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Baron shoves me aside and unsheathes his blades. “Head for the volcano. Another forest lies between here and there. You’ll need a head start. I’ll keep the orcs at bay.”

Seeing the conviction in his eyes, I nod. Baron pushes toward the edge of the mountain as Pyre lifts Theren. I can see Pyre pouring magic into the former Unseelie King, trying to heal his wounds enough to allow Theren to walk on his own. When Theren breathes a sigh of relief, he takes his weight off Pyre’s shoulders and walks beside me as Pyre makes a mad dash for the dark, mangled forest I remember from before we entered the Veil the first time.

CHAPTER TEN

THEREN

Fae Realm

“So, the succubae were born in Mount Dolgum?” I question as we hurry through a dense cluster of trees that smells faintly sweet. I know this forest well, for I often spent time hidden among the gnarled, twisted branches to escape my father’s cruelty. “Then why are there legends about the volcano?”

“Because that was where Gildlorthoine bred his harem,” Pyre responds. “It’s said the incubus simply crawled out of the magma and mated with a hybrid that was part harpie and part siren. Their daughter was the first succubus. Through the ages, they became stronger and the seductive properties of their kind were legendary through the realms,” Pyre finishes.

He unstraps the bow from his back and pulls the string until his knuckles brush his cheek. He releases the arrow. It whistles through the air and strikes an orc between the eyes. It’s so far away that I see only a blur of movement as the body hits the ground.

“And the succubae would return to the volcano to breed when they reached their fertile age?” I ask.

“Yes,” the necromancer replies. “Gildlorthoine chose Lamia as his queen because she was the fiercest warrior and had birthed several impressive daughters.”

I see Dragan flinch at the mention of the succubae queen. I know the story as well as everyone. If not for Lamia’s betrayal, Dragan and Cambion may have had a chance winning the war. And Pyre fought beside them that fateful day with his army of the dead. Even then, Pyre’s magic made me uneasy. Necromancy pushes boundaries even I’m unwilling to cross. While blood magic is powered by life force, it requires the subject to still bealive. Though taboo, my powers are nowhere near as frowned on as Pyre’s.

He catches me watching him and quirks a brow. The hue of his scarlet hair is a startling contrast to his pale skin and white eyes. Pyre’s mask was broken in the fight at Oronrel, so the sharpness of his otherworldly features is now on full display. I suddenly wonder if he’s had Eilish. I know they’ve spent much time together…

Baron nearly mows me down as he fails to slow his momentum. An army of orcs is on his tail. The others break away from me and begin to fight. Rope still digs into my wrists, but I crouch low, ready for whatever comes my way.

Orcs swarm me, and one rushes forward. I turn away as if to retreat, but I run up the trunk of a large tree and flip over his head, causing the orc to smack into the trunk and fall over dead. Luckily for the rest of us, orcs aren’t known for their intelligence. Two more reach for me. I kick one in the chest and then drop to the ground before the other can tackle me. Hands grip my hair, but I roll away in time to avoid the next attack, bringing my knee up and slamming it into the belly of my opponent. Dragan, accidentally or not, tosses an orc right at me. The thing pushes me into a tree and I feel the air punched out of my lungs. Then Dragan kills the fucker and nods at me in apology.

I nod in return. Of all of them, I’m most grateful to Pyre for healing me as much as he has. At least now I can move without the pain of broken bones. No, my health isn’t fully restored to me but I feel a hell of a lot better, all the same.

I catch my breath and turn to look at Baron. The vampire seems skilled with a blade—I watch him slice through the orcs with practiced ease. Pyre pulls back on his bowstring and fires arrow after arrow without blinking. His aim is beyond anything I’ve ever witnessed, despite the fact he’s blind. I turn around long enough to see an orc with a bubbly, distorted face rush mewith a serrated sword. It catches my shoulder as a sharp jab hits me in the kidney, but I don’t go down. The orc with the wicked-looking blade pulls back to attack again. I kick it in the knee, hearing the crunch of bones as it accidentally decapitates another orc.

“Anyone want to untie me?” I shout.

“Fuck no!” Baron responds.

I roll my eyes at the vampire and decide his response was just the answer I was looking for. They won’t release me and they won’t ever treat me as their equal, owing to the shit I’ve done. They don’t care if I was under Morrigan’s spell. They don’t trust me and they never will.

And that means there’s no reason for me to stay here—as their prisoner. Especially now that I’ve got the opportunity to flee. So I take it.

I turn around and run deeper into the woods. Getting away from the bulk of the horde is my best bet. A second or so later, I’m taken down. Greasy, bluish hands batter my ribcage. I sidestep and circle the orc like a beast on the prowl. The orc swings, and I use my elbow to jab him in the midsection. The smell of bloated, diseased flesh fills my nostrils. He lunges. I rear back before slamming my elbow into the side of the orc’s head.

I feel myself growing dizzy, because I’m still not fully healed, but I attack over and over while taking blows to the rest of my body.

“Theren!” Dragan calls as he appears beside me. My escape attempt wasn’t much of an attempt at all and I wonder if he even realizes that’s what it was.

“Here!” I jump back to put some distance between myself and the putrid orc. “I could really use some help right about now.” Scanning the area around me, I see no sign of Dragan, but more orcs approach from the left. I curse beneath my breath. “Any fucking time, gargoyle!”

The horde nearly reaches me at the same instant the others appear. Pyre catches an orc with a vicious uppercut that sends the creature sprawling, while Baron stabs another in the head.

I move so Dragan and I are back to back. “Never thought we’d be fighting like this,” I say.

“Never thought you’d be fighting on our side again,” he responds, like the asshole he is.

My reply is nothing more than a pained grunt as a fist bashes into my abdomen. Pyre shoves me forward and the three of us make for the volcano once more as Baron stays behind. I don’t look back. I can’t. Eilish needs me. What comes for her is much stronger than Morrigan and Variant combined. “How far until we reach the volcano?”

Pyre fires another arrow and then uses the hard end to hit an orc upside the head. He spins, eyes flickering like white orbs in the darkness. “It’s a three-hour climb.”

His words do nothing to ease the tension in my body. Dragan doesn’t seem too pleased, either. Strangely, they both seem impressed—albeit begrudgingly—by my ability to fight while restrained.