Page 99 of The Blood Rites

She swallows hard enough that the muscles in her neck tremble. “I don’t think I can do this,” she admits.

“You can, Marissa. It’s just like we practised.”

She gives the barest nod.

“Draw it to the surface,” I tell her, keeping my eyes on the makeshift bridge as it groans and shifts under Rask’s bulk. Behind them, the pathway starts to separate, the magic waning as the rocks loosen and drift apart again.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. So much for Kael reaching us in time.

Rask and Orla plant their feet on the island as the last of the bridge falls apart. Maybe Marissa is right. Maybe we should follow Callen. Maybe the other bridge is still intact. I don’t know the rules. The Mother Shard has a will of her own.

Rask is close now. He leers at me, his hands already bulking with the beginnings of Mana-made stone gauntlets. Orla lags behind, eyes alive with calculation as she scans her surroundings.

He charges straight at us, and I raise my hands, summoning a shield. The barrier is weak, still golden but as thin as gossamer. I cannot afford to burn through my Mana all at once.

Rask hits me like a landslide. His first punch shatters the shield into golden dust. I stagger, but right my footing before I fall. He barrels past me, straight for Marissa. She throws herself to the ground, trying to roll away, but Rask clips her with a backhand. She crumples and doesn’t move.

I move to help her, but Orla has closed in on me, her arm cocked, a dagger of stone in her fist. She swings, and I barely dodge, the blade slicing the air where my neck had been. She hisses at me, flecks of saliva catching on her lips. She looks almost gleeful.

“Give it up, Lightborn,” she sneers. “You two aren’t even worth the effort.”

“Then why are you over here trying to kill us?” I bite back.

“Because Atheron wants it done,” Orla says. “His alliance is worth it, I suppose.”

Rask laughs from where he crouches beside Marissa, winding a lock of her hair around his finger.

“Get away from her,” I shout, my voice cracking around the words.

“Don’t worry, pretty boy,” he jeers, dragging one rough finger along her cheek. “You’re first, then I’ll decide what to do with this one.”

“You’re a fucking monster,” I snap.

“Maybe so,” he says. “But this might be my last chance for a warm body.”

My stomach turns at the thought of this pig coming anywhere near Marissa. I have to do something, but I can’t even think.

I wish Kael were here. He wouldn’t hesitate. Rask would already be dead.

Orla comes at me again, but this time, something impossible happens. The world goes cold in a way I don’t recognise.

Every shadow underfoot deepens. Then shifts. In the next instant, Orla is yanked backwards by her collar, lifted off her feet by a force I can’t see.

Vaelis materialises behind her, one arm wrapped around her neck, the other hand somehow holding her stone knife. He has it against her throat. His eyes meet mine, and they are empty, analytical, even bored.

“The Prince is occupied,” he says, his voice flat as the edge of a knife. “He said you weren’t allowed to die yet. So try not to embarrass him.”

I don’t move. I don’t even breathe. He came because Kael sent him, not because he knows me or cares whether I live. Where does loyalty like that even come from?

Vaelis drags Orla aside with him, moving so quickly my eyes can’t track the motion. Orla kicks and claws at his arms, but he doesn’t even flinch. He hooks a leg behind hers, takes her down, and pins her with one foot against her throat, before levelling the stone knife at Rask.

“You think a little pebble like that can harm me?” Rask roars as he charges at Vaelis.

Before he can close the distance, Rask stumbles. I don’t even see the shadow until it is already wrapped around his legs. Rask pitches forward, face striking the ground with a crack I feel in my teeth. Another wave of shadow slams into Rask’s crumpled form and sends him rolling across the ground.

“Go,” Vaelis tells me, his voice bored. “Take the girl and get off this island. Move to the next one.”

I hesitate, not knowing if this is a trick.