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Get out! Love you, I mouth.
She shakes her head stubbornly. “I’m getting out—and you’re coming with me.”
With that, she kicks at the zombie’s rotting hip. The bone dislodges from its socket, and the leg crumbles. The creature begins to topple, lurching out with a gnarled hand to either attack Kari or balance itself.
Thankfully, one hand at my throat suddenly disappears. I’m able to suck in a gasping breath.
Before I can even strike my attacker, Kari links her hands above her head and swings down, connecting with the fiend’s elbow. Its rotting arm breaks in half—and ends its hold on me.
But the weakness it leaves behind is debilitating. How is Kari not affected? I’m literally chilled to the bone. My heart is barely beating. I’m oxygen starved and watching the melee through tunneled vision.
Hopping back, the creature glares at Kari, then grabs her neck with its good arm. A solid push later, and she falls to the ground on top of another zombie who enfolds her in an icy, deathlike grip.
“Not happening,” she grunts before plunging the blade in the zombie’s side.
It howls. Black sludge flows from its open wound.
Kari hops to her feet—only to be dragged down again by another hollow-eyed monster. Her scream chills my blood even more than the creatures’ icy clutches. She’s fought valiantly to save us both…
I’m desperate to rescue her, but I’m still immobile. My heart struggles to beat, and my defrosting hands tingle painfully. My energy is nearly nonexistent.
Raiden! I scream through my senses. Please. My mate…
A flood of resentment invades my consciousness, and suddenly, I understand: Raiden isn’t angry with me; he’s jealous that he has no mate of his own.
If I make it out of this battle alive, I’ll be a better brother. I’ll do whatever I can to help him secure the woman meant to be his.
A moment later, Raiden’s energy floods me, a wellspring of force and intensity. It couples with my determination and fills me with fresh vigor.
Wrenching the blade from Kari, I whirl and slice off the head of the robed figure attacking her in one clean sweep.
Together, we send three of the terrible things to hell. Around us, Bram and the rest of the Doomsday Brethren has nearly dispensed with the others.
Duke grabs at Rhea to trap her. She flicks her wand at him, releasing a nasty spell. I can only guess at its dark magic. Thankfully, the well-dressed wizard deflects the blow as if the threat was negligible and hurls it back at her, determination stamped across his chiseled face.
With a howl of frustration, Rhea dodges Duke’s cast and teleports away with Shock, leaving behind the fallen bodies of Mathias’s undead soldiers.
With the threat momentarily neutralized, I sever the link between Raiden and me. My energy drains again, and I collapse against the wall, breathing hard and fighting for consciousness. Kari hunches beside me, her hands clasped around my shoulders. “Are you all right?”
An instant later, my twin appears, his watchful gaze taking in my mate’s devotion. I feel Raiden’s envy. He doesn’t want Kari for himself…but he craves the happiness of a mate. Who is she? And why didn’t my brother tell me sooner?
“Raiden,” Bram greets, still catching his breath. “A bit late to join the fight.”
“But the perfect time to take care of my brother. And to witness the brutality Mathias plots to unleash on magickind.”
“I’m fine.” I manage to stumble upright and pull Kari close. “You saved my life, love.”
“And you ended those creatures. We stayed safe and alive together.”
Indeed, because she’s tough and tenacious, clever and strong. And because she refuses to be anyone’s victim.
“Together,” I murmur, kissing her softly.
“This is where I leave,” Duke mutters, grabbing a few of the bodies and disappearing.
Caden and Ice follow suit, each grabbing more of the fallen to haul them away. Marrok places one hand on Caden’s arm, while holding three bodies with the other. In the next moment, the small group teleports away.
Bram approaches Raiden and me, glancing between us before he settles his stare on me. “Not bad for a first effort and no training. Ready to join us permanently?”
