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19
Ishot out of the water, flying through the tiny strip of air above the Labyrinth’s impromptu ocean. Even with soaked wings, flying was faster than swimming. Harvey shot into the air beside me and did the same, both of us scanning the water below as we flew back into the first chamber. The seafoam green hippocampus was much bigger than the one I just … defeated? Saved? I was still hazy on what had happened. I didn't let go of my blades, though.
They'd somehow absorbed the magic Cronus used to compel the creature. It no longer burned in my hands, and I could function with the power blazing through me unlike the bone pin's unbearable intensity.
I saw the hippocampus's move before it made it, and I plummeted towards the water with a snarl.Shit.I wasn't fast enough to stop it tearing a chunk out of Emlyn's bicep as he hauled his powerful body through the water, salt-and-pepper hair plastered to his skull and his eyes bright with pain. This wasn't the first time he'd been bitten. Or Wynvail, judging by the pain stuttering through my soul.
"Stop!"I yelled, my voice strangely amplified, like a dozen Halwens spoke at once. My blades flashed bright ruby again, like they still held Cronus's magic inside them. Oh gods, did they still have his magic? What was I supposed to do with daggers empowered by a titan? The titan who wanted me dead, who ordered Wynvail to kill my other mates, and had Wane captive?
Couldn't life ever be bloody easy?
The horse swung around to stare at me as I flew over the water, my heart pounding too hard, too fast, as I assessed the situation. Harvey plunged straight into the ocean to grab Em, Kai swimming not far behind.
We were together; we could get out of this. We'd fought our way out of trickier situations. Granted, those situations weren't compelled bya titan.
Oh, fuck, we could really die here. As food for a giant seahorse.
The hippocampus's milky eyes fixed on my glowing daggers, as if it knew what magic lurked inside them, and it let out the loudest, most screeching howl of all time. Pain stabbed through my ear drums and into my skull. I wouldn't be surprised if they bled.1
Wane's sudden rush of panic cut through my chest, but I was too distracted to send a rush of comfort. It must have been driving him insane to feel all my emotions, not knowing what made me so scared, not being here to fight alongside me.
The hippocampus kept screeching, violence in its milky eyes as it stared at me.
"Shut the fuck up!" Kai yelled, as if the creature would ever listen to him.2
"Stay against the wall," I shouted, adjusting the angle of my knives and dipping lower, assessing the horse's bulky muscle and jerky movements. These things moved too damn fast.
I always knew someone would ignore my instruction, but I'd have put my money on Kai or Em, their overprotective streaks both over a mile long.
Instead it wasWynvailwhose expression hardened. He somehow looked even more vicious than usual with his short hair flattened to his bony head, and harsh light cutting into his face, enhancing his cheekbones. Pure defiance radiated from him, along with a healthy dollop of protective rage.
Idiot.
I swung a knife in front of me, shooting down towards the horse with strong wingbeats. But the hippocampus jerked away at the last minute, and my heart skipped when it lurched viciously fast through the frothing water and—
Snapped its jaws around Wynvail's throat.
No.
My heart stuttered, horror making me slow, freezing my blood, my soul.
Harvey exploded into movement when Wynvail’s blood curled through the water, his fearsome growl cutting the air in two. It was so loud it shook my ribs, making my whole body quiver as shadows and fur erupted through the water. It had been so long since I'd seen his shadow beast form that my heart lurched at the sight of him. And then it broke when I remembered what Ashboren told us—that this was what happened to a sun soul starved of sunlight.
My emotions were a frazzled mess. Fury and dread clashed with sorrow and love. I wrenched on my numb wings, my eyes fixed on the blood spilling through the water.
Harvey's furry beast form collided with the hippocampus, and added a shot of blinding alarm to my emotions. The horse was close enough to snap his head off. But those vicious teeth remained locked around Wynvail's bronze throat, moments from ripping his life from him.
Please…
I regained movement with a gasp, and dropped suddenly towards the water at the same moment Harvey roared and swiped wicked claws across the hippocampus's snout. His massive, furry body rippled with darkness, power shaking the air, the water, shaking the entire damn Labyrinth. His eyes had bled from silver to black, and all I could smell was brimstone, thick and cloying and dark. I couldn’t forget that crucifying power; I'd screamed until my voice turned hoarse in the fighting pit, and cried until I couldn't feel anything but agony shattering my bones, slicing through my skull until my brain was in little, miserable bits. I'd passed out. He'd almost killed me.
I winced, looking away. It was hard to hear the hippocampus screech and remember just how badly my own mate had tortured me.
But Wynvail made a low moan of pain and snapped me out of it. I tucked my wings and slammed into the icy water, power making me tremble as I sheathed my blades and grabbed the hippocampus’s jaws. A scream of effort built as I pulled with all my might, prising the horse's razor teeth out of Wynvail’s neck. My grip was the only thing keeping me from drowning but I tried not to think about that.
The creature was weakened by Harvey’s attacks, but still dangerously strong. Sweat beaded on my lip as I struggled, but Harvey lashed out with his claws again and the horse’s jaws unlocked to bellow an involuntary howl of pain. I ripped its teeth from Wynvail’s throat, tears ceiling my eyes as I wrenched him free. My hands shook; he fell into me with a groan, blood sluicing hot over my arms.
"Wyn," I breathed, pulling back so I could see how badly he'd been cut. "Oh, gods, oh gods."
