Chapter 27

27

TREYTON

I raise my sword with practiced efficiency and slice it through the first wraith’s neck. Years of training with Cayetana have prepared me for this moment. I may not be as skilled as Blaze or even Aleksander, but I can hold my own in a fight.

And I can protect my mate.

Kassandra weaves her way between the three of us with the gracefulness of a dancer and the agility of a seasoned warrior. Her whip moves as if it has a mind of its own, coiling around necks and then tugging. She keeps her left hand glove free in case any wraith gets close enough for her to touch.

Hopefully, it won’t come to that. None of us have any idea of how her powers will react when in contact with these mythical creatures.

“Kassandra! Dammit, female! Get behind me!” Blaze roars as Kassandra stealthily moves in front of him and wraps her whip around the nearest wraith’s neck.

The head pops free of the body, and the two collapse in opposite directions.

Kassandra turns towards Blaze with an arched eyebrow.

“I can fight,” she signs, her fingers quick and nimble.

Behind her, a wraith inches closer, its fangs bared.

I rush forward with a yelled, “Duck!” and slice the head off.

Kassandra pops back up without a sliver of fear in her cerulean gaze.

“Or I can be bait and allow you guys to dispatch these monsters quicker,” she adds, barely even flinching as another wraith charges at her from behind.

So fucking trusting.

Blaze swings his ax, and the monster falls to the ground, dead.

“You’re not going to be fucking bait,” he snarls.

“As the self-appointed bait, I disagree.”

Their conversation ceases then, all of us focused on the fight at hand. I would’ve expected a male as large as Blaze to rely on brute force to kill the wraiths, but even I can admit that he’s a skilled and seasoned fighter. He makes each movement look effortless.

And Aleksander…

Why did I ever think I could get away with teasing him? That elf could rip me apart with his bare hands if he felt the desire to.

He moves like water, unrestrained and fluid, the corded muscles in his jaw belying his lackadaisical attitude. To the outside observer, he’d appear almost bored. He slices and parries and flips, all while maintaining a tiny smirk.

But despite his carefree fa?ade, there’s a glimmer of violence in his eyes that’s impossible to miss. Something ravenous and dangerous and thirsting for blood.

When Aleksander catches me looking, he winks. “Are you going to help, Princeling, or just stand there with your sword up your ass?”

Four wraiths converge on Aleksander at the same time. He expertly rolls forward, slicing at the knees of the first, before jumping to his feet and cutting off the head of the one directly behind him. A different wraith, this one smaller than the others, attempts to bite his thigh, but Aleksander stealthily flips over the creature and slices his blade through its neck. The final one wavers where it stands before charging forward with renewed vengeance.

Aleksander doesn’t even look the creature’s way as he dispatches it, instead choosing to keep his eyes on me. Arrogance oozes from his pores.

“I think you have it handled,” I drawl sarcastically.

“Suit yourself. More for me.”

We continue to fight and fight and fight, but more keep coming. We must’ve killed a few dozen already. The ground is littered with gray, emaciated corpses, and more often than not, I find myself stepping on and cracking flimsy bones. The noise causes my stomach to twist into knots.

A fun fact about wraiths—they don’t bleed red. The blood staining our weapons and the Forest floor is actually yellow in appearance. A hideous, jaundiced shade that reminds me of urine.

Fitting, I suppose, considering the corpses smell like a chamber pot.

A flash of gold captures my attention, and I turn just in time to see Kassandra walk farther into the Forest.

Farther away from us.

“Kassie?” Seeing no wraiths—at least ones that are still alive—in the immediate vicinity, I hurry after her. “Sunshine?”

Her gray dress catches in the light as she quickens her pace.

Where in Gaia’s name is she going?

“Kassie, come back here!” I yell, but she continues to move forward with a narrow-minded focus and determination, disappearing amongst the trees.

Indecision battles with fear in my chest. I know I should grab the others—I can hear the sounds of battle settling down—but I don’t dare allow Kassandra out of my sight. Where is she going? Did she see something? Someone? Is it that damn pacon of hers?

But no. I saw Runt in the battle with the others. The tiny creature was tearing at the ankles of the wraiths and allowing one of us to decapitate the confused creature.

“Kassandra!” I break into a run, but every time I almost reach her, she skirts a corner, and I lose her in the Forest once more.

My heart crashes against my rib cage with each consecutive tick.

I scrub at my sweat-soaked pink hair and spin in a circle.

Where in Gaia’s name am I?

I don’t recognize my surroundings. There are no gray wraith bodies on the ground. No putrid-smelling yellow blood. No Runt. No Blaze. No Aleksander.

No Kassandra.

“Kassie?” I ask again, holding my sword at the ready.

Foliage crackles behind me, and I spin, my weapon raised, only to immediately lower it when Kassandra steps into view.

Her head is lowered, golden hair a curtain around her face, and her hands hang limply by her sides.

My brain begins to scream at me, “WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!”

The tiny hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention, and every fiber of my being urges me to run.

This isn’t my mate.

I can feel that truth in the depths of my soul.

How could I have been so stupid?

“Treyton,” the creature whispers. Its voice is like Kassandra’s—light and airy, a ringing of bells—yet something about it causes trepidation to skate down my spine. “You need to help me.”

The monster slowly lifts its head, and I suck in a sharp gasp.

Instead of the face of my beloved, a megart stares back at me. Eight eyes, slightly too large for its small, angular face. Piercers. Tufts of hair.

Fear roils in my stomach as the monster attempts a smile, revealing rows of misshapen, yellow teeth.

Before I can react, or even raise my sword in defense, it charges at me, and the world around me goes dark.