Another tried to tackle him but got a mouthful of sand and blood for it. A third drew a short sword, wildly swiping it through the air. Jak caught the blade on his forearm, biting back a snarl before ripping a pistol from his hip and ramming the handle into the man’s temple.
He fought like a man possessed, his stare drifting down to Esmi’s lifeless body as it lay in the sand, entangled in their web.
Fists pummeled faces. His knife slashed and spun.
But then came theclick.
A gun cocked, and suddenly he was staring down thebarrel of a pistol.
He froze, chest heaving, blood dripping down his cheek and knuckles. His wild gaze snapped to the soldier, eyes narrowing into slits, and he caught the moment the finger on the trigger moved to pull.
Jak shoved away, and the wind he summoned pushed the gun off kilter just enough for the bullet to barely miss his cheek as the gun went off.
They have velsinyte bullets, Draevyn had warned. What if that was one? If he had been hit anywhere, he would have been killed.
One of the guards, face bruised and bloodied, rose shakily to his feet. The man’s hands trembled, but the musket he held was steady, aimed directly at Esmyra’s unconscious form lying motionless in the net.
Her hair clung to her face, tangled with sand and blood, and her chest rose shallowly with each breath. He had never seen her so vulnerable, so exposed.
Jak’s heart stopped.
“Don’t—”
The guard’s finger twitched on the trigger.
He was torn, and every instinct was screaming to rip the weapon from the man’s hands. But there were too many now, more soldiers running down the beach toward them, racing out of the fog.
If he attacked again, they’d fire at her.
Esmi would die.
Jak realized then he couldn’t save her alone. He didn’t give a shit what happened to him, buther? He wouldn’t risk it.
Horrified, his body contorted, his feathers bursting from his back as he shifted mid lunge. The air screamed around him as he shot into the sky, his heart racing.
“Kill the shifter!” The order erupted from beneath him, and gunshots followed.
Jak was forced to zig-zag through the sky, narrowly missing being shot down. With a guttural, screeching cry, he spun sharply in the air, talons curling tightly as he barely evaded death.
He had to get help. Now.
Jak’s wings cut through the soot-laced sky as his sharp gaze swept the streets below. His gut twisted as he noticed most of Lephyrin’s fleet were retreating back to their ships.
He couldn’t let them leave with her. Theyhadto get to her before it was too late.
When shouts and clashes of steel caught his attention, he banked hard and dove. A dozen soldiers surrounded a bloodied group of rogues. Draevyn stood in the center of the brawl, his blade clashing with the enemy’s soldiers—soldiers he’d once fought alongside. His shirt was torn, and his arms blazed with a furious heat as he shielded Ren, Riven, Sam, and Tommy.
Jak tucked his wings tight, plummeting like a bullet through the sky as he shifted midair. Bones cracked and twisted as feathers vanished. He landed in a crouch, boots slamming into the ground behind a soldier. Before the man could turn, Jak drove his dagger’s blade into his side, twisting hard before shoving the body aside.
“Jak, what the fuck are you doing here?!” Draevyn grunted between breaths, barely glancing over as he unleashed a plume of flame that scattered another group of attackers. “You were to bring Esmyra to safety!”
“I’m a bit busy at the moment!” Jak snapped, slicing through a soldier’s thigh, ducking under another’s musket swing. “We need to get this over with first.”
That brought a flicker of panic to the fire-wielder’s face, but Jakdidn’t have it in him to speak the words yet for what happened. So, he threw all his fury into the swipe of his sword.
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a soldier on the outskirts lift a musket in their direction, but Jak never gave him time for his finger to reach the trigger before he ripped his own pistol from his hip and shot three times, each making their mark in the center of the soldier’s forehead.
The man dropped to the ground, his blood pooling and seeping into the sand.
