16. The Himura Clan

Perhaps this is my curse.

It was her first and only thought. Everything else shut down after.

She barely registered the solid form of Finnian dissolving into a smoky haze, or when the warm glow of the lights began strobing throughout the building.

On her knees, though she didn't remember falling, Naia sat with the pointed heel of her shoes stabbing the backs of her thighs. A high-pitched ringing in her ears replaced the blood-curling wails of mortals.

"Motherfucker."

A coldness crept up her arms.

"Naia. Look at me."

She blinked, trying to filter the splotches eating the edges of her vision.

"Naia! I need you to look at me."

A flash of light from the hall sliced through the box, and that's when she saw it. A ghoul, face contorted, teeth bared, lunging straight for her.

No, not her.

Ronin.

It was enough to stun Naia's senses back to life. Instinct took over. She wrenched an arm up and plunged her knuckles into the ghoul's solar plexus. It flailed backwards and flew over the balcony's edge.

Ronin's grip was like iron, bruising around her arm, and he jerked her up to her feet.

"I am right here with you."In his hold, she could feel his urgency, the opposite of the soft tone he spoke in.

The tip of his nose grazed hers, and the warmth of his breath thawed her lips. It was precisely what she needed to remind herself of what was at stake.

His life.

"I need you here with me," he said. "Can you do that?"

Blood flow gradually returned to her limbs as she nodded.

Her perception sharpened. Ghouls, five or more, were lying on the floor. Dead or unconscious, she wasn't sure. It was clear Ronin had something to do with whatever happened to them.

"We've got to move." He pulled her behind him. "Now."

God of Slaughter?—

Naia's pulse roared to life.

The triplets go nowhere without each other.

Her legs took over and carried her faster as they fled through the doorway and down the hall.

She wobbled in her heels, struggling to keep up with Ronin's pace, and eventually kicked them off.

She sensed an unwelcoming presence, causing her defenses to flare. The presence of raspberry fragrance and the sting of a viper.

Astrid.

Naia lifted an arm to free Wren from her updo. "Go!" Her hair fell down her shoulders in waves as Wren shot through the air.

Her gut twisted with a forewarning.

Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the brief flash of a shadow and snatched a hold of Ronin's wrist to tug him back. Astrid's silver hair glinted like a piece of silverware under the strobing overhead lights.

One flash, she was on Naia's left.

Another flash, she was at Ronin's shoulder.

Naia's aggressive shove propelled Ronin across the hallway as Vex's solid figure took form to her right. She threw her arm out and locked her fingers around the nape of her brother's neck, not denying the pleasure it gave her in doing so as she hurled him like the stones he used to skip across the river.

With a loud crash, he smashed through the drywall, instantly filling the hallway with a cloud of dust.

Naia kept up with Astrid's fleeting form through the beat of the flickering lights. She twisted her body to catch Astrid by the hair before she could make it to Ronin.

It was one of her sister's talents, locating a weak, vital point in Naia and striking appropriately. And it was clear, as Naia stood guarding the mortal, he was important to her.

Before Naia could wrap her grip around Astrid's throat, her sister dissipated into shimmering flower petals and reappeared swiftly on Naia's other side.

Naia felt the sharp sting of fingernails digging into her scalp before being plunged to the floor. The impact of her cheek against the hard surface reverberated through her skull, causing a sharp, searing pain. She planted her palms on the floor and pushed herself up, ripping the slit of her dress further up her thigh.

Astrid caged Ronin against the wall.

He held a palm over his mouth.

"What a smart man you are," Astrid purred, lifting her leg, the skirt of her lace dress slipping back to expose her thigh. She fused her hips into his.

Ronin's body visibly tensed as he peered straight over her head to bypass looking directly at her.

She cut her eyes onto Naia with an evil smirk before nuzzling her face into his neck. With the fierceness of a lioness, she stuck out her tongue and ran it along the length of his throat.

Wren soared into view and the needle-pointed end of the hair piece dove straight into the side of Astrid's neck.She released a sound between a choke and a cough. In a daze, she stumbled backwards, slapping wildly to locate Wren.

It gave Naia enough time to latch onto Ronin's hand and drag him behind her.

"They are middle deities of beauty and seduction," she told him as they ran. "Whatever you do, don't look in their eyes or let either of them kiss you?—"

Vex materialized and forcefully tore Ronin's hand from her grip.

The sole of Vex's boot drove into Naia's sternum. She landed on her back, an intense pain ricocheting through her chest, dropping and bursting in her gut.

Vex appeared on top of her, locking his knees against her arms.

He grinned devilishly through the strobing lights, his silver hair hanging around his face. "Hello, Sister."

He clamped his hand around Naia's throat and squeezed.

She squirmed her arm loose and tried to shove the bastard off her.He dug his forefingers into the side of her neck, laughing. The lack of blood flow in her skull pulsated behind her eyes.

To Naia's surprise, Vex's condescending expression contorted, and he cried out. Both of his hands slapped against the sides of his head. Naia ripped her knee up into his groin. He fell off her, and she crawled up to her feet.

