“Go to the human realm and find her!” theLord screamed. “If you can bring her to me alive, then do so, butI’ll happily take her head on a stake too. And I want the Gloamingdestroyed. King Colburn will pay for this.”
A loud gasp went through what remained of thecrowd before they quieted again. Alina didn’t know why any of themremained.
Maybe the bloodshed kept them here. Orperhaps they were hoping to see the Lord go down tonight andbelieved the king of the dark fae stood a chance of killing him,but at least thirty of the guests remained in the grandballroom.
Not the king of the dark fae, shereminded herself.Or at least notjustthe king. He’salso the Shadow Reaver.
And as she stared at the bloody remains ofthe idiot vampire, she knewwhy.
“Go!” the Lord shouted at her and Doryu andthrust his finger at the large, open ballroom doors. He pointed tothe guards next. “Go! And take more with you! Take enough todestroyeverything!”
Guards raced from the room and toward theportals that would take them to the Gloaming and the human realm.It would take the guards a while to get there; Alina would be muchfaster about it.
Arach weren’t the only ones who could openportals in and out of Dragonia. They had to obey the Lord, butthere were some things not evenhecould command them todo.
Alina released a warning shriek at Doryu, whobowed his head in shame. Certain Doryu wouldn’t allow emotion torule him again, she unfurled her wings and pushed off her hind feetas she opened a portal near the ceiling and went through.
CHAPTER 61
Cole saw the end of the portal coming andrealized Lexi had opened it in the library ceiling. Twistingthrough the air, he met Maverick’s eyes as they plunged out of theportal. Cole kept Lexi cradled protectively against him as heturned to get his legs under him.
“Incoming!” Cole yelled as they plunged fromthe portal.
He bent his knees as he hit the floor andthrew himself forward. His shoulder took the brunt of the impact.As soon as he hit, he rolled across the ground before his unclecrashed into them.
Lexi curled protectively against him as sheclutched his shirt and tucked her chin under his head. Aftereverything that happened, he didnotwant to release her,but the guards would be here soon.
Letting her go, he rolled to his feet andtore his cape free. He turned as Maverick landed on the balls ofhis feet. His uncle’s fingers rested on the ground before he sprangforward and rolled toward Kaylia.
“Not him!” Cole shouted when Kaylia startedwaving her hands. “Anyone after him, though.”
Maverick bounced to his feet and grinned atthe crone. Lexi closed the portal with a wave of her hand, but notbefore nearly a dozen guards tumbled through it. Some of themlanded on their feet, others hit on their backs, and three of themcrashed into the others.
As soon as the guards hit the ground, Orin,Maverick, and Del pounced. Brokk threw their father’s sheathedsword to Cole before plunging into the fray. Cole caught it in onehand and unsheathed it before swinging the scabbard over hisshoulder.
Cole ducked back as one of the guards swung asword at him. The blade sliced into one of the chair arms andembedded there. The guard placed his foot against the chair to yankit free, but Cole sliced the foolish man’s head off before hesucceeded.
Maverick lunged forward and seized the shirtof a guard running toward Brokk. The man’s feet flew out from underhim before he hit the floor with a solid thud.
“It’s Orin!” one of the guards blurted.
Orin grinned at the man as he weaved hissword through the air in a leisurely, measured dance that hid thelethality of his movements.
“You’re… you’re dead!” the same guardsputtered in disbelief. “I saw your body!”
Orin continued to swing the blade back andforth as he released it with one hand to pat himself down. “I’mdead? I sure feel pretty alive.”
The guard’s eyes shot from him to Cole beforegoing to the doorway. It was impossible to tell if the man wantedto bolt to save his ass or if he was desperate to reveal this tothe Lord, but he wouldn’t get the chance.
“I think it’s you who’s going to be dead,”Orin said as he lunged forward.
The guard didn’t have time to block the movebefore the sword plunged into his throat. Orin sliced upward asBrokk took out the legs of another. Del finished him off with aswift decapitation.
Kaylia weaved a spell that erected a barrierbetween her and another guard as she bent to lift the sword from adead man. The guard battered the air between them as Kaylia plungeda blade into his belly. Apparently, the barrier only kept one ofthem from getting at the other.
Cole smiled grimly and positioned himself infront of Lexi as two guards charged at them.
***
