Rhen’s head snapped toward him.
The heretic smiled.
“Your king has been quiet, has he not? Gone for days after she died, almost as though grief is not the only thing consuming him.”
Rhen surged against the bodies holding him.
“Mention him again.”
The heretic’s expression became almost conspiratorial.
“Sule is not here to save you, and he will not return. Not when he is—”
He stopped before completing the sentence.
One subtle movement of his fingers tightened the rogues’ grip around Rhen.
This was not merely a fight.
It was a trap constructed to make Sule’s brothers bleed where the city could witness their defeat.
Cole tore an attacker from the ground and threw it into another, but even his strength was beginning to strain beneath the numbers. Every creature that fell seemed to be replaced by two more carrying the same unnatural light in their eyes.
Dax moved through them with lethal precision, blood coating his hands as he repeatedly looked toward the swarm restraining Rhen.
“This is a setup!”
Malakai ripped a rogue from Dax’s back and signed directly into his line of sight.
That is obvious. Keep cutting.
Rhen fought against the bodies surrounding him, shattering bones and tearing limbs free. The mass held him away from the single target that mattered.
The heretic continued watching.
Then Cole stepped forward.
Rhen recognized the change behind his eyes before anyone else reacted. The air thickened as the storm inside Cole rose to meet the violence around them.
Rain began falling harder.
Clouds turned above the Quarter in a tight spiral, gathering in response to Cole’s power.
Malakai forced himself into Cole’s line of sight and signed sharply.
Do not.
Cole did not acknowledge him.
Pain had already drawn his face tight, deepening the shadows beneath his cheekbones. Even so, he raised his hands toward the sky.
“Cole,” Rhen warned.
Cole could no longer look at him.
Power struck.
Thunder detonated above the street with enough force to rattle windows and trigger car alarms throughout the surrounding blocks. Lightning split the sky and descended into Cole’s raised hands.