Ronin snagged her by the arm and yanked her into a run. She had no idea what had caused Vex pain, but she was certain Ronin had something to do with it.

Vex recovered quickly and tagged teamed the attacks with Astrid. One after another, they delivered powerful strikes from opposite sides. Transporting in and out. It became a dance to fight them off. Land a punch on Astrid's ribcage, shatter it to bits, swerve out of Vex's reach, and continue running.

They managed to make it to the flight of stairs.

Naia had forgotten. Too occupied by what was happening around her to remember.

She should've remembered.It wasn't only Vex and Astrid they were up against.

As Naia descended the last stair, her foot landing with a sharp slap, a deep sense of apprehension filled her insides like tar.

It happened too suddenly for her to react.

A cleaver buried halfway through her abdomen.

Liquid crammed in her lungs, pushing her breath out in gurgles.

She staggered. The heels of her bare feet jammed into the toes of Ronin's shoes. He caught her by the back of the arms to keep her upright and supported her against his chest. She heard him curse under his breath. His fingers trembled against her elbows.

Ignoring the visceral agony boiling in her gut and shouting through her body, she mustered the mental strength to ignore the warm fluid drenching her pelvis and down her thighs. She clenched her muscles in her shoulders to fight through her lightheadedness, and forced her leg muscles to tense, ensuring her body would stay upright.

The cleaver remained lodged in her intestines. She fumbled for the handle. Gripped it slowly.

You cannot die. It will heal. Do not faint.

In one clean motion, she ripped it free from her stomach.The slick, squishing sound of the blade and the globs of splattering blood across the tops of her feet were almost her undoing.A cry sprang out of her throat, and she slumped forward. Pain burrowed in her bones, causing her limbs to shake. She swayed.

Ronin's fingers tightened around her arms. "Naia?—"

She shook her head to silence him.

"Stay…" she croaked, "still."

Malik sauntered down the corridor with a perk in his step. An eagerness she knew all too well. She could recall it in the way his eyes shone at the dinner table, carefully examining the silverware with a disturbing form of awe before using it to flay the skin from his fish.

Another butcher's knife was in his possession. He twirled it at the handle, resembling a child spinning a stick between their fingers. His silver hair was slicked back, giving full access to the face he shared with Vex and Astrid—cat-like eyes, too much like their mother's, shone wickedly as a smile lanced across his mouth.

A centuries-old, bottomless fear rose in Naia's throat like a bubbling cauldron. She couldn't escape the haunting images of her younger brother, his fingernails meticulously picking apart animal carcasses. The one and only time she ever snuck into his bedchambers to search for any clues for her missing servant, Gianna, to find his walls consumed with nauseating artwork—body parts, layers of skin, and strands of hair glued onto white canvases.

She hurled up her breakfast and avoided him as much as possible after that.

Astrid came into Naia's field of vision as Malik strolled closer. A moment later, so was Vex, holding up Wren in his hand, wings bent and missing a tassel.

Naia carried her gaze up from her hairpin to Vex. His eyebrow twitched, and he sent her a daring smirk.

She gnashed her teeth so hard, some of her molars cracked. The fresh pain was welcoming. A break from the gaping hole slowly fusing together in her abdomen.

Her tongue felt heavy like cotton in her mouth, and she had to remind herself the extreme fatigue in her body was from the loss of blood.

Hyper aware of the mortal behind her, Naia worked to pinpoint the nearest exit.

A window.

She could bust through the glass and maneuver their fall to where she took the brunt of it. Their only other option was the staircase, but she had little faith in outrunning the triplets.

Escaping was not a rational bet Naia would risk Ronin's life on.

Malik came to a stop, tilting his head at Naia. "Found you."

Then his eyes clicked onto Ronin, and that disturbing curve of his mouth expanded.

Naia's heart raced, a symphony of thuds.

He is going to die—like Kaleo.

No—

"Careful of that one," Vex said to Malik, flicking his chin towards Ronin. "He's a mage."

"Then this shall be fun." Malik shot forward in a whirling puff of smoke.

Naia launched the cleaver at his blurred form and simultaneously ripped Ronin over by the sleeve of his suit jacket. She forced him against the wall and planted her palms next to each side of his face to act as a barrier between him and her brother.

Against Malik, she was no match. Especially with Astrid and Vex added into the mix. Naia would be lucky to escape in one piece, let alone with Ronin alive.Guilt. Obligation. She blamed her decision to protect him at all costs on these two things. Even though she knew where the true root of her actions stemmed from.

Sacrificing her freedom for a life felt right. Ronin wasn't like her. Although he clearly had the powers of a mage, his mortality meant his time was still limited.

Malik's knife connected with her back. The dull edge carved through her flesh, sending waves of pain up her neck and reverberating into her ears. She accidentally sank her teeth into her tongue. The taste of metal filled her mouth. He hacked through muscle until he hit bone. The nerves in her spine screamed all the way down the backs of her legs, and she yelped.

