I seized the moment and ran at Ice. His gaze was fixed on the enormous creature advancing through the chamber. The split second of hesitation was all I needed. My blade found his throat; he clutched at my wrist as the blade kissed his skin.
We grappled for the weapon until I froze. My muscles refused to obey, so Ice took the dagger from my fingers and tossed it away. Fiorella’s glare bore down on me just as Finn pierced Ice through the heart with Speedster’s blade.
“I can’t stop the beast,” Compulsion yelled. The tytoursus shifted its attention to him.
His beak closed around the vampire’s torso. The sound was a hideous symphony of cracking ribs and tearing flesh. Compulsion’s scream was cut brutally short.
I gaped at the smear of blood the creature had left behind when he discarded the two halves of the corpse aside.That’s one way to solve a five-versus-two fight.
Fiorella’s shrieks filled the hall. Her face twisted, her eyes wide with terror. She spun to flee. Finn’s knife flashed, slicing through the air, striking her in the hamstring. His small sledgehammer followed a heartbeat later, slamming into her shoulder and driving her to the ground.
She crumpled with a choked cry. As she tried to rise, she raised a hand, and light burst from her in a wave that flooded the world with brilliance.
I threw up an arm, my vision bleaching out, waiting for the burn from the release of energy. Yet there was none. I charged through the glare. We collided hard. Bone and breath jarred beneath me as I slammed her to the floor. I forced my blade into her chest, pushing hard. A sharp gasp followed, then stillness.
The silence that followed roared. My breath came ragged. The strength that’d carried me drained away in a rush, leaving my legs shaking.
I pressed my palm to my chest. My engagement ring dug into my skin, the metal hot from my pulse. My heart was pounding so violently it hurt.
Are you all right?Finn signed.
I nodded. For a moment, we just stared across the blood-slick floor, the echoes of battle still humming in the walls.
Then he moved. So did I. We collided halfway, hard enough to steal the breath from my lungs. He locked his arms around me, lifting me just off the ground and holding me as if he didn’t quite believe I was real. Our hearts hammered against each other, the adrenaline still roaring. I tilted my face up at the same moment he dipped his. Our mouths met in a fierce kiss that tasted of victory, relief, and something far more dangerous.
I shifted back, though his arms stayed around me. His breath skimmed my cheek as he pulled me close again. For a heartbeat, neither of us spoke. Then we drew apart.
You came back,I signed.
Of course I came back.He smiled, then gave a quick wink, a flicker of humor covering something deeper in his eyes.Did you really think I would abandon you?
I thought…The sign faltered. I couldn’t name the hollow ache of believing he was gone.
You thought I was a coward.His smile dimmed.When the wall opened, I sensed another animal, and we needed help.He hesitated, gaze dropping as he nudged a nonexistent stone with his boot.I promised I would free him if he helped us.
I am glad youdid.
He nodded and crossed over to Boris, who was dragging himself across the ground and whining softly. Blood matted his fur in thick clumps. Finn dropped to his knees and gathered the honey badger into his arms.
I placed my hand on his shoulder and mouthed, “Is he going to live?”
“He’s fine. Just dizzy and bruised,” Finn answered, his words thick.
He fully lowered himself to the ground and settled Boris in his lap. The honey badger gave a faint growl of protest before going limp, his breathing shallow but steady. Finn dug into his pocket, pulled out a piece of pemmican, and held it near Boris’s muzzle. The creature’s jaws closed around it, chewing weakly.
I moved between the fallen bodies, taking anything that might matter later: a dagger, a few blood vials, a strip of clean cloth. Weariness weighed down my steps. Behind me, Brute still breathed, gurgling weakly, his body already knitting itself back together. His eyes begged as he tried to speak, pleading for a mercy he hadn’t earned. I ended it with a single thrust into his heart.
I turned to Finn and signed,We need to rest.I glanced toward the tytoursus and then back at Finn.Can Ash keep watch?
Finn nodded and turned to the beast. Ash gave a low rumble and began a slow circuit around the chamber.
I dropped beside Finn. He passed me another bar of pemmican, and I handed him a vial of blood. I ate and sipped from the waterskin. The surviving rats crept from the shadows, their soft chittering threading through the stillness. Nibs was amongst them and scaled Finn’s clothes. The mouse perched on his shoulder and sniffed him.
Finn checked his timepiece, its silver glint catching the dim light before he tucked it away.A day and a half left.
I let out a slow breath. I closed my eyes, expecting my thoughts to keep whirling despite my need for sleep. Darkness closed in instead.
One by one, we stirred and stretched stiff limbs. Finn had taken the next watch, leaving me undisturbed for as long as possible. I blinked hard, trying to clear the clinging mist from my eyes. Despite the rest, my gear felt heavier than it had yesterday as I took the final watch.
