“What?” he mutters.
It’s the last thing he says.
It was probably the first thing he said, too.
Stupid dumb fuck.
He tumbles to the ground, and I pull the sword from his dead body, wiping his blood away on the grass.
“What the hell are you doing here, Henny?” I say. “You’re meant to be protecting Arabella.”
“Hells Bells is safe. She’s fine. She’s with Linny,” she adds. “And sorry, but did you really think I was going to miss out on the fun?” She tuts, rolls her eyes, and shakes her head. “Anyway,” she says, pointing down at the lifeless body of Kratos, “looks like you needed my help.”
I sweep my hand through my hair, looking down at my feet. “Yeah. Thanks for that,” I say.
“No problem.”
“Where the hell did you get this from anyway?” I ask, turning the Thunderstrike sword over in my hands, admiring its gleaming metal.
“The palace is pretty much empty,” she says. “There was no one watching the weapons. I helped myself.”
She twirls the club around in her hands, then grips it firmly.
She looks up, toward the far side of the field where the battle is waging. She grins from ear to ear.
Then she’s skipping away.
I take a moment to pull air back into my chest, to steady myself, and then, with the sword in my hand, I run after her, back to the battle, back to Briony.
Chapter Forty-Six
Fox
In the chaos of battle, I’ve lost the others, finding myself pincered between the Titan twins as we fight the Empress’s elite guard.
They come at us with their magic and their weapons, and as quickly as we manage to defeat one, another appears.
The Titan twins may not be clever, but they’re good, strong fighters, and I’m actually thankful to have them here with me. We find a rhythm, fighting together, working to trap and eliminate the guards as they come for us.
Of course, it comes at a cost.
I’m hit in the leg. The twin on my left in his arm. The twin on my right in his gut.
We don’t have time to heal ourselves or each other. We have to fight on.
I send my magic swiping, stabbing, burning, crushing. I’m wild, like those early days. Maybe my taste for this hasn’t dampened as much as I thought it had. Maybe I’m still hungry tosee blood spill. Maybe I still have that killer inside me, desperate to be unleashed.
Now he has his reason.
Briony.
I don’t know where she is, somewhere lost in the shadows and the smoke and the fog, but I feel her nearby. I feel the brightness of her light.
She’s alive. She’s fighting. And as long as she is, I will be too – with everything I have.
Four elite guards come at us at once. They swing their weapons, firing magic at the same time.
I fire back as one Titan brother charges forward, swinging his fists while his brother sends fire-bolts in front of him. Their knuckles are bloodied. Sweat drips from their faces. Even I am panting for breath, my heart racing, though both should be still and silent.
