Page 29 of Two Thousand Shadows (Kings of Chaos #4)

Chapter 28

Leo St. George

L eo had never been the type to go diving into a fight. In fact, he’d always gone out of his way to avoid getting drawn into any kind of scuffle. But the fae were different.

The fae had killed Erik’s parents.

They’d hurt Jun-Jun and his clan.

Those reasons were more than enough to get him involved. Junjie and Erik were his everything. His family.

And no one was allowed to touch his family.

With nothing more than a thought and a touch of magic, Leo shifted into an enormous Bengal tiger. In a heartbeat, the entire world became more . Through his tiger eyes, the dark forest was brighter, smells were sharper, and sounds reached him from greater distances. In his human form, his senses were enhanced, more than a normal human, but nowhere near as strong as when he was in his cat form.

He prowled closer to Junjie, bumping his head against his mate’s thigh before rubbing the entire length of his body along Junjie’s leg. His mate’s scent was so strong now—a hypnotic blend of plum blossoms, freshly laundered linen, and sandalwood incense. All the things that made him think of home and love.

Of course, Jun-Jun now had Leo’s scent on him because the vampire was his alone.

A low chuckle preceded some excellent head scratches. Leo chuffed. Jun-Jun always knew the best spots to scratch.

“I think you need to save the scenting of your territory for later,” Junjie chided playfully.

He was right, but Leo couldn’t help himself. He circled Junjie just the once and sat next to his lover. Huli bounded over and Leo blinked at the larger-than-average fox. He’d always thought his nine tails were what made him appear bigger, but the fox standing in front of him was only slightly smaller than his own stature.

“Kai is having trouble with the wizards. Shall we go help him?” Huli’s voice was brimming with excitement and mischief, which was all the enticement Leo needed.

Leo turned his face up toward Junjie, his heart squeezing at the soft smile that greeted him.

“Yes, please help Kai. We’ll focus on stopping the wizards first and then help the others against the fae army,” Junjie said.

That was all he needed to hear. His mate would be right behind him.

Leo and Huli darted from the thick line of trees. Waist-high grasses that had browned under the summer sun covered the field. The rich scent of dried leaves, damp earth, and death teased his nose. He split off from the crazy fox and hunkered low so that his chest grazed the dirt as he stalked the fae wizards that circled a section of the stream. The clang and scrape of metal on metal nearly drowned out the burble of the water as he rushed around rocks and along its banks. The closer he got to his target, the more Leo’s heart hammered in his chest and his breathing quickened to short pants.

Moon’s dead army and the shiny white dragon were doing an excellent job of keeping the wizards occupied. The massive lizard darted overhead like a pissed-off hummingbird, pausing only to claw and scratch at the glowing blue magical barrier that surrounded the six wizards. Moon’s dead warriors hammered on the shield as well but made no progress at getting inside.

He peered into the protective bubble while still hidden in the grasses and behind Moon’s zombies to watch the wizards. There were three on each side of the stream. Their long, colorful robes with voluminous sleeves reminded him of something he might see in a D&D drawing of a wizard. The only things missing were the long, white beards and the pointy hats. Each held a long staff topped with a different color glowing crystal.

Magic crackled and snapped in the air, but it didn’t seem to affect the dragon, as their spells bounced off his scales. However, either the dragon or the wizards were stirring up the wind and turning the black clouds into bubbling tar. Lightning danced behind the clouds, shooting across the sky, and the thunder rumbled after it. The electric charge was building and that couldn’t be a good thing. He needed to act now if they were going to save the humans from more devastation.

The last spell had swept east, destroying major cities such as Boston and Providence. Even as far north as Montreal. They were speculating that the next spell would go west. Hartford was on the chopping block, but were these wizards now strong enough to wipe out places like New York and Philadelphia? They couldn’t take that chance.

Leo sniffed and bumped the blue wall where it met the ground. It felt solid. He followed it around to where the stream cut through the center of the field. If he’d been in his human form, he would have snickered. The bottom of the barrier stopped just at the top of the water.

Staying low, Leo slipped into the water and swam under the blue dome. The sounds of the fighting were muffled as he surfaced above the water within the dome. A tiny whimper reached him, and he glanced back to see Huli pacing along the bank, whining at the water while his triangular ears were pinned to his round head. Leo rolled his eyes, and the fox jumped into the stream. When he surfaced beside Leo and scrambled up onto the bank, all of his fur was soaked and sticking to his slender frame. Huli had lost of his fluffiness, making him appear to be an overgrown orange greyhound with too many tails.

Leo chuffed in amusement, but a sharp gasp cut it off. He looked up to find that a wizard had spotted them. The jig was up.

