I shivered, my hands shaking as I tried to calm myself. Overwhelm had crept up on me, and now was not the time to lose myself.
As if he sensed my apprehension, Sebastian's hand grazed the small of my back, reaching around towards my navel, pushing me behind him, “I got this one. Breathe.”
I didn’t fight him. I breathed like I had never fucking breathed before, counting each harsh suck of air, holding the vital oxygen tightly in my chest until it was forced out. Fighting the piece of my brain that begged me to shut down—the piece that told me to drop to my knees and cower—I regained enough composure to watch the Hykah fall flat in a puddle of its own blood and shards of ice.
I glanced at where Sawyer had been fighting his own demon, noting the creature's carcass in a mangled pile on the grass.
Five down. Five to go. One of which was still the alpha.
“We should get that one out of the way,” I angled a shaking finger towards the largest Hykah. It stood static, watching the bloodbath before it, the array of colored jewels on its crippled knuckles flashing in the moonlight. My gaze caught on its fist, making me pause in my tracks. Six jewels, all but mine and Eloise’s.
“Agreed,” Sebastian answered, his head darting to the right. “Sharpe!” he called out, gesturing his neck towards the Alpha when he had Kohen’s attention.
Kohen nodded, finishing off a Hykah who stood in a mini tornado before him with a swift stab through the eye, straight into its brain.
Four left.
In the heat of the fight, Sebastian found a moment to melt me with his striking eyes. I matched his stare, my lips parting as if it were just him and me here. “Take care of the last three with the others. We’ll handle the alpha.”
Taken aback, I argued. “What? No. I can take that thing out easily.”
His brows knitted. “Not risking it. Stay here.”
He turned on his boots to meet Kohen, but I grabbed the back of his shirt. “I’m not riskingyou,” I countered, the tone in my voice borderline carnal.
He ripped his shoulder to the side, tearing the fabric from my fingers. “Not the time to be stubborn, Maeve.”
“Not the time to be bossy.” Jumping to the side when he reached for me, I ran past him, throwing my body through the carnage and towards the alpha.
I had no doubt that he and Kohen could kill the thing, but I could do it so much more efficiently. And if me risking my lifeprotected theirs, it would be worth it. It wouldalwaysbe worth it.
The Hykah set its black, soulless eyes upon me as I strode towards it. It growled, and without any ounce of a fucking warning, tossed a flame straight at me.
I bit my tongue to prevent a scream while the flesh of my upper arm was torn open. No doubt scorched, I could still feel the warmth of my blood dripping down my fingertips. Thank the gods for adrenaline, because I powered through, blocking out Sebastian's cursing as I drew in the starlight above me.
Before I could use my power, the Hykah struck again, this time knocking me in the chest with a clash of thunder. I fell back, my tailbone cracking as it hit the ground. I turned the pain into motivation. Hands outward, I blasted the alpha with the cosmos, not letting up until I was confident it was dead.
Wrong.
It was injured, though.
One leg hung limp by its side, but it dropped to the other three limbs, spreading its jaw in a howl. Sebastian curved around me, lunging at the thing and with a jump, striking it in the cheek with his sword. The Hykah snapped its jaw near his face, but its attention was redirected towards Kohen, who repeated Sebastian's injury on the creature’s other side.
“Back away!” I yelled to them, using one hand to support myself, I shot a flame of starlight out of the other. I directed the power at the Hykah’s brain, not letting up this time until I was one hundred percent certain it was dead.
When a hefty thud shook the ground, I released my power. My tailbone too painful to try and stand upon, I dropped to my stomach, rolling to the side to evaluate the rest of our situation, and sighing at the sight of ten Hykah corpses, along with a few soldiers.
Gingerly, I returned to my back, my hair falling to the sides of my face where I laid, catching my breath while counting the stars to try and regulate myself. It was upon that self-regulation that the pain of my burn resonated, and my stomach pitched as I ran a finger over the fleshy skin, warm and wet with my blood. “Fuck,” I drawled, pulling my hand into view, confirming my suspicion. That would need stitches. Or Pia.
As if on cue, Pia ran to me, immediately pulling my arm into hers and sparking her healing magic into it.
Just when I thought we could breathe, the shadows of an infantry clouded the courtyard. There were anywhere from fifty to a hundred Draemornian soldiers, and behind them stood eight more Hykahs.
Gently I pawed Pia away. “It’s good enough for now.”
My friends and the Mealiorian soldiers gathered together in a cluster, weapons drawn and ready to attack the next string of our enemies.
Chapter
