Tartarus had never really released him. It never would.
Not unless she had a say in it.
The gloomy corridors closed in, every shadow thick with menace. Her heart pounded, her ears straining. Everything was too quiet.
Then the rhythmic thud of boots echoed, followed by the rasp of steel leaving scabbards. A voice barked, sharp and impatient. “Search the halls!”
Race stilled. In the next breath, his enormous Gaian sword took form in his hand.
She clenched her fingers as the currents coiled at her fingertips. She wasn’t about to let Race carry the fight alone, but damn it, in this confined space, one wrong arc of lightning could hit him. She didn’t want him caught in the crossfire of her powers.
Ash grabbed one of the deadly shuriken stars from her coat pocket. The points nipped her skin, but she barely paid it any heed.
Skaldr caught Race’s biceps. “My sister,” he ground out, his voice tight. “I have to find her.”
For a heartbeat, Ash saw the boy Race had once called friend peeking out from Skaldr’s eyes. Then it was gone, replaced by grim resolve.
Race didn’t say yes. He didn’t say no. Just, “See her to safety.”
Skaldr gave a curt nod and vanished into the labyrinth of corridors, his broad frame swallowed by shadows.
“There’s been a breach,” a voice yelled. “Find them!”
Race stood between the enemy and his allies, his Gaian sword braced. At least with the beanie pulled low on his head, his identity remained concealed. A dozen or so guards surged into the lower halls, spotting them.
Ash’s heart jammed in her throat.
The leader’s thin face broke into a feral grin. “Kill them!”
Race moved, his blade a deadly streak in the dimly lit hallway. He met the leader head-on. Attor shot past her,slamming another guard into the wall, the man’s bones crunching under his weight.
Her power spiked, crackling along her fingertips, but she held back and flung the star, catching it on the chest of a mammoth-sized guard.
He snarled and darted for her.
“Eeep—”Ash threw out her hands, releasing a sharp burst of wind, knocking him off balance.
He crashed into the wall, rebounded with a roar, his sword arcing down. “You little bitch?—”
“No, you fucking don’t!” Race spat, moving in a blur and cutting down the guard before diving back into the chaos.
Shouts and the clash of steel echoed off the walls. Her powers hummed. The men kept her behind them, guarding her flank as if she were fragile glass.
Sod being safe!
She darted forward and hurled another star. It caught a guard mid-swing as he raised his sword for Rhaedra’s head, embedding in his neck. The star pulsed, flared lightning-white, then seared him where he stood.
Rhaedra shot her a curt nod and dove back into the fray.
Before Ash could reach for another star, a mammoth-sized guard shot in front of her, his eyes flat, empty. He caught her by the throat?—
Fury ignited, she slammed both palms against his chest, unleashing a surge of electricity. He convulsed, his expression frozen in a scream, then he crumpled at her feet. “Bloody wanker?—”
An arm banded around her from behind, crushing her ribs before she could blink. “Heart-fire,” Race growled, his voice rough. “I need you safe, please.”
She glanced over her shoulder and smiled through her ragged breathing. “I am safe. I have you, the gang, and there’sme—oof!” She wriggled one arm free, stormlight dancing across her fingers. “See?”
“You’ll be the death of me,” he groaned.
