I didn’t give him time to react to my approach, to defend himself, before I pummeled his face with a series of blows.
His head snapped back, hitting the wall from the force of my blows and then cracking forward at an unfortunate angle.
His body hung limp, the same as the guard before him.
“Fucking—” Axel’s words bit out in a clipped rush as he fought the man before him. “Didn’t realize we were going there. A bit of a heads-up—” He ducked another blow as I landed on the ground behind him. “Would have been . . . appreciated,” he said as he finished the male with a series of stabs in the abdomen.
“What was I supposed to do?” I bit out as I looked downtoward my boots, now coated in crimson, with annoyance. “He had a death wish.”
“So much formaiming not killing,” he stated as we stared at the four bodies littering the ground before us, blood running through the sandy street.
“Well,” I said. “What other option did we have?”
“Going by your logic,” he answered, “I’d say not revealing golden wings would have been an option. You know . . . maybe not broadcasting to theenemythat we’re from Aurum Quarter.”
I shrugged as I began to haul one of the bodies to the dark corner of the back of the alleyway, tossing it there.
“It was unavoidable. They already know of our presence.”
“Snap out of it,” Axel huffed as he moved to help me.
“There’s nothing to snap out of,” I bit back as we made sure the alleyway looked untouched—well, mostly untouched, seeing as the sand was now stained crimson.
“Sure, whatever you say, bossman,” Pierce grumbled as he hauled another body over to the same location.
Shouts sounded in the distance, and I cursed this mission for the hundredth time in the past twenty-four hours as my muscles tightened, preparing for yet another fight, seeing as the blood-stained street would be an automatic indicator something was amiss.
“If I knew backup would come this quickly, bullets would have been a better option,” Axel complained from beside me, the last body now out of sight.
“We just need to get out of here before we’re spotted.”
“Spottedagain, you mean?” his voice rang out in the night air.
“You know what—” I didn’t finish the statement as my second huffed a laugh from beside me, giving me a sharp jab in the ribs.
“Let’s get moving,” he replied, his own wings emerging as he flew to the rooftop of the closet building to get a better vantage point.
We satin the corner of the Tilted Tavern, hidden from sight, as we kept our dunewraps high across our faces and our hoods low.
“So,” Axel drawled as he took a sip of his drink, careful to keep his face hidden in the shadows. “This wasn’t the plan.”
“Thanks for stating the obvious,” I replied as I glared at my second.
“Well,” he replied, matter-of-factly, “someone had to say it. I haven’t seen you this off in a mission since—well—honestly, since we started.”
“I’m aware,” I bit out, frustration at myself rising. “The sooner we get back to Aurum, the better,” I replied. “We only have three days to make it back.”
“You keep telling yourself that,” he answered, and I shot another glare his way.
The door to the Tilted Tavern burst open with a jarring slam, the clamor of voices dropping to a dull chatter as a formation of RSG members marched through the door, scanning the tavern before spotting who they were looking for. The male leading the charge marched forward, citizens scrambling out of the sergeant’s way as he stalked straight toward the bar top.
My gaze flicked toward the female behind the bar, taking in unruly brown waves of hair, solid hazel eyes wrinkled with age, and a light dusting of freckles across powdered cheeks. She looked exactly like Raelyna—or better yet, Raelyna looked exactly like this female.
“May I help you?” I picked up her voice from across the tavern, watching carefully as she interacted with the members of the RSG towering over her.
“Mrs. Kingsley,” the sergeant stated in a monotone voice.
“Yes?” she questioned.
