They outnumbered us four to one.
All that was left to do now was fight.
Instinct took over as the office erupted in pure chaos, a blur of gore and flashing blades and gnashing teeth. Deep underground, my connection to the earth was strong, and I called on its magic to infuse my own, drawing it deep within, then sending it out through my palms in white-blue electric arcs.
All of this happened in an instant. My first attempt crashed into one of the bookshelves and fizzled out, but my next hit was true, igniting one of the hybrids in flames. I didn’t have time to watch him burn; I was already charging up for another hit, shooting it at one of the beasts just before he swiped at Bex.
In the blur of my peripheral vision, Darius was in perpetual motion, grappling with one vamp-monster after another, fighting off their attacks. They seemed nearly evenly matched in speed and strength, and for every one he managed to take down, another took its place. Two wolves charged in through the door—Elena and Hobb—trailed by Sasha, wielding her own magic, yellow-green flames bursting from her palms.
“Asher, duck!” Ronan shouted, and Ash dropped to the floor just as Ronan threw a silver dagger into one of the beasts’ chest. Part vampire, part shifter, the thing dropped to the ground instantly, the silver poison already wreaking havoc on its bloodstream.
I had no vampire superstrength or speed, no shifter instincts, no weapons but my own magic. It took every ounce of strength and focus to control it, but somehow, I managed to take out three more monsters, burning each one to a crisp.
Unfortunately, the office was now burning too. If we didn’t get to the exit soon, we’d all be engulfed.
“Jael, behind you!” Darius shouted, then put up his arms to fend off another attack. Jael was near the doorway, but it wasn’t an escape route. Hybrids had surrounded him on all sides, closing in fast. He swung his fae blade, decapitating one of them, but another took a chunk out of Jael’s arm. The sword clattered to the floor.
“Ronan, help him!” I shouted, firing another bolt of magic at a monster charging Emilio, who was back in his wolf form, his powerful jaws descending over a hybrid’s throat. Sparkle took down two more, all of us desperately trying to reach Jael.
I’d nearly broken through when I saw Ronan’s eyes go wide with fear, clear on the other side of the room. He opened his mouth to shout at me, but it was too late. In an instant, I was slammed into a bookcase, the wind knocked out of me, my skull cracking against the wood. I hadn’t even seen my assailant, but he was on me now, one impossibly-strong hand around my neck as he lifted me a foot off the ground.
I felt the insistent push of his vampire influence on my mind, paralyzing my body as he flooded me with images of all the things he wanted to do to me.
Teeth shone inside a wicked grin, his chin already stained with blood.
The room was darkening around me, acrid smoke and the monster’s tight grip choking off the last of my air supply. I couldn’t call on my magic, couldn’t even swing a fist.
I was fading.
The beast hauled me close to his mouth, inhaling my scent. His tongue darted out to lick my cheek, the rotten funk of his breath and the low, desirous growl in his chest my final warning. My final goodbye.
I’d never felt so weak. So powerless.
I am going to die…
I closed my eyes, waiting for the bite of those teeth.
And then he dropped me.
My ass hit the floor hard, my shoulders crashing into the bookshelf behind me. I had just enough time to cover my head before an avalanche of books cascaded down on top of me.
When the room finally swam back into view and I could actually breathe again, I saw the monster at my feet, his head cleanly separated from his body, blood pooling beneath him. I looked up to see an outstretched hand reaching for mine. Grabbing it, I got to my feet and came face-to-face with the man who’d just saved my life.
The ancient blue light of his eyes called me home.
“Liam,” I breathed.
“No time,” he said, a fae sword held firmly in his other hand, dripping with blood. “We need to move, Gray. Now.”
“Jael!” I shouted. “Go help Jael!” But Liam shook his head, his grip on my hand tightening. He wouldn’t leave my side, not when we were still surrounded by deadly hybrids, with more emerging from the walls with every passing heartbeat. Smoke billowed around us, thickening, blotting out the light.
At a painfully slow pace, Liam and I fought our way to the doorway where I’d last seen Jael, but it was too late. In the intermittent flashes of my magic attacks and the fire eating up the walls behind us, we watched in horror as the beasts dragged our fae prince down the left corridor, descending on him like a pack of rabid dogs. Seconds later, a wall of flames cut him off from us for good.
“Jael!” I screamed, my throat raw, my legs propelling me forward, even as a strong arm looped around my waist and hauled me backward. Eventually I stopped fighting it, and I collapsed against Liam’s chest. Tears streaked my face, my insides burning with shame and grief. None of us could reach Jael. None of us were even close enough to hear his final cries.
“Move, Gray! Now!” Liam’s panicked voice shook me out of my stupor, and I slipped out of his hold just in time to avoid a strike. I dropped to the ground as Liam swung his blade, taking our attacker’s head clean off.
He hauled me to my feet again and we spun around, looking for another exit, some way to lead everyone to safety, but every corridor was rapidly filling with hybrids. With nowhere else to go, we ran back into Trinity’s office, trying to discern friend from foe amidst the chaos.
