“This one ishuge.” Talon looked Braxis over with a grin. He did a chin-lift toward his men. “Tranq him.”
Braxis dove at the first man to lift his weapon. The snap of breaking bone sounded like a thunderclap in the night. I gaped as Braxis stood up, grabbed the Fury by his ankles, and swung him in a half-circle at the others. The man screamed, bone sticking through his black pants and wings flopping uselessly, as he was bashed into four other men. They all went down like bowling pins.
I stood in the center of a Bleiten storm, unable to dart out and land any blows of my own. Braxis became a blur of movement, incredibly fast for someone so big. His fist met Fury faces before they could shriek, and he dodged paintballs as they came at us, shielding us with their bodies. I winced as he snapped a man's neck with an efficient twist, then tore out another's throat with his teeth. Braxis Fengoth didn't need his battleform to kill, he was deadly just as he was.
I saw Talon flying toward me and started to run. Braxis had gotten a hold of a paintball gun and was bringing the Furies down with their own tranquilizers. But Talon had evaded him by taking to the air. He landed nearly on top of me, his arms going around my waist before he tried to fly me away. I elbowed him in the stomach, then followed it with a backward headbutt. Talon cursed and let me go.
As he stumbled back, Talon noticed Braxis barreling toward him. He lifted his paintball gun and shot Braxis square in the chest twice. Braxis kept coming. Talon's eyes widened as he lifted the gun. I dove for Talon, but he knocked me aside as he shot Braxis twice more. Braxis finally stumbled and dropped to one knee. His stare caught mine, his eyes full of horror as he fell forward.
“Braxis!” I shouted.
Talon chuckled and turned to me, but as he turned, I snatched at his paintball gun as I hit the wrist of the hand holding it. We wrestled with the gun until it went flying, landing several feet away. Talon snarled and bashed me in the stomach. I hit the ground hard, gasping.
Talon stepped over to me with a nasty smirk. “It's time to make good on our bargain, Your Majesty. Don't worry, I have more chocolate.”
Something knocked into Talon from the side, and he went tumbling. I scrambled to my feet and dove for Talon's paintball gun. As soon as it was in my hand, I spun onto my back and aimed, but then froze. Braxis had Talon pinned beneath his huge body with a hand around his throat. The Bleiten duke was swaying and trembling but amazingly awake. I couldn't get a clear shot on my back, so I got to my feet and hurried over to them. Before I made it two steps, Talon shrieked.
Braxis's hands tightened around Talon's throat, but the shriek managed to surge forth anyway. And it was far stronger than it should have been. Blood burst from Braxis's ears, eyes, and nose as he instantly crumpled onto the Fury. Even at that proximity, it should have taken more than one shriek to take down Braxis. I assumed it had been a combination of the shriek and the tranquilizer that had done the trick. But then Talon shoved Braxis away, and I saw Braxis gasping and choking on blood. Dying. He wasn't just wounded, he was dying.
“You took Leo's magic,” I snarled as I aimed the paintball gun at Talon.
Talon opened his mouth to shriek, but I shot him first. Three times in rapid succession. He crumpled as I ran to Braxis.
“Braxis?” I laid the gun aside and pulled his head into my lap. “Braxis?!”
Braxis's eyes shivered and he blinked away blood but then his gaze settled on me. “Pretty pixie,” he whispered, blood dripping from his lips as he took my hand. “Leave me. I'm done, my love. Run.”
“Shh, you're going to be fine.”
“Not this time. And you've got no magic to save me. You must run.” Braxis wheezed and blood poured out of his ears.
Braxis was right, with my magic suppressed, I couldn't even ease his pain. Danutian magic, the likes of which hadn't been seen since Danu was first created, ran through my veins, but I couldn't touch it. So powerful and yet powerless to help him.
“Braxis,” I sobbed.
“I love you, Amara.” Braxis closed his eyes.
“Oh, no you don't, Bleiten!” I snarled and pried open his mouth. I had one more trick up my sleeve. “Bite!”
Braxis's breath barely brushed my wrist. He was unconscious.
“Damn it!” I scraped my wrist over his canines until they cut me, then let the blood drip into his mouth. The wound kept healing, so I shoved my wrist against him hard and wriggled it, tearing through my flesh over and over until his mouth was full of my blood. “Come on, sweetheart.” I pushed up his jaw to close his mouth and massaged his throat. “Braxis, you need to swallow. Don't give up on me now.” I opened his mouth and sliced my wrist once more. “Drink damn you!”
Braxis coughed, spurting blood everywhere, and moaned, but then he licked his lips. His eyes popped open with that first taste.
“That's it!” I set my wrist at his mouth. “Bite, Braxis. You need to drink.”
Braxis bit and sucked at the wound, a low growl vibrating past his lips. His eyes closed in pleasure and he sucked hard, his teeth keeping the cuts open. I clenched my teeth against the pain and stroked his face tenderly as he drank, relief surging through me. But then Braxis began to shudder. His mouth opened on a shriek of pain. His head jerked away from me and his back arched. Braxis's fists struck the ground as if pummeling someone's face and his pitiful cries sounded like a wounded bull.
“Don't fight it,” I said the same words to him that I'd once said to Malik—the words that my father had said to me. “The pain will vanish as soon as you stop fighting. Just let it work, sweetheart.”
Braxis took a great shuddering breath and went limp. He panted and shivered, but at least he had stopped screaming. I took his hand, holding it tightly to my chest as I wiped the blood from his face with my sleeve. Once his eyes were free of blood, Braxis blinked and locked stares with me. As I watched, the pale green of his irises brightened into violet, the darker color seeping through the other like ink in water. His hand clenched around mine as he sat up.
“Amaranthine, what have you done?” Braxis whispered.
“I've truly put my life in your hands,” I said gently. “You now know my secret. The Amaranthine Elixir is in my blood. Races like yours, who can use blood for fuel, can process it; it's still viable.”
“What are you saying?” His hand slid from mine to go to my cheek. “What have you done to me, pretty pixie?”
