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I stretched my arms to my sides and offered her a shallow bow without taking my eyes off her. “Sorry to disappoint.”
She flitted from one branch to the next, then to another, inching her way forward. If she was trying to be subtle about closing the distance between us, she was failing miserably.
“Why are you here?” she hissed. “Alone? Has your precious captain had enough of you already?” The question was laced with venom. “He really can be so fickle.”
“I just wanted to see how you’re doing,” I said. “I mean, I can’t even imagine how you must be feeling right now.”
Her turquoise eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about?”
A false smile crept up my face. “Hook, of course. You know he has his power back, right?”
If looks could kill…
“Yeah, you know. That’s gotta suck after all the trouble you went to all those years ago to steal that little piece of him.” I held up a hand. “Howdidyou manage it, by the way? I’ve heard his side of the story, but I still don’t see how a worthless little flying bug could lure a demigod into a trap like that. Someone helped you, right? I mean, there’s no way you’re smart enough—”
She launched off the branch at a frightening speed, and I barely had time to lunge out of the way before she sailed past. Whipping around, I was greeted by a full-grown sneering woman.
“Stupid girl. That pendant was mine. He was mine,” she said, rushing forward in a flash of glittering dust, driving me backward until I stumbled and hit the ground hard.
My head bounced off the dirt with a stomach twisting thump. Stars exploded in my vision. Distantly, as I blinked at the world wobbling before me, I realized I’d dropped my blade.
Mother fucker.
I pulled myself back to my feet in record time, but it wasn’t until I was standing that I realized the glitter bitch was waiting for me.
All part of the plan, Nev, I reminded myself as she slammed into me again.
This time, I was ready for her. Using her momentum, I took us both to the ground, holding on tight to the fragile fabric of her ridiculous dress as I rolled to my back and shoved, sending her flying over me.
I scrambled around on all fours like an angry cat, crouched and ready to pounce. A glint of metal shining beneath a bush a few feet away caught my attention, but a quick glance was all it took to see the dagger was a lost cause. At least for this fight. The four-inch spikes sticking out every which way from the bush’s reaching branches would have made mincemeat out of me.
Unfortunately, that moment of distraction cost me. Anya was on me in a second, driving me to my knees with weight as her arm wrapped around my throat from behind. I bucked as hard as I could, but I could barely get any leverage.
Damn, she’s stronger than I remember.The air around us swirled like crazy.Where the hell is that wind coming from?There hadn’t been so much as a light breeze when I’d stepped into the darkness.
It took me another beat to realize her wings were beating like crazy. She was using them and her body weight to hold me down as she tried to choke the life out of me. Her grip on my throat tightened, and her tinkling laugh in my ear sent my pulse through the roof.
No fucking way was I going down that easy.
I reared up as hard as I could, clutching at her arm as I twisted, rolling us both into the dirt and pinning her beneath me. It was enough to break her hold, but I was still at a disadvantage with my back to her. I rolled off, twisted, and stood in what felt like one incredibly graceful move, especially for me.
See, I can do this. I just have to keep her busy long enough to give Hook time to get to Petra.
However long that might take.
Anya let out a war cry as she shot up into the air, whipping through the canopy and leaving a shower of shredded leaves falling to the ground in her wake.
Uh oh.That wasn’t part of my plan.
I spun in a circle, caught between crouching and searching the trees above me for an incoming turquoise missile. I whipped around just in time to see her evil sneer before she slammed into me again.
It felt like getting clipped by a truck. The force of the blow made my shoulder scream as it spun me around, but I managed to stay on my feet. Until another one of those cries split the air and she crashed into my back, sending me sprawling.
Fuck, that hurt.
I dragged myself up as fast as I could, ignoring my scraped palms and the dozen or so bruises forming all over my body. I turned slowly, dragging air into my raw lungs as my pulse pounding in my ears all but deafened me.
Where the fuck did she go?And why wasn’t I smart enough to bring a backup weapon?
