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Naia shot off towards him.

A shadowy mass dropped before Naia, and Marina stepped out of its churning darkness.

Marina’s palm collided in the center of Naia’s chest, propelling her backwards. Her feet slid in the mud, and she could barely register the impact of the hit from the adrenaline pulsing through her bloodstream.

She rolled through the grass and swiftly lifted up on her hands. The pain throbbing in her chest went numb. Without a second thought, her eyes jumped ahead to assess the circumstances beyond Marina.

“Akane!” Yuki shouted.

Theon’s form flitted as he transported to Akane and Ash.

Naia’s eyes jumped onto the little girl holding Ash, balancing an orb of fire in the middle of her palm. She slung the flame at the nightrazers, their writhing, inky bodies bleeding into the shadows the trees provided.

“I’ve got them!” Theon called back. A thick wall of ice lifted around their children.

Yuki was on her knees, arms working fast as she tore Ronin’s shirt apart and bunched up the material to staunch the bleeding. “Avi, cover us!”

“Fuck!” Avi threw a potion down on the ground, and the nightrazers flocking them were forced back by an invisible barrier.

Marina’s figure fizzled into a swirling, obsidian haze.

Naia’s muscles tensed in her arms as she squeezed her hands into fists.

I’ve had enough.

A ferocious scream tore from Naia as she matched Marina’s god-like speed. She threw her arm out and drove her forearm into Marina’s porcelain nose. Her hit blew a powerful gust through the land, rustling the treetops. Marina sailed through the clearing, upright and digging her heels into the earth. She used the momentum to propel forward with the velocity of a falling star.

What had Naia done to ever deserve Marina’s hatred?

She gritted her teeth and swerved before Marina could grab her by the throat. Catching the collar of Marina’s velvet cloak, she fisted the material and slammed her head into Marina’s skull.

A bone-cracking sound echoed in Naia’s ears. Marina stumbled. Warm liquid trickled over Naia’s eyelid. Before Marina could react, Naia lifted her leg to deliver a solid kick into Marina’s gut. It threw her back several yards.

Naia fled towards Ronin. Her breath went short and her lips trembled as she ran. He wasn’t moving. He lay flat. The blades of grass beneath him were a swamp of blood.

“Avi, hand it to me!” Yuki’s voice was urgent as it shook.

Avi dug in his blazer with one hand, his other waving in the air to cast spells to ward off the nightrazers.

Theon’s figure was a blur as he worked around the ice dome protecting Ash and Yuki.

Beneath all the chaos, the high-pitched wailing of Ash activated a new level of hysteria in Naia’s bones she’d never experienced. A violent protectiveness. She needed to get to him. To the others. To Ronin.

Marina ran at Naia, her movements leaving behind jet-black tendrils. Naia locked her heel into the ground and twisted her torso, drawing her fist up and meeting Marina’s in a dramatic clash.

They rolled across the drenched grass. Mud smeared in Naia’s eyes. Marina ripped Naia’s hair from the scalp. Naia seized Marina’s forearm and pushed her down, straddling her abdomen and squeezing the insides of her thighs.

Naia drove her fist towards Marina’s face. She moved her head sideways with the perfect timing, and Naia’s knuckles crashed into the earth. The ground beneath them cracked, resounding loudly. The rattling of a small earthquake quickly followed.

Marina wiggled her arms free from beneath Naia’s knees. She shoved Naia’s shoulder, throwing her off balance. Naia’s tailbone splashed in the mud. Some of it oozed down her leggings.

Marina was on her feet, towering over Naia. “You are still a weak, pathetic excuse of a goddess.”

Naia’s vision went red. “What have I ever done to you, Marina?” she shouted.

Like a frightening apparition, Marina snapped forward and wrapped her fingers around Naia’s throat. Purple blotches blossomed in her vision.

“All you ever did was give him a reason to leave!” Marina screamed venomously. “A reason to hate me!”