I blinked away the image of Ronan lying face down in a pool of his own blood, and I ground out a string of curses, forcing the rogue vamp out of my head. I shook with the effort—he’d already imbedded his poison quite deeply by the time I’d realized what was happening—but eventually, my thoughts became my own once again.
Ronan’s lifeless body, no more than a figment of my vamp-infiltrated imagination, vanished.
Rage-induced magic surged into my limbs, and I wrenched myself from their vicious grip, slipping out from between them. I had just enough time to grab the fae sword I’d strapped to my back before they were coming at me again, but this time, neither would lay a hand on me.
I blurred out of their reach, then doubled back, swinging at the first one with all I had.
His head dropped to the ground with a wet thud.
I felt the invasive touch of the other vamp’s influence again, and I forced my eyes to go glassy, a fake whimper escaping my lips. Standing perfectly still, I let him approach. Let him get cocky. Let him scent my fear.
And then I smiled, shoving my sword through his throat.
He choked and gasped, dropping to his knees. I yanked the sword back out and swung again, serving him the same fate as his buddy.
The other two vamps were still engaged with Verona and Addie, and now I crept behind them, taking down one in the same grizzly manner while Addie and Verona staked the other once again, then lit his bloodsucking ass on fire.
“Everyone okay?” I asked.
Verona and Addie were panting from the effort, blood and sweat and grime coating their faces, but they smiled now, nodding briefly and squeezing my hands before they took off in the direction of the main fight still unfolding in the streets.
I had just finished re-securing my blade on my back and grabbing my staff when new movement at the end of the alley caught my eye. Now, Ronan did appear there, he and Asher fighting off a pair of Darkwinter Knights. Sparkle was in the mix, too, her muzzle dripping with blood as she tore chunks of flesh from one of the fae’s leg.
I tightened my grip on the staff and darted toward them, eager to help dispatch the two fae. But there was another figure behind them now, emerging from the swirling snow.
The sight of his white beard stopped me cold.
Even at a distance, I could see the eager glint in his eye. Casually, he raised his arm and took aim, and the moment played out before me like a slow-motion horror movie I was powerless to stop.
Phillip pulled the trigger.
This time, when I saw Ronan go down, I knew itwasreal.
Just as I knew Phillip’s gun wasn’t just a regular gun with regular bullets.
“No!” I screamed, but it was too late. Ronan was on his knees, leaving Asher to grapple with the Darkwinter Knights.
Phillip had already vanished.
I charged toward Asher, my staff raised and hungry for death. I cracked one of the soldier’s skulls wide open just as Ash had gotten a hold of the other guy’s head, giving it a sharp twist.
Both soldiers dropped.
Asher and I exchanged a quick horrified glance, then got to our knees, both of us reaching for Ronan.
“Devil’s trap nano,” he managed. “In the bullets… Smart.”
The poison was already working its way through his bloodstream, sapping his strength, wringing the life from him before our eyes.
“Fucking hell!” Asher shouted.
“Listen to me,” I said to Ash, shoving my fear into a tiny little box and burying it deep inside. Ronan didn’t have much time; there was no room for anything but action. “Your blood… It’s in your blood. You can fix this. You’re immune to the devil’s traps.”
Asher immediately got my meaning, and without wasting another heartbeat, he scooped Ronan into his arms and got to his feet.
“Get him somewhere safe and find one of the witches with healing magic,” I said. “They’ll figure out a way to make an infusion from your blood.”
Asher nodded, and I took Ronan’s face between my hands, staring deep into his eyes. They were shifting back and forth from hazel to black, his body convulsing.
