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His body stopped moving. The rest of the voices became a blur as his chest squeezed tightly before his heart gave out. His father’s death had broken it in two, but the idea of Winter not making it had it shattering into pieces until there was nothing left. An image floated of her lifeless body, hacked beyond recognition because that was how it was done—his merciless family not sparing her anything even in death, perhaps even bragging about her murder to the rest of the houses.
Rage bubbled, a froth that coursed out of him. When something charged, he flung his rage into attacking back, startling the rogue before it could even reach out and tackling it to the ground. The rogue stayed down for a good three seconds before rising, but it wasn’t up long as Nate shoved it back and punched it repeatedly. Claws swiped on his shoulders, strongarming him into submission, and the two began to roll around in a blur of fists and fangs. Another creature joined in, but they were no match for his wrath, and soon the two were immobile. When a hiss came from behind him, he spun to tackle the next one, then froze when he found a line of rogues hastening their way toward him.
I love her,drummed through his mind. And he didn’t get to tell her, so focused on exposing his brother that there had been no room for anything else. Now it was too late, and the grief of that snapped his freezing back into motion as he lunged at the throng. Nate didn’t know how the fight lasted, but he came out of it half-dead himself, his body working like an automaton as it flew itself out of the madness and to a dead tree for a reprieve. He looked down with eyes half-shut and pain pulsing in his bones, then managed to crawl his way to another cave-like structure before the sun rose—except now they knew where he was because he hadn’t been careful about it.
He closed his eyes, willing the world to disappear. His sleep was filled with dreams of blood gurgling from Winter’s throat, and he woke up to the sounds of hissing, but now they were accompanied by banging noises. Moonlight streamed in the opening of his cave, allowing him to see the buzz of movement outside. One came charging at him but was yanked back by an unseen force.
Fight,his mind screamed, and instinct had him moving before he could even contemplate it. Then he was outside searching for the force…then, gaping at it as stupefaction swelled in his system.
“What are you doing here?”
Maddox glanced at him, then ducked when a rogue leaped for his head. The half-vampire tackled the next one with a swish of a knife—no, sword to the head—and a major sidestepping from all the blood spraying out.
“Risking it all, apparently, with everything that’s running around here. These creatures are vicious. How did you survive?”
“The perks of being special.Youdon’t have that defense.” On cue, another rogue snuck up to Maddox, but Nate was there, kicking it hard before it could touch the man. The two worked together to fight off the rest, managing to create a gap they could escape through as they ran for their lives—literally. When they were a suitable distance away, Nate spread his wings, grabbed Maddox, and flew him off. “How did you find me?”
“It was pretty easy. I followed where all the rogues were lying in wait until the sun came down. Pure luck, too, since I was in this general area. I think you just formed a hate club.”
“Yes, well, I think they hate everybody they encounter.” The rest of the flight was in silence as they roamed around until they found a decent space to land in at Maddox’s insistence. Then Maddox was leading the way further. “Maddox, what are you doing here?”
“I needed to see if you were alive. We were all lying in wait for you and Winter.”
The heart that had been dead pulsed back to life. He grabbed Maddox, stopping the man in his tracks. “Winter is alive?”
“She is. She…oh. Someone talked about her death news?”
“Where is she?”
Maddox’s expression didn’t bode well, and the answer had dread rising. “She left the island to get something and prove your innocence.”
“How long?”
“Five days ago. Running on sixth.” The man hesitated. “I burned your blood pact. I’m not sure if she’s coming back.”
His heart screamed that she was going to, but logic dictated that only the stupid ones did. Winter was smart and knew she would die the minute she stepped foot here again, and there was nothing more he wanted than her safety. Coming to terms with this despite the loneliness that ached in his soul, he nodded.
“All right.”
“Oh, and you apparently released these rogues to the rest of Ostrov Krov and have struck fear among the hearts of the humans.”
So, that was what he had made happen? He growled, imagining a gleeful Nicholas doing the dirty work.
“I will kill him.”
“How about winning those human hearts back, including the houses on your side and those on the fence?”
Nate frowned, unsure what the other man was talking about. They had walked further into territory he hadn’t explored yet, wary of too many rocky terrains with too many potential hiding spaces. He peered at the cracks that seemed to decorate this side of the shimmering wall more, thin at the bottom and thickening into great slashes at the top.
“My father used to keep these secured.”
“The queen doesn’t care. And that can be your starting point. You can reach out while in hiding, hold secret meetings, and make anonymous speeches. Send announcements without showing yourself. Our proof isn’t enough, but making it public might help.”
“It’s not enough.” But Maddox had risked coming here for him—and Maddox wasn’t the only one counting on him. “But we work with what we have.”
The man scaled a dead tree until he reached a gap wide enough for him to squeeze into.
“Hurry. Before the rogues find this,” Maddox said, then was gone in the blink of an eye.
