Sebastian bit back his cry, ripping his sword from themudae. He whirled, hissing at the pain radiating up his leg.
One of the three demons had slipped behind him. Its serrated claws dripped with Sebastian’s red blood, foul lips smiling. It looked like it was about to speak in that grating, croaking way they did.
Sebastian didn’t give it a chance. Loosening a hiss of pain past his clenched teeth, he lunged forward, slicing through themudae’sneck.
That was one positive to these things. Though they were foul and numerous and wielded claws as weapons, they were remarkably easy to kill.
Probably why Kol threw them forth whenever he needed a distraction. They were expendable and replaceable. Perfect for padding the ranks of any army.
The third and finalmudaelurched forward, eyes narrowed to slits. Sebastian, this time, chose to make the first move. His blade was a blur of silver steel as it met the creature’s thin wings, crippling it before he slid the sword through its heart.
It collapsed, leaving Sebastian breathless but with a moment to collect himself. He glanced down at his calf. His pants were saturated with sticky blood, pain pulsing with every limping step he took, but it wasn’t deep. It was an inconvenience and did not help his other physical weaknesses at the moment, but he would not die.
Not from that, anyway.
Andrian finished off the last of the group he faced. Moremudaecried overhead, signaling they were about to drop. Their reprieve was almost over.
Across the clearing, a battle still raged. In the last few moments of stillness, Sebastian’s gaze locked on Mariah as she and Kol spun in their vicious, deadly dance.
He didn’t know how she still did it. How she was still fighting, still moving, still standing. He was exhausted, weariness weighing down on him like a leaden brick, but her moves had only slowed a fraction. Blood welled from a few small slices on her skin, but she was otherwise unharmed, her face set with grim determination.
Sebastian was about to turn back to ready himself for the next wave of their onslaught, when his attention landed on her wrists.
Spiraling, opalescent tattoos glowed and pulsed against her tanned skin. He couldn’t make out the design, but something about it raised the hair on the back of his neck. When had she gotten those? And who had put them there?
He wasn’t sure he wanted to know the answer, but he knew the fear curdling in his chest would eventually demand one.
If they survived this.
“Sebastian.” Andrian’s low growl tore Sebastian’s stare from Mariah. He met his friend’s gaze, noting the way they also bounced between him and their queen. Andrian swallowed thickly, as if he knew exactly what Sebastian was thinking. Beneath his icy exterior lurked so much fear, it nearly punched Sebastian in the chest.
“We need to focus,” Andrian continued, voice low. His eyes lifted to the sky. “We have to get to Matheo and finish these fuckers. Then we can help Mariah.”
Matheo. The name clanged through Sebastian like the tolling of a bell.
The guilt swallowed him next.
In all the madness, somehow he’d forgotten about his baby brother. They were all a family, but he only shared blood with one of them.
The same one who now stood in the center of the clearing, his bow discarded at his feet. Black blood smattered his face as he swung his blade, slicing through the neck of amudae. He was skilled with a sword, as they all were, but the bow was his weapon.
Sebastian also understood with a jolt why Andrian needed to get to him. If they were going to stand any chance of holding off the demon onslaught, they needed Matheo’s bow to cover their backs while they wielded blades.
Sebastian nodded. The pain in his leg had dulled to a throb, a nuisance but one he could manage. “I’m ready.”
The next wave ofmudaedescended, as if they’d been waiting for his words.
Sebastian and Andrian launched before the demons even touched the earth, their swords carving a path of dark bloodand leaving behind a trail of twitching limbs. The world around Sebastian blurred, silent save for the rushing of blood in his ears and the beat of his heart in his chest. Instincts took control, his mind stepping back so his body could do what it knew. He forgot the pain in his leg, that last desperate look in Ciana’s face, the eerie pulsing tattoos on Mariah’s wrists.
He forgot everything, save for the swing of his sword and the final cries of themudaeas they died.
Until suddenly, it wasn’t amudaein front of him.
A very familiar, very human back greeted Sebastian. His grip slipped on his sword, wet with foul, black blood. Andrian halted beside him, panting heavily as he felled the last of themudae.
There would be more, but they’d earned another respite.
“Matheo,” Sebastian croaked, his voice hoarse from exertion and dehydration. His chest burned, limbs trembling, but he couldn’t think about any of that.
