I spot black markings like mine on some of them, and I can’t help the awe that surges through me.
I really am not the last.
I scour every inch of them that I can see, hungry to know more, but painfully aware that this situation does not feel friendly.
They can motherfucking fly.
I fangirl to myself and then work to calm the fuck down. Excitement tries to fuck up my game face, but I hammer it into submission.
Not the fucking time or place, Vinna.
They don’t say a word as they slowly move to close around us. There’s an unmistakable arrogance wafting out with their presence and the way they carry themselves. These people know they are the top of the food chain. They saunter through the cloud of dirt their landings created, like gods expecting worship. Warning pulses up my spine, and I know I can’t let my awe get the better of me. I quickly glance at my Shields and Sorik;weare all that stands between them and my Chosen.
“By order of Sovereign Finella, you are trespassing and have a dispatch order on your heads. Speak of your origins, or you will be destroyed,” a man directly in front of me announces, his grip tightening on the spear in his hands.”
I scan the surrounding Sentinels. “Did yourSovereignorder you not to kill us if we tell you where we’re from?” I ask, unclear as to why they’d want to know where we’re from if they’ve been ordered todispatchus.
“Who are you and how did you get in here?” a female voice demands, ignoring my question. I can’t make out who said it, but it seems to come from my right.
We stay quiet, assessing the situation.
“We will not ask you again. Who are you, and how did you get in here?” the same female voice demands, a hard edge working to counteract the youth that rings in her tone.
“We walked,” Sorik answers calmly and vaguely.
Another Sentinel shouts out, “Impossible,” at the same time a humorless laugh fills the air. The laugher steps out of the dirt haze, and my eyes go wide despite my efforts to be calm, cool, and collected.
He has fucking wings!
The dude prowls forwardlooking like someGQangel of death. I take in his flawless alabaster skin, black hair as long as mine, bright aubergine colored eyes, and a smirk that looks like it’s this dude’s favorite accessory. Well, aside from all the muscles that is. Massive gray and tan wings sit on his back, and I try not to stare at them as his amused gaze passes judgment on me.
“You’d really like us to believe that you just walked through an impenetrable barrier?” he mocks, running his eyes over Sorik and my Shields dismissively.
“Couldn’t have been that impenetrable, as we’re having this discussion right now,” I challenge. “It seemed pretty Sentinel friendly, so if that’s not what you wanted, you should really have it looked at,” I add.
“There are no Sentinels outside of our borders,” another woman states snidely, and I turn to her.
“Well, what the fuck do you call us then? If it’s marked like a Sentinel and fights like a Sentinel…” I trail off, giving my swords a little twirl to emphasize my point.
Unease ripples through both sides as I finish speaking. That humorless laugh starts up again, and the male with the wings steps closer, the others with him mirroring his actions. “I see only one Sentinel surrounded by too much unworthy magic. What did you let them do to you, Kitten?”
I bristle at his implication and the sneer his grin becomes. Titters pepper the Sentinels opposite me. I glare at them, mywe come in peaceattitude quickly morphing into a whole lot offuck you.I tilt my head at him appraisingly and twirl both swords in my hands. “Now now, oh winged and douchey one. You should worry less about what they’ve done to me and more about what I’m going to do to you.”
“We’re not going to ask again, how did you get in here?” a dirty blond male Sentinel demands again, and I’m officially done playing this game.
“How the fuck do you think we got in here?” I snap at him. “You know how your barrier works and who it will and will not let through. Cut the bullshit. You can see what we are. If that doesn’t matter to you, and I suspect that it doesn’t, then shut the fuck up and make a move.”
There’s a good chance I’m not the magical top dog amongst these Sentinels, but I’m ready to find out.
The dirty blond male feeds magic into the white orb in his hand. “I can only imagine how quickly you’d spread your legs for pure light, given all that you’ve done to mark thefilthyou stand with. Don’t worry though, I’ll take care of them, and then I’ll take real good care of you,” he declares.
Disgust, fury, and disappointment thunder through me.
“Well, I’m about talked out, how about you, Vinna?” Becket asks me.
I quickly take in the number of Sentinels surrounding us, the barriers over my Chosen and my dad, and nod my agreement with Becket. We charge without a word of warning, and for a quick second, I see surprise on their faces before it’s replaced with arrogant outrage. I run right for the winged asshole.
Orbs of every color are lobbed at me as I attack. They seem to think if they can take me down first, the others will be easy pickings. I have no idea what we’re up against, but I know none of us will go down easy. My runes flash out shields that send the Sentinel’s attacking magic bouncing away from me. Panic flares in a few of my opponents’ eyes, and it spurs me on even more. I have no idea what any of these Sentinels can do, but the unknown is a two-way street that works in our favor too.
