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Rager nodded sharply. No longer attempting to keep silent, they moved only with the stealth that nature afforded them as they raced down the steps to the lower floor. They sped along, their bodies colliding with anyone who dared to stand between them and their female. They did not attempt to be merciful any longer, nor to provide clean deaths. They ripped through the humans, leaving them to choke on their blood as they made their way down to what they were told would be the grand ballroom.
They were still a short distance away when they heard the screams begin, and Rager knew that the Guild and Kyx were in the thick of their own assault. The metallic smell of blood hung heavy in the air, and the atmosphere rang with the sounds of projectiles firing and the wet thumps of falling bodies. It was tempting to join the fight and strike like spirits of death among the huntsmen, but Rager knew he couldn’t deviate from his course, no matter the temptation.
Instead, he veered away from the commotion, the bulk of his body colliding with the pair of doors leading to the ballroom at high velocity. The doors swung open, breaking free of their anchors as they crashed into the walls. Dozens of wide-eyed faces turned and stared at them, and chaos immediately ensued. Well-dressed, decorated huntsmen of what he suspected to be of elevated status shouted for the males under their command as they drew their weapons, not realizing those orders would never be heard.
Rager had no care for them, though. They were nothing but a nuisance to be dealt with. Nor did he give any attention toward the round priest attempting to hide. His entire attention was caught on the red-clothed female on the raised floor. Her tresses were an unfamiliar shade, almost as dark as his own fur, but the face and scent of her was his mate.
Her eyes widened at the sight of them, tears leaking out to run down her face as a smile split her lips. She pushed away from the elderly, malevolent female at her side as she tore her dark hair away, revealing the red stubble of her shorn mane. His heart hurt at the sight, as it represented just another torment she had to endure in their absence. At the same time, he was filled with the euphoria of simply being in her presence once more, despite how much his triad had failed to protect her.
A large human male with silvering dark hair and likewise garbed in red, stepped in front of her with his sword brandished and a cruel smile twisting his lips. Rager had no doubt as to who he was facing. This could be no other than the First Elite. His rival and the male who was attempting to steal his mate. Rager’s lips pulled back from his fangs as he growled menacingly at the human who would dare to steal his triad’s female. The human seemed unconcerned, a confident smirk on his lips.
“So, you have come, beasts. I half-suspected that you might. However, it is for naught. In the end, you will have accomplished nothing here other than blessing our joining with the anointment of your blood.”
Rager leaped forward in his rage, but panic swelled in his breast as Arie jumped onto the back of the huntsman, her fingers tearing into him. The male cursed and knocked her aside with little effort, sending her careening into the wall. The impact of her small body against the stone inflamed Rager’s fury. He would make certain that no one human would ever have suffered at the hand of the Ragoru like this one would.
He was distantly aware of Warol leaping forward to bring down the squealing priest in his deep purple robes. Let his brother drink long of his enemy’s death. It was all that Rager could taste—the bitter bile of longing in his own mouth, the desperate need to quench it with the flowing blood of his enemy.
With a snarl, he lunged at the huntsman. At that moment it seemed that the very earth seemed to shake, and the world stilled as he focused with a singular intensity on the First Elite Edwar.
Death would never taste so sweet.
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
Kyx was more than a little annoyed at Warol. Once again, his triad brother had flouted the plan to do what he wanted, not that Kyx could blame him. He understood his reasoning. Kyx wanted nothing more than to be there when they liberated their mate, yet he knew his task was an important one. Unfortunately, that didn’t make him resent Warol any less.
The stench of gore filled his nose, and his fur grew slick with the gruesome spray from all those he brought down. The desperate screams and vulgar shouts of the huntsmen rang in his ears, mingling with the death cries of those fallen among the Guild. He wondered if he would be haunted in his sleep by dreams of the terrible sounds of the battle.
He just thanked the Blessed Mother that Cyrus had talked some sense into Maddi. She lingered a safe distance away, loudly shouting her encouragement while waiting for their signal. Kyx didn’t want to imagine what could have happened to the female. She was no hardened fighter like many of the females among the Guild. Although her desire to join the melee was admirable, he was certain Arie would have mourned her loss had anything happened to her.
Snarling, he whirled and lunged for a huntsman, knocking him to the ground where his claws and teeth would make quick work of him. He was brutal and efficient, killing quickly rather than drawing out their suffering like some small, mean part of him wanted to. He dispatched the male ruthlessly as he heard Rager’s savage roar further within the great den. He knew then that his brother faced their enemy.
Kyx didn’t hesitate. He raced toward the sound of conflict, leading the momentum of the Guild forward surge. He drove through the huntsmen as if he were cutting water, teeth and claws tearing down any human who opposed him. Humans fell, and yet the Guild bellowed their own strange battle cries as they followed behind him, their blades drinking deep from their enemies. Kyx peeled his lips back in a merciless grin. Unlike them, he needed no blade to cut through his enemies, something which he happily demonstrated for his allies. He knew no pity for the males and his heart hardened towards the humans who rose up against him. He especially possessed not even the shallowest pool within his internal being for the male he suddenly found himself facing—the same male who had attempted to kill him when the Order stole his and his brothers’ mate from their den.
The foolish human should have waited and made sure that he was dead. Kyx growled, his blood lust rattling within his vocalization. The huntsman paled but Kyx’s heart did not soften. He was no longer caught off guard in the embrace of his mate, Kyx was now a force to be reckoned with, and the huntsman recognized it. The male threw down his sword.
“Mercy!” he cried out.
“I will give you equal in share of what you gave me,” Kyx promised.
He struck lightning quick, his claws tearing through the belly and throat of the human. He did not finish him, but watched as he fell to the floor, his lifeblood pooling around him. Blood dripped from the huntsman’s mouth, and he stared up at Kyx with eyes full of pain. Kyx crouched down until he was eye level with the male.
“I will not kill you but will leave you injured as you have left me. Pray that the Mother is merciful upon you.”
“No, please. Don’t leave me this way. It hurts.”
Kyx narrowed his eyes on the huntsman dispassionately. “You wish for the end of your pain?”
“Please.”
Finally, Kyx nodded. “Very well. Because Ragoru are not the monsters that the huntsmen are, I will do grant you this request.” Whipping his arm forward, Kyx tore out the male’s throat and watched as the light faded from the male’s eyes. He dropped the mangled flesh on the ground in front of the corpse. “You deserved far less.”
The huntsman forgotten, Kyx’s eyes sharpened, and his belly lit with excitement as he looked up to the door leading into the human den. Finally, they had arrived. He bellowed his triumph, and it was immediately echoed by the cheers of the men and women of the Guild all around him. Like a tidal wave, they rushed together for the entrance to face the final confrontation with the elite huntsmen and the First Elite who waited within.
He would look upon his mate again. He would join his brothers in tearing apart the male who would use and harm what was theirs. He would finally satisfy his vengeance and help usher forth true justice for the people of the Citadel.
His breath came out in sharp pants, his muscles coiling in his body as he sprang into the heart of the enemy, the ornate room already painted with arcs of blood from his triad’s conquest. Kyx passed a male in a purple robe staring sightless at the ceiling, his body shredded in Warol’s brutal signature. On a risen platform, Rager was locked in deadly contest with the one male who he had come to tear apart and utterly destroy and Warol battled a number of elite huntsmen circling him. Warol laughed, his voice sharp with mockery as Kyx leaped into the fray, pulling an elite huntsman away from his brother before savaging the human with his own fangs.
