Skylar looks away from Astrid’s face, to the tip of the knife, coated in red. Her blood heats as anger rises—the reaction to her mate in danger too strong for Axel to dampen. But she swallows it down as best she can. She has to be smart, not angry.
She looks directly at Axel only when she comes to a stop in front of him. His green eyes swim with something she’d rather not name, and he gives her a nod. She holds out the pin, flat on her palm, and he reaches to take it.
And in the instant that he loosens his grip on Astrid, Skylar moves, spinning to his side and pressing the pin to his throat. He stills, the knife at Astrid’s throat wavering. The queen makes some sort of noise of distress, but Skylar ignores her.
Axel turns his gaze on hers for one brief moment—and he must know, must be able to sense, what it is she’s about to do. His expression changes—the determination replaced by a small, sad smile. She feels it then, the full force of her emotions, almost enough to make her buckle. She knows what he’s doing. Giving them back to her so she can feel, so that she makes this decision knowing full well what it means.
So she does. She stabs, hard, into the side of his throat, grabbing Astrid with her other hand and shoving her back—between her and Zryan. Axel’s eyes go wide, and one hand comes up to try to stem the blood flow. He falls to his knees and she goes with him, pulling the pin from his neck, blood spattering. He gurgles, blood filling his airways, leaking from the corner of his mouth. And she stays with him, on her knees, as he slumps to the ground, staring at him as he takes his final breath.
58Astrid
The life pours from Axel’s neck, pooling around Skylar’s knees.
She did it. Astrid can’t believe it. Skylar stabbed Axel. He’s dead.
“Kill her!” the queen screams. “Kill them both!”
“No!” Zryan’s yell comes as the first of the Dreki move, but the two guards go down like dominoes as Bastet lunges for them—one now short a throat, the other, the lower half of their face. Blood sprays across Astrid’s chest.
Skylar’s already moving, spinning in front of Astrid with a whip of pale tendril to take down the Physick wielding two broadswords and racing at them. He grunts, though he doesn’t stop advancing; and Astrid knows that as much as Skylar’s broken through the queen’s nullifying power, her Blooded power is weak right now. How is she doing it? Astrid still has nothing. No Gift, no casting abilities. Not even her claws. Just one vial left.
A spear flies at her, skimming her hair, and she dodges to the side, only to find there’s a slab of rock shooting at her instead—she gasps and throws herself back on the floor, just about saving her skull in the process.
There’s a Kinetic, she says to Skylar. The Physick is down, skin bleached, but Skylar has gone rigid and Astrid realizes why a moment later. A Wielder has her—it must be a Bone Wielder. Bastet roars as the Kinetic turns his attention on him.No, no, no. The people she loves most in the world are in this room, and they’re going to die if she doesn’t do something.
The Bone Wielder first. She pulls out her last potion, gets to her feet, unstoppering the bottle and lobbing it at the Prime and the Drekiprotecting him. It finds its mark. Their curdling screams become a symphony for Astrid as she whirls around to Skylar, just in time to see her mate take back control of her body. Astrid doesn’t have to speak mind to mind; Skylar’s moving again, the few tendrils she’s able to conjure aimed right at the Kinetic. Clutching her face, the Kinetic stumbles back, until a Dreki aims a spear at Skylar, breaking her focus.
I need a weapon. Astrid frantically looks around, but there’s nothing; everything’s been retrieved by the Kinetic. She’s standing here useless while Bastet and Skylar fight.
Take this. Skylar throws her the pin. No, thewand. Astrid reacts, just about catching it. As soon as it touches her skin, it sings for her. How could she not have known this was a wand? It’s so clear now that she’s holding it.
“Bastet!” she shouts up to him. He’s airborne, keeping most of the Dreki at bay. A Water Wielder is aiming for him, but Bastet is too fast, too agile.
Zryan is yanking at the chain still attached to the wall, and Astrid knows the only reason things aren’t worse is because some of the Dreki are reluctant to be the ones to land the killing blow on Astrid, not when their prince has promised retribution.
Skylar, move back toward Zryan. Ottilie won’t risk him.
Skylar nods, retreating while keeping her focus on the Kinetic, who she now has in her death grip once more. Bastet lands next to Zryan and clamps his jaws around the chain, and with the panther distracted, a Dreki takes the opportunity to go for Skylar, breaking her focus again. She can hear Ottilie shouting for them to protect the Kinetic, not to harm Zryan, but Astrid is there, waving the wand like it’s an extension of her, and the tip slices through the Dreki’s carotid like an oar through water. More blood sprays, and for the first time she welcomes the sensation. It’s them or her mate. Them or her familiar. Them or Zryan.
Take down the Primes. I’ll cover you. She skids in front of Skylar to face off against the queen and her group.
I can only take one at a time. The queen, she’s too strong.
One of the Dreki rushes her and Astrid blocks him, twists out of his reach, right into another Dreki. The dagger glances her upper armand she hisses as she whirls again, but there’s a third Dreki. She can’t even look around to see if Zryan is free. There are three of them and only one of her, and all of her concentration is on ducking and weaving and dodging as they herd her back toward Skylar. They’re going to overpower her. They’re going to kill her. Her arms are tiring. Her legs feel heavy. But she keeps moving, keeps reminding herself why she can’t stop now.
Skylar, Bastet, Zryan. Skylar, Bastet, Zryan.
A slash of steel and she cries out. A knife slices down her left eye, blood blinds her, and she staggers back, disoriented.
“The wand!” Ottilie commands. “Take the wand from her!”
The Dreki close in, but she brandishes the wand at them.
Her head is thumping, her ears filled with the sound of her beating heart, so loud that she’s shaking.
Then she notices the pool. The way it ripples.
The Dreki are withdrawing, closing in on the queen.
