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She could do this. She had trained for this. She silenced her thoughts, slowed the thundering of her heart. She knew she had to find that place, deep inside herself, that pocket of calm before the kill.

Her eyes flew open and Thea jumped aside, dodging the whip of a shadow lashing at her. The tip of it kissed her forearm and she screamed, her vision blurring with tears.

It was the agony of a blade red hot from a forge fire, searing her flesh at the slightest touch.

The creature paused, sniffing the air as though savouring the heavy scent of her suffering. It tilted its horned head, studying her, its ribbons of darkness curling, violently curious. The thing stalked towards her, its power seeking her out.

Thea shifted one foot behind the other, not taking her eyes off the reaper as they circled one another in the forest.

It was toying with her, taking its time, revelling in the hunt, the game.

But Thea could hunt, too. She twirled her sword menacingly. If it was blood the shadow wraith wanted, it was blood it would get.

She deflected another slash of its gruesome claws and took the impact of its darkness on her shield with a grunt, the force of it driving her boots into the damp earth, the power of it vibrating through her bones.

Feinting right, Thea delivered a hard thrust of her blade to the creature’s sinewy leg.

It shrieked, the ear-piercing sound echoing through the trees.

She lunged again, trying to push her advantage.

But the reaper was clever, experienced in slaying fighters far greater than her, and its patience was suddenly wearing thin. It wanted its prey.

Darting away from another attack, Thea wracked her brain for how the Warswords had done it in Delmira. But they had worked in a team to bring the creatures down and they had Naarvian steel to carve out those dark hearts…

And with her friends nowhere in sight, more than likely dead somewhere nearby.

Here, there was only her. And she could not hold it off forever, she could not bring it down on her own.

Maybe if she’d had some rope, or Cal’s bow, she could delay it enough for her to run, but she had neither of those things.

It lunged for her with claws and shadows, ribbons of black whipping at her, coiling past the barrier of her shield, slashing at her legs. Thea scrambled back through the blood-soaked leaves, chest heaving with the effort. She had completed her initiation test with all its dangers and obstacles, only to walk straight into a reaper’s trap. Her limbs were burning, her muscles screaming with every movement, and yet she didn’t stop.

She threw herself forward with a yell, blade slashing at the creature’s exposed limbs. No matter how tired she was, she would fight to the end. She was a Thezmarrian warrior through and through —

Thea went flying, and she slammed into another tree, her teeth singing at the impact, the shock jarring her whole body.

But no, this wouldn’t be the end of her. It couldn’t be. Unless she wasn’t to die, but become one of those monsters… She lurched forward, vision blurring —

A shout carried through the air.

Not her own.

And suddenly, the blaze of flaming twin blades lit up the darkness.

Wilder Hawthorne landed in between her and the reaper.

Thea let out a strangled gasp, her knees buckling at the sight.

But the creature wasn’t deterred. It hissed at its new target and the Warsword twirled his fiery swords in invitation.

The reaper gave an enraged shriek as it lunged for Wilder. The predator was a blur of slashing claws and lashes of darkness, but the Warsword knew this deadly dance. He ducked and withdrew from the advance, before attacking in a flurry of slices and strikes to its torso.

‘Thea?’ Wilder called.

She was half-collapsed against the tree behind her, panting through the reprieve the warrior had given her. Forcing down a breath of air, Thea pushed off from the trunk and raised her own sword.

‘To your right.’ She lifted her shield up to block a thrashing whip of darkness, and gripping her weapon determinedly, she sliced through the shadows, fighting her way to the exposed side of the creature, where she delivered a hard thrust with her blade.