Cole ducked the punch the first lycan threw at him, and when the lumbering beast staggered past him, he clasped his hands together and rammed them into his back. The impact caused something to give way with a crack and knocked the lycan to his knees.
The second lycan charged Brokk, who threw up his hands and hit the lycan with a wave of air. The blast of air lifted the lycan and flung him off his feet. He soared through the air until he hit a tree. The impact shook the tree. The lycan hung there for a few seconds before collapsing onto the ground.
Brokk was starting to go after the lycan when one of the vampires transported and threw himself onto Brokk’s back. Staggered by the impact of the weight, Brokk reeled backward. Reaching over his back, Brokk grasped the vamp’s hair and pulled the creature over his shoulder.
Cole stalked toward the lycan he’d knocked to the ground, but the other vampire transported, and appearing in front of him, the creature grasped Cole’s throat. Throwing his full weight into Cole, the vamp shoved him back. Cole nearly went down but kept himself upright when he planted his back foot and pushed back into the vamp.
When the vamp’s hand clamped down and cut off his air supply, Cole grasped the vamp’s wrist and twisted to the side. Bone gave way with a crack, and he broke the asshole’s hold on him at the same time he swung his head forward.
His forehead smashed off the vamp’s. The creature howled as it reeled back. Blood spilled down the vamp’s forehead and dripped off his nose. When the vamp lifted his head, his once brown eyes were the color of blood.
The vamp vanished as it launched at him again, but suspecting an attack from behind, Cole spun and swung out with his hand. He couldn’t see the vamp, but his claws caught in flesh and tore into muscle.
The vampire materialized a second later. His hands stretched toward Cole, but they froze in midair. Then his hands flew to his sliced-open throat as blood poured forth.
Cole was almost as astonished as the vamp as blood spilled between the vampire’s fingers and splashed onto the ground. He hadn’t realized he’d unleashed some of the lycan within him until his claws tore into the vamp’s throat.
He’d never let the lycan free before, not even during the war. When fighting, he’d always relied more on his dark fae powers, but now he welcomed the rush the release of the lycan gave him.
He smiled as more of the lycan broke free of its cage, and with another slash, he severed the vamp’s head. It thudded when it hit the ground and rolled a few feet away.
He turned toward the lycan he’d knocked to the ground. The beast was already recovering and climbing to his feet when Cole launched himself onto its back, seized its hair, and ripped its head back.
He plunged his claws into its throat and hacked through the thick sinew. Twisting the lycan’s head to the side, he relished the sound of muscle tearing apart as he succeeded in hacking the creature’s head off.
He turned toward Brokk as his brother dispatched the other vamp. Brokk turned toward the lycan he’d flung into the tree. He took a step toward him as the tip of a sword erupted out the front of Brokk’s chest. His brother’s eyes widened as they fell to the blade piercing his heart.
“NO!” Cole bellowed as he released the lycan’s head and shoved its body out of his way.
He didn’t understand what happened until Brokk twisted to the side. The movement revealed the dark fae who slipped away had returned and snuck up behind his brother while Brokk was fighting.
Brokk was reaching for the sword when the fae grinned and ripped the blade free. The rays of the moon shone off the silver blade with its intricate markings. Dismay filled Cole when he realized what the sword was made of…
Fae metal!
The only metal that could kill a fae, and the coward had rammed the blade through Brokk’s heart. It was a lethal wound for a fae.
I’ll rip off his head and shove it down his throat!
But as the thought ran through his mind, Brokk went to his knees.
No! No! No!
He’d lost too many brothers to this war; he would not lose another. He caught Brokk before he fell face-first onto the ground. When the fae lifted the blade to bring it down against Brokk’s back, Cole grasped the sword and held it while supporting his brother.
Brokk’s hot blood soaked his shirt as the sword bit into his flesh and sliced through his muscle until the blade scoured his bone. The fae tried to rip it away, but Cole refused to relinquish the sword as he yanked it forward.
Not expecting the motion, the fae staggered forward with the sword. Cole grabbed the fae by his throat. His claws dug into the creature’s flesh as he tore out his throat and threw it aside.
The fae’s hands flew to what little remained of his throat as his blood drenched Cole and Brokk. Cole lifted his hand and delivered a staggering backhand that knocked the fae’s head to the side and broke his neck.
Paralyzed by the blow, the fae hit the ground as Cole rose with Brokk in his arms. Cole shifted his hold on his brother to pull the sword free of his palm, and twisting the blade, he grasped the hilt and plunged it through the fae’s back and into his heart. Pinned to the ground, the fae’s fingers clawed at the dirt for a few seconds before he went limp.
Cole turned his attention to where he’d last seen the remaining lycan, but the beast was gone. He didn’t have the time to hunt it as Brokk’s body became completely limp against him.
Lifting Brokk into his arms, Cole fled into the night.
• • •
The incessant pounding on the door rebounded through the hallway until it became a never-ending crescendo that caused Lexi to bolt awake and propelled her out of bed before she realized she was moving. Flustered, she spun as she tried to get her bearings.
What was going on? Had the war started again?
No, that made no sense. Why would the war be banging on her door? It never had before.
Realizing she wasn’t making any sense to herself, she struggled to rid herself of her sleep and confusion as the banging continued.
Who was trying to bang down her door and why?
She started to run from her room but skidded to a halt when an image of Malakai entered her mind. The idea of him seeing her in her old T-shirt and nothing else propelled her toward her closet. Their door was about to come off its hinges, but if it was him, then he couldn’t see her like this.
She yanked open her closet doors and pulled out her robe. She tugged it on and cinched the belt around her waist before running from her room. From a few doors down and diagonally across the hall, Sahira was exiting her room.
Their eyes met before Lexi ran for the stairs.
“Elexiandra!” Sahira called sharply after her.
When she arrived at the bottom of the stairs, Lexi glanced at her aunt over her shoulder.
“You don’t know who’s on the other side!” Sahira called as she descended the stairs after Lexi.
No, she didn’t, but they were banging so relentlessly that the thick wood door rattled in its frame. There was something desperate in that knock, something that propelled her forward even as dread slid down her spine.
The banging reverberated in her head as her hand fell on the knob and her throat went dry.
“Lexi!” Sahira hissed.
She had no idea who was on the other side, but she had to answer it. Something about the frantic pounding made it impossible to ignore.
After the last time she tried to help someone, she should know better than to do it again. That asshole was still living in her tunnels, but she couldn’t stop herself from opening the door.
She gasped, and her hand flew to her throat when she spotted Cole on the other side. His eyes burned the brilliant silver of a lycan on the verge of transforming. Blood slicked his hair, slid down his face, and coated his hands as he lifted Brokk toward her.
Lexi’s stomach plunged into her toes as she took in Brokk’s bloodstained clothes and the gaping wound in his chest.