“Let’s go get him, darling,” Theo said, wrapping a steadying arm around me and shepherding me out of the red-stained cabin with two dead monsters inside. “I’m gonna get you both safe. And then, I’m gonna kill all these bastards.”
Vivian
Guns pointed at us before we were down the steps. I placed myself in front of Theo. Maybe I couldn’t fight, but I could shield. They wouldn’t risk killing me when they could still leave here victorious with a new “battery” and field.
They looked much less like an army than they had before. Their two biggest soldiers were slumped over in the cabin. There were several dead on the ground outside, presumably Theo’s doing. Half of the survivors looked like white-collar contractors about to shit themselves from the mess this turned into. Sure, they had the numbers and the weapons, but nobody remaining looked nearly as intimidating as who we’d already taken down.
Dr. Gable stood next to the binder-carrying Pyran with a short ponytail. They spoke in hurried whispers while he ignored everyone else anxiously asking for direction. Ponytail must be his right-hand person.
The Thornian C.E.O. didn’t look quite as grand covered in blood and missing a horn. Composure and grace were out the window. He was frazzled, pissed, and shaking. And he seemed to be taking those feelings out on the Pyran.
A dozen of the group left on my field looked like soldiers. That was a lot of people to be outnumbered by, but Theo wasso much more than one man. Especially when he was feral, the back of my head only touching his upper stomach as he hunched over and around me. It was a much fairer fight than I think any of them were prepared for.
I looked around to see if I could spot Nurghle, but the motion triggered a wave of vertigo. I swayed, and Theo grabbed my waist to hold me up. His spare hand rubbed my back.
The daytime stars had started setting over the horizon, a mix of purples and blues cutting through the heavy gray clouds and bleeding their colors over the treetops as night approached. There was a soft pattering in the distance—approaching rain. The muted smell of wet dirt and pine hit my nose, carried by the breeze wafting over nearby mountains.
“Where’s Nurghle?” I whispered to Theo. It would be dark and storming any minute now, and I couldn’t see my baby anywhere.
He squeezed my arm to confirm he heard my question before addressing the crowd. “I blew through most of your army already, Gable!” Theo shouted. “Will you leave us the fuck alone now? There aren’t many pawns left for me to crush before it’s your turn to face me again. Your horns will be mounted on the fucking wall after I’m done with you.”
He might have been bluffing about the horns, but I didn’t mind the idea. Gable’s horns would represent defeating our enemies, overcoming my trauma. I didnotlose myself in this battle today. I stayed me.The gray would match the walls nicely. I might not be a killer, but Iwasfucked in the head. I smiled.
“We aren’t leaving here withouther!” Gable shouted, his eyes wild as he pointed a talon at me. “Hand her over and go back to your aimless hiking trips, Theo! You’ll find anotherdemigoddess, I’m sure. And then, when you give away her location too, we can repeat the process. We can go through this as many times as you want, until you find redemption for all the innocent people you killed pointlessly. You may end up being the most helpfultoolto meby the end of it all.”
Theo snarled, his hands squeezing me tighter. Gable was well-versed on his deepest sore spots, and he was prodding them aggressively. They must be running out of options, if they were willing to continue provoking my monster.
“After all,” Gable continued, his unhinged voice taking on a mocking tone. “We haven’t found a field paired with a living demigoddess since Tesilvis. We would gladly accept the help finding more. They make for powerful factories, and even more powerfulbatteries.”
Theo trembled with rage. His fingers flexed as if torn between letting go of me to attack and holding me safely against his core. I pet his forearm soothingly, reassuring him everything was okay. Gable was just trying to piss him off to separate us. By standing where we were, I kept them from shooting Theo, and Theo kept them from taking me. The moment we were apart, they could do both.
“Theo, I need you to stay here with me,” I cooed softly. “They can’t do anything if we’re together. Please stay calm for me.”
“I’m so…angry,” Theo growled.
“I know, baby. I know. And it’s okay that you’re feeling that way. But you need to hold back for a moment.” His anger was not my weapon to command. Every time he expressed a feeling was a victory on his healing journey. However, for now, he needed to listen to me. I felt him still ever so slightly.
“Maybe you don’t live up to your lethal reputation. What a pity,” Gable mocked. “Everyone, take careful aim.”
They won’t shoot. They won’t shoot. It’s a bluff.
My heart pounded as Theo attempted to push me behind him. I used all my strength to keep myself pressed against his front, locking my arms against the doorframe so I couldn’t be moved. Now wasnotthe time for this disagreement! This stand-off would be over the moment I wasn’t in the line of fire.
“Last chance to save yourselves, demigoddess,” Gable called out in a song-like taunt.
“Demigoddess? I thought I was abattery,” I scoffed, twisting in Theo’s arms as he picked me up and stepped back into the cabin. “Theo! Stop! Listen to me!”
My pleas weren’t heard. Mid-turn, something crashed into our sides and we both went careening into the clover at the base of the steps.
I lifted my head from the ground, disoriented.
Theo and the Lychan-Quadmos were practically on top of me, wrestling ferociously.
I thought that fucker was dead!
I tried to throw myself into the mix as Theo’s shield, but I immediately took a blow to the temple that turned my vision dark for a fleeting moment. As I collapsed to the ground, the Hybrid stared at me, eyes wide. He’d hit the wrong target, the preciousbattery.
Theo tackled the Hybrid in his moment of hesitation.
