My breath caught in my throat. Both he and Lachlan came up beside me again, closer this time.
Nightshade brushed his little hands together with a satisfied chirp.
“Well, fuck,” one of the guys said. “That’s your familiar. That’s really interesting.”
Two others slowly went to the girl’s aid. They sliced open their palms with daggers from their pockets before hovering their hands over the girl. They started chanting in that strange tongue I didn’t understand.
“The bitch should’ve known better.” One guy shrugged as another laughed.
“If she didn’t do it, you would have, and you’d be the one dead now.”
“Dead?” I asked.
Kian squeezed my hand tighter.
“That was a spell to explode organs.” The guy met my gaze and smiled a cruel smile that made my blood run cold. I couldn’t sense any humanity in these necromancers at all.
Yet Kian was full of compassion and life. It didn’t make any sense.
A blast of wind and the static of magic buzzed within the air from the two girls, signaling they had finished their ritual. The girl who had cast the spell at Nightshade sat up straight, but her eyes were a milky color.
She got to her feet and stood there like nothing had happened.
My heart slammed against my chest as I realized what they had done to her. They had reanimated her like it was no big deal at all. There wasn’t any mourning for the death of their friend. There was just reanimation, but there was no soul left in her husk of a vessel. I swallowed hard. Everything Kian told me up until now made complete sense.
“But why didn’t you tell me you had protection wards?” he hissed at Nightshade, who just shrugged.
Purple lightning flickered around us as Kian let go of my hand and wrapped his arm around my waist. He pulled me into his chest, and I soaked up his warmth. “I will destroy your entire group. Then who will be left to reanimate you?” Anger laced his words as he was clenching his jaw so tight, I knew it had to hurt.
Nightshade crawled from me to him, and Lachlan kept hold of my other hand.
“What a very warm welcome you’ve given, Mr. Cortse.”
Clapping bounced chaotically off the buildings, and I turned to the right to see two men walk out with a woman ambling behind them with that milky look in her eyes. I couldn’t tell what color they were before she had been reanimated. The eyes were a given that she was reanimated, but I also noticed her brown hair was the same shade as Kian’s.
The group of necromancers dropped to one knee and stopped speaking as soon as they recognized who was approaching. Kian did not take a knee. He kept his expression blank while Lachlan glared daggers at them.
They must’ve been the ones in charge.
The older man was bald and slender, while the other man had brown hair and brown eyes, but his features reminded me of Kian’s. The way the woman stumbled behind the man, I had a sinking feeling that they were Kian’s parents.
“You’re not kneeling anymore?” the bald one asked with a snarl to his lips.
Kian shook his head. “No. I don’t believe you deserve respect, so I will not take a knee until you prove otherwise, Claude.”
The air grew tight, and I leaned heavily against Kian as the oxygen seemed to rip from my lungs. I closed my eyes and focused on breathing and keeping myself calm so my other mates didn’t feel my panic.
Kian leveled a glowering look at Claude. “Reign in your magic. There is no need for you to assert your dominance. This is your village, and I respect that.”
“But you do not respect me?” Claude asked as the tightness in my chest dissipated.
I sucked in a breath of decaying air before moving my face into Kian’s chest to inhale his scent. The old book scent that clung to him was always comforting.
Claude waved his arm toward the nearest house that was crumbling into old wooden shavings and broken panels. “Come into my home. We have lots to discuss.”
Kian gave a slight nod as they turned and headed into the house. Every muscle Kian had tensed, and Lachlan let out a low growl as we followed behind them.
“Watch your step.” Kian helped me up the broken staircase and into the home.
