Chapter 27

The magic gunner truck shakes, and my foot slips from the pedal into nothingness.

"We're out of time, Lana," I shriek. The magical gunfire's nearly deafened me, and I'm not sure she can hear me, considering she's been the one firing it for the last hour. Or maybe six. I'm not sure. Time seems to have blurred and warped since we launched our diversionary attack on the city of Avleim.

Vampire bodies litter the ground, along with the corpses of small vermin and birds. My serpent continues to strike, though, and the main force has fallen back behind the city walls. There's a cluster of hissing vampires still after us though, lured by our magic. And the fact we'd be the prize, after all, same as Mina.

The truck winks out of existence completely, and the ground slams into me.

Pain. The breath whooshes from my chest, my teeth snapping together hard. Stunned, I lay there for a second, the sky a cloudless blue above. Finally, I'm able to suck in a breath, and I roll to my side, coughing and looking for Lana.

She's on her side, too, but she's not moving.

"Shit, shit, shit," I say, half-crawling over to her. "Lana," I yell, still half-deaf. Shaking her shoulder, I roll her to her back, and real fear knifes through me.

Blood leaks from her nose in a slow but steady stream.

"Ras," I scream, shaking Lana harder. She must have overspent her magic. It's something Lesath lectured me on constantly on the way here, and after spending a few days recuperating in a witch's hut, I've been extra careful. Sure, the mate bond protects me now, but Lana burnt through a ton of her energy making that stupid gun truck thing.

I never should have suggested it.

The massive lion that is Lana's mate tears through the horde of vampires, bodies flying in his wake.

My ears pop dully as he shifts back into his two-legged shape, shaking his blond head and kneeling next to my sister.

"I think she used too much magic," I say. "I can't lose her, I can't."

Ras picks her up, cradling her gently. "She's breathing. She needs rest, though. You did well, Ali."

Lesath appears out of nowhere, shifted back into his human form, too. His hand claps on my shoulder.

"We need to fall back," he says grimly.

"But we haven't seen Mina's signal." My hands fist at my sides. "I'm not going to abandon her to them."

Deep within the city, a horn sounds, then a bell, signaling something. Dread wilts my resolve, but I stiffen my spine and turn back toward the towering gates of Avleim. The moons begin their ascent, emerging from behind the city as afternoon fades into early dusk.

"We need to go. It is too dangerous, my love," Lesath says, jerking his head to where Ras is sprinting for the lines of reinforcements. Still, not enough. Not enough of us, compared to the vampires.

The vampire's bell finishes tolling, and the great gates start to open. Gears grind, and the remaining vampires retreat to them. My serpent flicks its tail, hissing at the remnants of the horde, before slithering back to me. Molmith prances behind him, tossing his head, looking as happy as a clam. Blood rings his mouth and cakes his hooves, so I suppose he is.

"What are they doing?" I ask, my heart constricting painfully.

"I do not wish to find out," Lesath says, and before I can argue with him more about staying, he throws me over his shoulder, racing behind Ras.

"But Mina," I protest weakly. I'm tired too. Not as spent as Lana, but close to it. I squeeze my eyes shut. I can't leave without my big sister.

A wolf howl goes up from somewhere nearby, and a fresh wave of primal panic hits me, before realization strikes.

"That's the signal," Lesath tells me.

"Are you sure it's him?"

"No," Lesath replies, and I sag against his shoulder, my stomach bouncing uncomfortably. I angle my head to where I heard the wolf, and blink against a sudden brightness lighting up the sky.

"Now I'm sure," Lesath says, stroking one hand down my back. "They retrieved your sister. Let us get clear of here."

I collapse against him, undone by the force of my relief.

Lesath's shoulders stiffen, and I feel the bitter taint of his fear through our mate bond. Shit. The vampires must be preparing another attack. I look up, squinting into the distance. Sure enough, more vampires crowd the entrance of the gate, a huge beast of a man striding through the opening. A white crown glows on his head, and my mouth goes dry.

The Butcher King.

A defiant cry rips out from the reinforcements we brought, sending a shiver down my back.

And then I hear it. I hear them; the creatures that have haunted my nightmares for weeks now. My blood runs cold.

Harbingers.

"They're here," I whimper, and Lesath manages to move faster, putting on an incredible burst of speed.

The vampires let out a battle cry too, and a fresh surge of adrenaline jolts through my body. We're going to be trapped between the monster harbingers, with their rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth, their eyeless heads and talon-tipped wings, and the vampires at the back.

"I have you, my love. I will see us safely out of this. You know I will not fail you again."

"I love you," I tell him. Molmith chases after us, his tail held high in the air, screaming the song of his murder pony people.

We've saved Mina from the vampires, only to pull her out in time to be eaten by monsters.

Just fucking great.

Lesath sets me down gently, and Molmith stomps next to me, smashing his bloody face into my shoulder, saying hello.

"You did amazing," I tell him. "But it's not over yet."

"Not yet, but it will be," a familiar voice says, and there's nothing but raw anger in it.

"Danielle," I say on an exhale.

"Get behind me," she grates out. Red wreaths her hands, snaking up her arms. Lesath urges me forward, and I stumble towards the troops from Idiene. Dabin, Danielle's mate, stands just behind her, and heat blasts me as we make it to the front line.

All from Danielle, her fire powers spiraling, building.

"Look," Lesath says, and I have to shield my eyes from Danielle's deadly display. Fire splashes across the blue sky, the heat wild enough to singe my nostrils. Flame pours from her hands, Danielle's dark hair floating on an eldritch wind behind her back.

The harbingers scream, a sound that's plagued my dreams ever since they attacked Lesath's castle, attempting to carry me off.

"The blood drinkers," Ras says, a note of disbelief in his voice. Lana's still unconscious, her lips slack, her head lolling over his elbow. I follow his gaze, where the Butcher King stands with his troops. They fire wave after wave of burning arrows, and my jaw drops.

They're not firing at us.

They're firing at the harbingers. One falls as I watch, felled by the king himself. It plummets to the ground, sending up a puff of dust when it slams into the earth.

Danielle screams, and the flame burns hotter. Two fall, then three more, burnt to a crisp.

The remaining harbingers shriek, dodging arrows and Danielle's wrath, before flapping out of range and away from the battlefield.

Danielle drops to her knees, and Dabin calls her name, running to her side. I blink against the sudden cool breeze. The bells toll from inside the city again, a different tone than before. As one, from across the battlefield, strewn with corpses, the vampires loose a deafening cheer.

The Butcher King steps forward, and my breath catches in my throat.

If he chases us down, continues to fight, it's not going to go well for us. Lesath tenses next to me, and I know he's thinking the same thing.

"Don't shift yet," I say.

"I will not leave you unguarded."

"Wait," I tell him. My magic is nearly spent, but the creatures of the forest around us seem to be holding their breath, waiting for something. My serpent slithers in front of me protectively. I peek around it, and the whole of Vraya condenses to this moment, this waiting, and time spools out as the Butcher King takes another step towards us.

Something small hurtles through the forest, on the edge of the battlefield. The Butcher King's head swivels, too, his attention caught, same as me. Bright red hair streaks from a high ponytail, and the figure sprints towards him, something flashing in its hand.

"Oh shit," I exhale.

Not an it.

A she.