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Suddenly one of the men lunged toward her. She yelped and a “thwack” snicked past her, the man dropping to his knees with an arrow protruding from his head.

Johesha whistled.

With Tarley’s next breath the forest came alive. The ground trembled as a company of men on horseback, weapons at the ready, streamed into the grove from the forest. Her vision! A shout went up around her as the band of men beholden to Romis roared, surging toward them.

Johesha released Romis, grabbing hold of Tarley. “My lady. To the forest,” he said.

Only Romis, with murder in his eyes, stood between them and the trees. They were surrounded everywhere else. Romis picked up a sword from a fallen comrade. “You should have killed me,” he shouted as a battle waged around them, lifting the sword and rushing Johesha’s back.

Tarley screamed, grabbing hold of the captain, and yanking him out of the way, but her efforts were unnecessary as a dark shadow whirled between them.

Romis stopped. “What–”

Tarley was equally confounded.

Like a stretch of shade under a tree, the shadows swirled, combining, until they coalesced into a well-dressed man.

“Mr. Uraiahs?” Tarley said.

He turned his head and winked at Tarley before facing Romis, whose jaw was slack with shock. After blinking several times, he said, “You.”

“In the flesh.” Nixus straightened the cuffs of his stark white shirt under the black jacket. “I had hoped our last encounter left you with a lasting impression. It would seem I’ve grown too merciful from my confinement.”

Romis backed up a step, sword slumped, and looking as if he might run.

“Please do it,” Nix urged.

Romis raised his sword, looked at it, and grinned. “It seems I have the upper hand today.”

“So tiresome,” Nix said, then followed up the observation with a deep sigh. “You should know before you try it—I don’t give second chances.”

Romis yelled, sword raised, and rushed Nix—but Romis crumpled to the ground, his face a bloody mess, sliding to a stop at Nix’s feet.

Nix hadn’t even moved, just looked down at the man before he straightened his sleeves again. He turned to Tarley and grinned. “Well, that was rather easy. Shall I end them all?”

“End all of whom?” she asked.

Nixus glanced around the meadow, and she followed his gaze.

“The men?”

“Allow me to demonstrate once more,” Nix said and pointed at a man with an ax high over his head. The ax began its descent toward a Jast soldier, the traitor froze, blood blooming from his eyes, his nose, and his mouth and the ax dropped from his hands before he crumpled to the ground at the Jast’s soldier’s feet.

“Humans are so fragile,” he said. “I forgot that.”

The battle raged around them, though it was clear that the soldiers of Jast were gaining the upper hand. Men fighting near them noticed Romis’s dead body and stopped, laying down their arms and falling to their knees.

“So?” Nix turned and looked at Tarley once more. “End them? Or do you feel mercy is appropriate? Which would Auri prefer? I don’t often choose mercy, but I find I’d rather not face Auri’s wrath.”

Tarley looked at Nix—obviously not a man—named after the god of night and darkness and asked, “Who are you?”

He grinned. “Ask Auri. I would be diverted by her answer.”

“Are you a–” she swallowed, “a darkling?”

“What?” He straightened looking insulted. “A darkling. Absolutely not. A darkling is a parasite! Why would you–”

But a shout across the meadow cut off his question. He dematerialized, becoming a shadow once more, then disappeared altogether.