Malik jutted the blade up, following the line of her spine until he hit the bone of her shoulder blade. "You know I love it when they cry for me."

She tried not to think too hard about the current of blood gushing down her spine, or the loose feeling of skin hanging from her back.

"Naia, I need my arms," Ronin whispered, the normal composure of his tone unsteady.

The mind-numbing pain kept her eyes sealed, but she could feel her body crushing his arms at his side.

"Isn't this precious? She's protecting a mortal," Astrid cackled. "Marina murdered her last plaything, so she went out and found another."

"Pathetic," Vex scoffed.

"Say the word, darling sister, and we can go home." The cool steel of Malik's other cleaver grazed across her nape as a threat.

The agony assaulting her synapses overwhelmed her senses,barely leaving her with any feeling. She dropped her head, causing her chin to dig into her collarbones.

She lifted off the wall with quivering arms, freeing Ronin.

Black splotches littered her vision. Despite the torture, she refused to give Malik the satisfaction of hearing her scream.

Ronin's arms shuffled between them, barely detectable.

Her breath went shallow and the muscles in her chest spasmed. The skin of her cheeks tingled?—

No.

If she fainted, Ronin would be helpless against the triplets.

Snot and tears ran down her face. Malik's blade hit the base of her spine, and like a nail against metal, it screeched through her bones. Her whole body convulsed, and her forehead slumped down to Ronin's shoulder. Her fingers curled into fists against the wall.

"Naia," Ronin whispered. She wanted to crumble from the tenderness his voice held. "Do you trust me?"

She forced a weak nod.

"What do you say, Naia?" Malik's voice was next toher ear.

Ronin swiped his hand across the front of his belt. A protruding hook disguised around a belt loop cut across his palm.

"It seems the mage wants to play," Vex sneered.

The slit was deep, and blood spilled down Ronin's wrist.

"He is a lunatic!" Astrid said through her melodic laughter.

Ronin lifted his arm over Naia's shoulder.

She rotated her head to look.

Astrid's laughter halted.

Naia's eyes widened as Ronin's blood levitated in the form of a river, separating into tiny cherry beads. They hung suspended, like bullets taking aim to shoot.

Malik tore his blade from Naia's back. She cried out from the painful release.

He cocked his blade back in his grasp to throw at Ronin.Naia jolted to intervene, but Ronin's eyes clicked over her shoulder onto Malik, and the blade froze inches from meeting his face.

Malik roared. The cleaver clanked against the floor, and her brother reeled backwards, his palms holding either side of his head in grave agony.

"Move out of the way!" Vex shouted, focused on the pellets of blood launching in every direction.

Naia twisted her head again, eyes wildly jumping from each bead of blood flying in the air. Vex and Astrid materialized in and out of sight, apparitions of dusky swirls.

They reappeared beside Malik.

"What the hell?" Vex directed his question at Ronin as he slung blood from his cheeks.

"Disgusting!" Astrid's silver hair was soiled from it.

Malik straightened up, scarlet splotches dotting his face, with a murderous fixation on Ronin.

Naia's adrenaline sparked in her bloodstream. "Mal?—"

The blood absorbed into their skin, like rain soaking into asphalt.

Naia watched carefully.

Wait—

She gasped.

Malik must've come to the same conclusion she had because his eyes went wide.

Vex dropped to the floor first. Astrid followed. Then Malik, the clinking of the rest of his blades echoed in the staircase.

The Himura clan.

Naia's limbs tingled with paralysis. Her awareness went to the warm droplets rolling down the back of her hand as her knees gave way, and she tried to throw her arms up to grab onto something, but they flopped like limp noodles against her sides.

Ronin scooped her up in his arms before she hit the ground.

The prickling sensation scoured up and down her limbs, and she thought back to the night they'd met and how she'd accidentally nipped Ronin's neck with Wren. His blood had touched her then. She assumed the sight of it had been her reason for fainting. It was a surprise, considering all her life, she'd always been able to fight through losing consciousness.

It wasn't hemophobia.

"What the hell is this?" Vex snarled. "I can't?—"

It was Ronin's blood.

Naia could assume Vex's sudden silence was his lips giving way to paralysis.

"You bitch!" Astrid screamed, fear rattling beneath her silken, haughty pitch.

"Naia!" Malik bellowed. She'd never heard his voice quake with such thunderous anger.

Their vicious shouts were cut off as Ronin jogged down the staircase. The torn skin and raw flesh of Naia's back rubbed against the material of his suit, but the pain was nonexistent thanks to the effects of his blood.

To distract herself, Naia focused on Ronin. His mouth was moving, but she couldn't make out a single word from the ringing in her ears.

She knew his truths now. He was a mage, and the blood running through his veins was poison to deities.

Naia reached for her panic. She expected it to light up in her chest like a nuclear war ground, but beforehand, he'd asked her if she trusted him. She hadn't debated it. The decision to place herself in someone else's hands proved to be easy with him.

A weak smile curved across her lips.

And then everything went black.