But the form didn’t move. It stood still, cloaked in shadow so thick it felt like it breathed.
Then—gleaming. Just for a second, the dim sun caught the glint of two eyes. Red as spilled blood. Watching.
Elira…
The voice was no longer just in my mind. It was in the air. In my bones.
I lifted my foot, compelled to move closer—
BOOM.
The ground buckled beneath me as the world ripped sideways.
Another explosion.
Screams erupted. Shrapnel tore through the air like angry wasps. The marketplace, just moments ago alive with voices and warmth, shattered into chaos.
I hit the ground hard. Smoke and dust swallowed everything. The force of the blast sent crates and canvas flying, and people surged in every direction, panicked.
But my gaze was still locked on the alleyway.
The figure was gone.
Chapter 16
Slade
The first blast split the air like thunder cracking open the sky.
Heat tore through the market. Screams followed a heartbeat later—raw, panicked, too many. I ducked low, dragging a sheet of metal from the side of a nearby vendor’s cart and twisting it instinctively into a curved shield as debris rained down.
“Elira!” I barked, but I couldn’t see her. Not through the smoke. Not through the flames.
Vael’s soldiers in blue poured in from the eastern end, moving in like they'd been waiting for the chaos. Organized. Coordinated. This wasn’t random. It was a goddamn ambush.
Phoenix and Thorne were already drawing steel, Leo nowhere in sight. I didn’t have time to wait—I charged straight into the wave of bodies.
A sword clanged against my shield, sparking as I twisted it into a spike and shoved it through the soldier’s chest. Another came at me from the right—I ducked his blade, gripped the iron studs in the street with a flick of thought, and pulled them up like claws beneath his feet. He went down screaming.
Two more.
I shifted the metal along my wrist into thin wire, whipping it forward, slicing across their thighs before either could swing. They crumpled.
And still more came.
My body moved on instinct. Duck, parry, slash. Rip the nails from the crates beside me and send them flying. Reform the shards into a spear. Fight. Kill. Move. I was faster than them, stronger. I fought with everything I had, but I kept scanning the smoke—
Where was she?
“Elira!” I shouted.
And that second of distraction—that was the mistake.
A blade slipped under my guard. I felt it bite deep into my side. Not a scratch. Not a graze. Deep. Hot blood soaked through my shirt instantly.
I roared and twisted, grabbed the metal of the enemy’s sword and yanked it from his hand with a furious snarl. Shoved it through his chest.
My side burned. The wound was bad. Slowed me down. Couldn’t afford that. Not now.
