a nod of thanks, letting her check on Vivi and Ezra. Samian came up and knelt between my legs. The ass still looked as if he wasn’t just in a battle, while the rest of us were covered in dirt and grime.
“Since we are supposed to be at Ivara’s estate, we will stay the night here at the camp. Kieran has a room in the manor where you can sleep without the rebels knowing. How about we get you cleaned up and let you get some rest?”
