It was obvious Ciaran and Jake could also keep going, and so could Hope. The handful of courtrades fighting, though, would presumably tire at some point. Lenna, Ayla, Brendon and Sasha were protected under the shadow block.
Sasha—that had been a mistake. An unrepairable mistake that Hope would never forgive herself for. A mistake that she would have to digest later, when they were safe.
What was the point of this battle, though? The enemy they had to beat—the oneshehad to beat, the one the sangins had been born from—wasn’t here. This continuous fight was pointless, its only purpose to exhaust and drain them.
“We must leave,” she said over the sound of a spine breaking under the firm grip of her hands. “All of us.”
“This is a suicide mission for them, Hope. My courtrades won’t be able to leave without being eaten alive.”
She had gone through the numbers in her head, and that some courtrades would die was irrevocable. “We must moure jumping, there is no time to climb down. We take two non-panoms each and we moure them with us.”
The shriek of a sangin and the muffled scream of a courtrade perforated their eardrums, and by the time Hope and Ciaranlooked that way, the courtrade lay limp on the floor, five sangins eating his dead flesh with devotion.
“We must fleenow,” Hope shouted at Jake, who nodded and started approaching them.
Hope sent red ink with the same message to Lenna, Brendon and Ayla, still under the shadow sphere. She wasn’t sure if Ayla could make sense of the inks she received without being able to read them with her blind eyes, but she didn’t have time to wait to consider.
The message must have been delivered, because the three of them crossed the shadow block as one, Sasha’s golden rings shining on Lenna’s fingers. The twins opened their hands, probably to Give protective shields around Brendon and themselves, but a sangin was at Brendon’s throat before the shield was in place.
The first of many soul-ripping screams from Lenna sent goosebumps up Hope’s thighs. The golden-eyed twin bent over a decapitated Brendon, her shield forgotten, not in place any longer. Ayla, however, took over and covered both of them with one.
Hope spoke to Ciaran and Jake over Lenna’s screams. “Lenna is in shock and not processing, which puts her in immediate danger of death. Her own death, and everyone else’s.”
“We retreat,” Ciaran said, his voice audible yet a whisper that traveled to the ears of each courtrade. “There isn’t enough panoms in shape to moure. It’s all down to Hope, Jake, and Ayla. So only a handful of people can survive.”
“Your grandfather and you are with me,” Hope said without a trace of hesitation, before adding, “It’s not a debate, Ciaran. I am aware of how much you would be willing to sacrifice yourself instead of one of your shadow-wielders, but without a commander, an army is lost. And…” she sighed, debating whether to allow her selfish words out, before continuing, “andwithout you, I am lost. So, I will moure you and your grandfather to safety.”
Lenna approached them, walking so slowly and shakily she seemed as if her knees were barely enough to hold her. She wore Sasha’s rings on her fingers while she held Brendon’s decapitated head in her arms like a mother would hold a baby.
“What the fuck are you doing, Brachyan?” Jake asked without looking at her in the eyes.
Lenna’s maniacal laugh was perhaps the scariest thing that had happened yet in the middle of this chaos of a battle. “You are back to Brachyan me, are you? Who is the next in line to be killed? Is it you? Is it me? Is it both of us? Is dying the fastest way to get out of this nightmare?”
Jake clenched his jaw tightly. At his lack of response, Lenna started sobbing as she laughed, holding Brendon’s head even closer to her body. Hope swallowed as she interchanged a desperate and worried glance with Ciaran and Jake, the three of them still killing any sangins approaching their group. There was no time for this.
“Lenna, let’s go. You jump with me,” Ayla said, holding her sister’s hand. “Come on, Lenna, we have to leave.”
“Do we?” Lenna cracked out a loud laugh. “Maybe we can hang out with these beasts for longer, see if they end my misery too.”
The speed at which Jake moved was unexpected. One second, he stared at the blood on the floor as his fists sent navy sparks flying around him. Then his firm grip was on Lenna’s throat, his teeth gritting as he growled, “You are going to listen, Brachyan.”
Lenna’s body tensed as if a string had been pulled somewhere invisible. Her laugh ceased immediately, her golden eyes penetrating Jake with such intensity it almost hurt to witness, her chin trembling as she said, “Hi there, Jake. Long time no see.”
Jake’s fingers didn’t release the pressure on Lenna’s throat, but he noticeably readjusted his hold to keep her solidly in place, as if he was expecting Lenna to run away at any moment. Hope couldn’t blame him, because she feared that too.
“You are jumping with me, and me alone. You are a threat to this mission and everyone here right now, so I will personally moure you away.”
Lenna didn’t seem to listen or care enough about Jake’s words to answer. Instead, she asked, “Is this what you do when I’m a naughty girl, Jake? You go back to looking at me, talking to me, and even holding my throat like you did when you choked me while fucking?” That Lenna wasn’t smiling was unnerving. “Your sweet fire can be very naughty if you want her to, Jake. All you needed to do was ask.”
Jake’s silver eyes appeared impassive, untouched. It was only the slight flare of his nostrils that showed what was happening underneath the surface. Was it anger? Was it disgust? It was hard to tell.
His hand on her throat didn’t move, but his face got even closer to Lenna’s, until his breath hit straight against her skin. When he spoke, his voice lowered to a grave tone that Hope wouldn’t wish on her worst enemies.
“I said,Listen, Brachyan, so fucking do what I say before you get anyone else killed.”
Lenna was silent, and Jake took that as his cue to list his orders. “I am not going to let go of your pretty throat just yet. We will walk to the rail, and only then will I move my hand to the back of your neck. Only then, we jump together. If you escape, I will harm you. If you don’t listen, I will harm you. If you don’t do what I say, I will—”
“Harm me. Got it. Crack on, then,” Lenna spat, rolling her eyes and avoiding eye contact with Jake.
