“Maybe.” I bat my eyes at him and dodge the giant hand coming at me.
“Don’t do it again, Beth. I mean it. If you use too much, you could die.” Jayden slashes the hand reaching for me.
“I know, okay. It was an accident.” I turn to Adrian. “You ready?”
“On it.” He nocks an arrow and lets it fly.
With the rest of us distracting him, Argus doesn’t see the arrow coming this time. A bellow of agony roars through the din of battle as the arrow meets its mark in one of his eyes but Argus still doesn’t go down.
“Fuck, how do we kill this bastard?” I yell.
“I can try again. Maybe there wasn’t enough force to stick in his brain,” Adrian says.
“Whatever you’re going to do, we need to do it quick,” Draven pants. “I’m flagging.”
Jayden’s shadows pulsate around him. They blast out of him, wrapping around the giant in thick gold chains, but Argus struggles and they snap. Jayden’s breathing comes out in sharp pants.
“This guy is strong, but I think I could hold him for a second while you shoot. We’ll have to time it perfectly,” Jayden says to Adrian.
“Okay, let’s try it.” Adrian nods and pulls his bow.
The giant cocks his head to the side, watching Adrian and Jayden with curiosity before roaring and stomping on the ground with so much force the ground around him cracks and a large fissure cuts through the farmland, heading straight for Raven and Greyson.
“Raven, look out,” I scream.
She turns a tear-streaked face to the fissure and shrugs before turning back to Greyson. No. No. No. This can’t be happening. Greyson can’t be dead. Raven can’t give up.
“Jayden, get them out of there,” I say.
Jayden’s shadows wrap around them, moving them out of the way of the crack in the earth. Greyson is so still. Raven wails as she leans over Greyson’s prone form.
Something dark, deadly, and electric sparks to life inside me and a bellow of raw fury blasts from me. My hands rise on instinct and black lightning shoots from my hands into the giant as I stalk forward. I hit him with it again and again. The giant jolts with every blast but doesn’t turn to ash right away.
“Why won’t you just fucking die already.” I hit the monster with more black lightning. “You don’t get to take my friends from me. Do you hear me, you psychotic bitch? I’m coming for you and not for my execution.”
Strong arms wrap around me from behind and I sag into them. Jayden’s whispered words don’t register in my head as he shadow walks us to Raven. I don’t take my stare from the giant on the ground but not turning to dust.
“Someone get a rock and bash his skull in with it,” I say.
I know it’s dark as fuck, but my best friend won’t survive without Greyson. The giant has to die or humans could see him.
“With pleasure.” Dax cracks his knuckles as he stalks to the giant’s head.
I turn to Raven and drop to my knees next to her. “Raven?”
“Don’t.”
“Wait.” Adrian leans forward with his ear to Greyson’s mouth. “He’s breathing but just.”
“Jayden, get my bag, now.”
Jayden shadow walks to the SUV and is back in a second. If we have any hope of saving Greyson, it’s in my bag. I just hope like hell this works. We can’t lose Greyson.
“He’s a shifter, Beth. What if that backfires and is too strong for him to handle?” Jayden asks.
“He’s also been gods touched twice now. You see how big he is after he got that dire’s blood on him.”
“It should work in theory.” Adrian nods.
