I’m in the middle of taking down the blockade around me when I catch a glimpse of a warrior creeping up on Seiji frombehind. Without thinking, I fire through the tiny gap between soldiers hovering over me and shoot the warlock.
My lapse in focus gives my opponents the perfect opening to gang up on me. I barely dodge the first strike, a sword grazing my shoulder, but I miss the one aimed at my thigh.
I swallow the blinding pain numbing my thigh and whip out my wakizashi swords, slicing the hand reaching for me next.
I’m twisting limbs and breaking knees when I spot Harvey lowering Grace from the table, carving a safe path to the main door. Grace looks fine aside from a small scratch on her shoulder, but there’s a deep gash on Harvey’s forehead and a cut on his shoulder.
My desperate need to make sure Harvey leaves unharmed gets the better of me, and I send one of my swords flying at the sneaky warrior closing in on him.
Seiji takes over guarding them as they make it safely through the door; his whips making it impossible for anyone to get close without having their flesh torn to shreds.
Hazel and Grace now dominate the only exit, freeing up Harvey. He tries to help me, but I shake my head. “Angel first.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I watch them clear a path for Angel to cross the room. We’re in opposite corners of the house, and his being farther away means it’s easier for him to get trapped.
I’m barely holding myself up on one leg, but my hands keep slicing through anyone who dares to come close.
I’m struggling to pull my sword from a skull when Angel suddenly breaks through the circle around me. As much as I want to scream at him for risking his safety for me, I’m too tired to argue.
The moment Angel reaches me, Harvey and Hazel start raining bullets on the warriors, clearing a path for us. Pressing my back to his, I limp backward to cover us while Angel moves us toward the exit.
I make the mistake of relaxing a foot from the door,thinking it’s finally over, and don’t see the warrior who leaps from the floor by my leg, driving a sharp dagger just below my collarbone.
The sound of everyone gasping in horror is drowned out by the warrior cackling like a maniac, and it hits me that without my Divine, if I die here, then that’s it. No second chances.
I shove the dark thought out of my head and blink past the black spots. Angel stabs the warrior in the neck with one of his arrows, and the cackling finally stops.
Harvey rushes inside, dragging a half-dead warrior to my feet before hoisting him over his shoulder. I don’t ask what he wants with the soldier, move out of the way and lean against the doorframe—or what’s left of it.
When I open my eyes again, Grace is running toward me, shouting something I can’t make out. Before I know what she’s doing, she grabs the handle of the dagger still buried in my chest and yanks it out in one swift motion.
I yelp, “Ouch!You could’ve warned me.”
“I thought I did! I’m so sorry, but the blade was poisoned. I had to act fast.”
I take a deep breath, pushing past the pain and dizziness that I now realize is because of the poison.
Through clenched teeth, I assure Grace that I’m fine, so she’ll stop looking like she’s the one who stabbed me. It’s just a little poison. I’ve had worse.
Standing at the entrance of a house splattered with blood and littered with corpses, I remember promising Micah a blood ceremony for his death.
This is so much better!
Without wasting another breath, Angel strides to me and sweeps me off my feet. I hiss when the cut on my thigh stings and gasp, “I can walk.”
“Let me.Please.” I don’t miss the flash of pain on Angel’s face when he rests his cheek against my head, not caring that it’s damp with blood. He’s covered in blood, too, but none of it is his.
I scan the others and whine, “Why am I the only one who looks like I just crawled out of a bloody ditch?”
“You did that thing again,” Hazel answers vaguely.
“What thing?”
“You’re worse than Anxo. He worries, too, but you?” Seiji scoffs, “You take things to another level by taking the hits for us. I’m glad you want to save my perfect face, but maybe try protecting yours for a change.” He’s joking, but the lines of worry on his face give him away.
That’s when I notice everyone else is mostly unscathed. I’m the only one who’s injured from head to toe.
Angel pulls me closer to his chest, his jaw ticking like he is holding himself back from saying something. I grab his chin, forcing him to look at me. “Are you mad at me?”
