“Distract them,” I murmured to Baladar, Violet, and Rowan, who were all standing around me.
The magic born didn’t hesitate, they started blasting spells at the six wolves, most of which were deflected by their fancy weapons. Forcing myself to focus, I tapped into the pure fae power inside of me, specifically the energy I used to shatter spells. I directed it at the net holding Kade. It took quite a bit of my control; I had to funnel it for a minute or so, and only aim for the netting, but, eventually, with a push, it shattered into a thousand magical pieces.
The wolves should have taken more care to watch the threat behind them. They thought they had trapped Kade, that he was no threat. They were wrong.
In a flash, he was up on his hind legs, bear paws slashing through the six of them with ease. Body parts flew everywhere, and the rest of us took a step back so as not to accidentally get in the path of an enraged bear.
When the room was covered in blood and severed bodies, Kade stood there half shifted, his chest heaving as he fought the anger still riding him.
Kade, love, I’m okay.
His head shot up; his eyes locked me in place as he stalked slowly over the gory scene to me. I could barely make out his tawny skin he was so covered in the blood of our enemies, and for a brief second I almost wanted to run.
“You okay?” Violet eyed the knife in my shoulder.
I nodded. “I’m fine.”
Ignoring me, she stepped forward, pulling a vial of a green swirling fluid from her pocket.
“Oh look, it’s a bird!” Violet pointed to the ceiling.
“Wha — ow, muthaf — ” My curse was cut off as I panted in and out, trying to calm my racing heart. She had just yanked the knife out, quickly murmuring a short incantation and pouring the green fluid into my open wound. My entire shoulder went ice cold then, before warming, and then the pain was gone.
“I’ll look at it again later, but that should stop the pain and bleeding for now,” she said.
“Thanks,” I replied, before all of my focus went to Kade. He was breathing slowly, trying to find his humanity again.
“Okay. Call us if you need help. We’re going to check around back and make sure there are no more attackers.” Violet threw one last worried glance at the pile of bodies before she left with the others.
When Kade reached me, I was glad to see he had returned to his normal giant size, not that half-morphed bear he did so well. Uncaring about the blood, I reached out and placed my hand on his chest, right above his heart.
“I’m okay. I promise.”
His eye flicked to the blood that had stained my dress.
“It’s just a small wound,” I said.
Some of the dark angles of his face softened, and he cupped my chin gently, rubbing his thumb across my cheek. “I got a bit of blood on you,” he murmured, and I had to chuckle at that.
“You got a bit of blood on everything, mate. I think your lips are the only thing on your body not covered.”
Kade bent down and picked up the blade that had been lodged in my shoulder and held it upfor me to see. “Where have we seen weapons like these before?” he asked.
I looked a little closer. It was a dagger, smooth and white. The handle was a bone of some type — actually, the entire thing looked like it was carved from a bone — The handle was thick, with symbols etched into it, before it tapered up to a very sharp point.
“It’s fae,” I breathed, confirming my earlier suspicions, unease cramping my stomach. They often carved weapons from the bones of magical creatures. It made for quite the powerful piece, as had been demonstrated here today.
“Who would have dropped off fae weapons on their doorsteps?” I asked, trying to make out the other blades they had held.
Kade shook his head. “Someone who knew the wolves were looking for a chance to end us. Someone who also thought we would never suspect our own people and they would be able to get close.”
“The winter queen,” I snarled. That bitch. It had to be her, or the Dark Fae Lord. Either way, they were using far more underhanded methods than I had expected.
A groan from the corner distracted us both, and Kade stepped forward, his hands claws at his sides. I pushed past him when I realized it was just Vinnie. The older man was blinking rapidly,looking around as he tried to figure out what had happened. When he saw the state of the hallway to his bathroom, he went very pale.
I helped him sit up. “Are you okay?”
He nodded a few times, unable to look away from the bloody carnage Kade had left in his hallway.
