They were fast. I’d give them that. I ducked under the swinging claws of the first attacker and stabbed my knife into the back of his knee. In, then out. I shot back away from him before he could lash out. He screamed, falling to one knee, as I whirled on the next Rook. My blade snagged on his cloak but didn’t connect. I thanked the Moon they didn’t wield long swords, but even just the reach of their arms was far greater than mine.
I heard Vellia’s voice in my head: No high strikes. The cloaks would get in the way. Aim for the legs.
The boot of another Rook connected with my hip and I twisted, trying to keep them all within my line of sight.
Don’t spin. Don’t give them your back.
I blocked a sweeping blow downward with my knife.
Lock your guard. Straight arms.
Two charged me at once and I dropped to one knee, too low for their scythes to reach. Fast as a striking snow snake, I stabbed my knife into one’s calf and the other straight through the Rook’s boot. Before I could rise, another boot collided with my back, stomping me to the ground. I barked out a pained cry as my chin collided with the gravel and my teeth clacked together. The flesh split as the dusty stones pressed into the open wound. I blindly swung my hand backward and my knife nicked the attacker. He lifted his foot off my back to avoid my blade, and I rolled. The slope of the hill made it easier to get out from under him as he tripped backward. Crouching, I watched the hesitation cross their faces.
I tilted my head, letting my Wolf speak for me. “Not the opponent you were expecting?”
I goaded them forward. Three more charged and I slashed my knife in tight arches, controlling the group and only allowing one to enter my striking range at a time.
“Fun’s over,” a mean voice growled and I whipped my head to see the Rook that had Ora pinned to the wagon unsheathe a dagger from his hip.
Shit. So they did have other weapons.
Ora’s eyes widened as they stared at the dagger. Without thinking, I threw my knife. A sickening, wet thunk sounded as it pierced through the attacker’s ear into their skull. His shrieks died on his lips as he fell forward.
A walloping blow to the back of my legs toppled me, gravel biting into my knees. I had thrown away my only weapon and given them my back.
Breathe. Think.
Bile rose in my throat as I stared at their glinting scythes. The dropped dagger was only a few paces behind me, crimson blood pooling beneath it. If I could get to it, I’d have a fighting chance. But as the Rook’s fist came crashing down, all thoughts left my head. I twisted on instinct as the scythe smashed into the gravel beside my ear. I glanced over to see a few locks of my hair sliced off.
Too close.
A boot stomped on my sternum, knocking the air out of me, and I grabbed a handful of gravel, whipping it up into my attacker’s eyes. The pressure on my chest lessened, and I twisted the boot, hoping to snap the Rook’s ankle. I didn’t feel the pop, but he hopped backward, nonetheless. I scrambled back to my feet, turning toward the dagger on the ground.
Don’t turn your back.
In my desperation I’d forgot the most important rule: defenses up, always. I felt the whoosh of a nearly missed kick behind me and then a scream. I didn’t look back, racing to the dagger and snatching it.
Yes.
Another scream rang out as a feral growl rent the air and I clenched my jaw. I knew that sound. I whirled around and the sight of the carnage blasted through me.
Seven mutilated bodies lay scattered across the road, and standing in the middle of them was Grae.
Seventeen
He looked like a God in obsidian leathers, his hair tied in a knot atop his head, and blood splattering his face. The sight of him made my whole body pulse like a war drum. His chest heaved as he stared down at the bodies with brutal wrath . . . and I knew it was because of me. The Rooks had attacked his mate and he’d shredded them apart for it, Wolf taking over.
More than all that?
He’d found me.
Grae sheathed his sword, and the look in his midnight eyes broke me. Both our expressions warred between anger and relief. So many unspoken words floated in the dusty air between us. So much pain, but even when it was directed at him, I knew the only person I wanted to comfort that torrent inside of me. Grae. Always Grae.
In two strides, he was before me, pulling me into a tight hug. That bonfire scent wrapped around me as he pulled me tighter into his hard leather. The action cracked me open, the sorrow bleeding from me worse than any wound.
His lips dropped into my hair and he murmured, “Are you okay?”
I nodded into his warm chest, my arms snaking around his back despite myself. I’d lost my sister, I’d lost him as my friend, and now that his arms were around me, I indulged in that brief moment of comfort, of relief, before the reality coursed through me again. “I could’ve taken them.”