“I’m not a sit-on-the-sidelines type of girl.” Her hands itched to touch him again, so she clasped them in her lap.
“Aren’t you?” One eyebrow lifted.
She pressed her lips together. Just because she preferred working corporate strategy and battle plans near a computer, didn’t mean shehadto do that. She could do what she wanted. “No.” Her voice lacked conviction. Darn it.
“Tell me you get me. That you understand what I’ve tried to explain.” His voice held an urgency that demanded her full attention.
“I heard you and understand,” she said. If they got together, maybe in a couple of centuries, after the Seven had disbanded and moved on, then she’d be better equipped to deal with power struggles. Right now, she was way out of her depth and self-aware enough to know it. “We’re good.”
He didn’t move, but his eyes slid to the side and toward the door. His body visibly went on full alert.
“What?” she whispered, looking wildly around.
He tilted his head more. “There’s something—”
The back wall, theentire back wall, blew open.
Logan roared, scooped her up, and threw her across the room to land on the top bunk. She bounced and scrambled to grab the edge of the mattress to keep from falling.
Then he leaped at two soldiers, taking them both down.
Her eyes widened. The two on the ground weren’t Fae. They wore full tack gear and had long white hair, just down the middle of their heads, braided tight.
Oh God. They were Cyst. She’d read about them, but she’d never actually seen one of the Kurjan’s special-force soldiers. They were rumored to be spiritual leaders, but their fighting skills were legendary. She struggled to free herself from the blanket so she could drop to the ground.
Logan backflipped to his feet, powerful and dangerous even in his underwear.
The soldiers did the same in an odd dance that was as elegant as it was frightening. Their eyes were translucent purple and their skin so white that the blue veins beneath stood out. The first drew a gun, but Logan kicked it out of his hand before punching the other soldier in the face.
Mercy shoved the blanket away and jumped to the ground. There had to be some sort of weapon she could use.
The first soldier smiled, revealing sharp, yellowed teeth. He drew a knife from the back of his waist, just as the second guy moved in.
Logan kicked the second guy in the balls and he hunched over with a cried “oof.” Then Logan pivoted, grabbed the knife, and shot an elbow into the whimpering soldier’s gut before ducking his shoulder and tossing him over his head to land near the fireplace with a hard thump.
Before Mercy could move, Logan spun around and whipped the knife across the still standing Cyst’s neck. Blood spurted in a wild arc. They went down, Logan still slashing.
The first guy on the floor rolled and spoke into his wrist. “We’ve found him. Cabin on the southeast side of the island. Send backup. Now.” He bunched his knees to leap.
“No!” Mercy yelled, running toward him full bore. She cleared the sofa and hit him midcenter, aiming them toward the fire.
It was like colliding with a solid brick wall. He caught her and barely took a step back.
She brought her knee up, nailing him in the groin. His hold tightened on her arms, and pain engulfed her biceps. She cried out, struggling wildly, going for his eyes. This close, his eyes were nearly see-through. No mercy, no emotion lived in them. He shook her, and she cried out again.
A roar of pure fury filled the cabin.
The guy holding her turned just as Logan rushed them, his fangs out, his eyes the black of midnight. The Cyst soldier tossed her to the couch as if she were nothing and braced for Logan.
Logan smashed into him, sending them both careening through the wall next to the fireplace. They kept going into the barraging storm, hitting a tree and cracking it right down the middle.
Mercy shoved to her feet, looking wildly around. The other soldier lay on his back, his body half inside the cabin. He didn’t look right. Her breath panted out of her chest, and her arms tingled with adrenaline as she scrutinized him. His head was gone.
Nausea rolled up her throat and she coughed. A bone protruded from where his neck should be. She didn’t look for the head.
Almost in slow motion, going into shock, she turned to see Logan fiercely beating the other Cyst with just his fists. The pale soldier bled from pretty much everywhere, his body starting to sag, his eyelids closing.
Logan was merciless. No emotion, no anger, no humanity.
