That was our cue to release the hounds.
“Sparkle. Sunshine.” I pulled out one of Ronan’s T-shirts, letting them pick up his scent. “Go.” I swatted Sparkle on the butt, sending them bounding off toward the entrance in search of Ronan.
“Elena’s group is attacking the hunters,” Darius said, cocking his head to listen.
The echo of gunfire reverberated across the alley, and a flash of Deirdre’s yellow-orange magic lit up the second floor of the warehouse.
They’d made it upstairs. Now it was on us.
“Here we go,” Darius said, his arm strong and solid around my waist. “Hold on.”
Holding me tight, he took off, the alley around me a blur as he sped to the entrance. I closed my eyes against a wave of nausea, but there was no time to be sick. In a blink, we were already inside, the discordant sounds of battle assaulting my ears. The clash of metal, the howl of the hounds, gunfire, the agonizing wail of a hunter who’d fallen to Sunshine’s brutal attack… I caught sight of her just in time to see her rip out his intestines.
Elena was the only one holding a gun. The rest of her pack, including Emilio, had shifted into their wolf forms, the beautiful beasts attacking the fae guards armed with sleek, lightweight swords undoubtedly infused with magic.
The unmistakable song of a blade cutting through the air sent chills down my spine, and I spun around to see it slice through the shoulder of a magnificent black wolf.
“Emilio!” I shouted, but he was already retaliating, lunging for the guard who’d hit him. He sunk his fangs into the guy’s arm before I’d even taken a single step toward him.
“Keep moving,” Darius ordered. “Their blades aren’t silver. He’s fine.” He grabbed my hand and hauled me toward the back of a huge, open space littered with old metal shelving and discarded office furniture. We wove through the melee, dodging Elena’s shifters as they held off the hunters and fae, our focus on the metal staircases crawling up the back wall.
We slammed into the wall with a grunt, but my feet didn’t even touch the first step. Darius hauled me against his chest, dragging me up the staircase in another nauseating blink.
The second floor was a maze of cubicles and office equipment, all of it being decimated in the unfolding chaos. Fae guards darted around every cubical wall, leaping over office chairs and desks, desperately trying to get a piece of the witch at the center of the room. Deirdre wasn’t letting anyone get close. The hum of her magic filled the air with a mix of smoke and an electric buzz that singed the back of my throat, and each time the fae charged, she shot out a burst of magic, forcing them back en masse. Sparkle fought by her side, mauling a particularly brazen hunter before he got within five feet of my grandmother.
Deirdre was a damn good fighter, but her magic wouldn’t last forever. She was already losing steam, her shoulders trembling as she tried to focus her energy.
“We have to help her,” I said, more to myself than to Darius. I knew we couldn’t. There were too many obstacles between here and there, and we had to stay focused on reaching the third floor. On freeing the prisoners.
“Over there,” Darius said, pointing to the next set of stairs. They were clear on the other side of the room.
I peered into the smokey haze, looking for a route. I’d just found a clear path when I felt two strong hands shove me from behind.
I fell to the ground and flipped around just in time to see Darius catch a hunter’s blade in the chest—a blade meant for me. The hunter still had his fingers wrapped around the grip when Darius tore the man’s arm clear out of its socket.
The arm and the body hit the floor. Darius pulled the blade free, wincing. The wound was already knitting back together.
I gasped in awe, but there was no time to wonder about the healing power of vampires.
“Move!” he shouted suddenly, and I rolled left, narrowly escaping the jab of a fae blade. The guard lifted his sword for another go, but Darius was already on him, tearing out half his throat with a vicious bite.
The sword clattered to the ground beside me. I wasted no time in picking it up and clambering to my feet.
I felt the ripple of its power immediately. It wasn’t an electric buzz or even a hum, but a slow, silky current, clean and crisp as a mountain stream. An icy but not uncomfortable chill ran through my blood, and my own magic stirred in response, reaching to connect with this new power. I felt it the moment it happened—like a bolt sliding home inside me, locking itself into place.
The cold, new power raced through my body, twining with my magic, energizing me.
I knew nothing about how to handle a sword, but I swung it anyway, slicing through the air with an ease I didn’t expect. The blade was light but solid, the edges glowing faintly.
“Looks like you’ve found a new toy.” Darius grinned, wiping the blood from his mouth. “Take it to go.”
Grabbing my free hand, he led us through the cubical maze, both of us ducking low to keep out of sight. There was a crash behind us, and I heard Ronan’s gruff voice cursing up a storm. I turned, catching a brief glimpse as he jabbed a dagger into someone’s neck. Hunter or fae, I couldn’t tell, but the guy dropped like a sack of rocks. Ronan wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, blood pouring from a gash above his eye.
Please, please let him be okay at the end of all this. Letallof them be okay.
I sent the little prayer up to the universe, hoping someone, somewhere, heard it.
Turning back toward Darius, I caught sight of a pair of fae soldiers heading right for us.