A roar erupted from his throat, startling the rest of the wizards before he leaped at the nearest one in sky-blue robes. The elf tried to block Leo with his staff, but it didn’t stop the massive tiger as they tumbled to the ground in a heap. The poor creature felt like a sack of bones. Leo’s stomach roiled, and he clung to an image of the first time he’d seen Erik. The child had been sitting alone on the couch in that empty house, his round cheeks streaked with dirt and tears, appearing so utterly lost and fragile, his entire world shattered because of these monsters. With that rising rage, Leo had no trouble ripping the wizard’s throat out with his teeth.

More panicked screams rose from within the bubble, and Leo glanced over his shoulder to see the jiuweihu pouncing on a wizard and breaking his neck. His tails snapped behind him with what could have been glee or malice. With Huli, it was hard to tell the difference.

Leo stared at the elf he’d killed, the light extinguished from his green eyes. He wasn’t a killer. He wasn’t even much of a hunter in his cat form. A lazy feline, Leo preferred his meals served in a bowl with a side of chin scratches.

But these monsters wanted to kill his mate and his sweet boy, Erik. They had killed countless humans. No way was he letting them steal the family he’d just found.

A sharp electric snap and crackle filled the air. Leo lifted his eyes, blood dripping from his fangs, to find that the spell holding the dome in place had broken. Kai landed in the field with a ground-shaking thud while Moon’s zombie army poured into the circle held by the wizards. Leo leaped aside to not get trampled by the hoard. The rest of the team was a step behind them. Leo paused for a moment to watch Junjie as he fought with two short swords. His every movement was a graceful dance of death. With each turn and slash, another elf fell dead. And he did it to protect the clan. Leo could do the same.

Not that he was so awfully needed.

The dragon was doing a marvelous job of snatching up the remaining fae wizards in his teeth or stomping them under his feet.

“Ahhh!” Moon screamed.

Leo jumped across the stream to where the vampires had gathered around Moon as he hopped, while shaking his hands.

“Shit! Shit! Shit!” Moon swore, the words blurring into each other.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” Chen had his hands extended to Moon as if he wanted to pull the necromancer into his arms but was afraid to touch him.

“I’m fine. My dumbass fault,” Moon answered with a slight hiss in his words. “I tried to raise that elf wizard Leo killed, but that thing’s brand of magic doesn’t go well with my magic. It was like trying to cram an American plug into a European outlet. Bad news. Don’t do it.” He turned to Chen and gave a full-body shiver before he offered a lopsided smile. “I’m okay now.”

Chen’s fingers curled and his eyes narrowed on his mate. The vampire looked as if he were seconds away from strangling his beloved fledgling.

Xiao Dan cleared his throat, but it sounded like a choked laugh. “We should hurry to help the others. Trin’s attempts at another spell have been stopped, but we need to destroy the fae king to end this once and for all.”

“Of course, Shixiong,” Chen agreed, dropping his hands to his sides.

They raced across the field, the remains of Moon’s zombies in tow. Leo stretched out his long, muscular body, loving the power that coursed through him with every step. Maybe he had been spending too much time as a house cat. Now that Junjie and the Zhang clan knew his secrets, he could lounge about the clan manor in whatever cat form he wanted. Chasing Huli across the manor grounds as a tiger or leopard could be fun, too.

But that errant thought slid right out of his brain as they reached the crowd of fae and vampires who encircled two combatants—Rei and Trin.

At one spot in the circle, Ellora held Aire Bira on her knees with a long knife pressed to her throat. Sweat and blood streaked both fae women. Their eyes stayed locked on former Crown Prince Rei and King Trin. The winner of this battle held the outcome to the ongoing war.

If Trin won, the fae would swarm the Zhang and Varik clans, wiping them out.

But if Rei won, he could seize control of all the fae, ending the war.

With Junjie at Leo’s side, they worked their way over to where the other team had gathered close to Yichen. The vampire’s face was pale and his brown eyes were glassy as he watched his mate fighting with an impressive display of speed and skill.

Junjie placed a hand on Yichen’s shoulder and squeezed.

“I want to help him,” Yichen choked out. “I want to race out there, Jun-Jun, and kill Trin for him.”

“But you can’t,” Junjie replied.

“Then let me do it,” Kai broke in as he came to stand on the other side of Yichen in his human form. “It’ll only take a second.”

“Rei wants to do this alone. He had unfinished business with his mother, and Trin stole his chance to end things with her. He also feels like Trin used and betrayed him when he ascended to the throne. Rei says he doesn’t want to rule his people, but he wants what is best for them.”

“And that’s not Trin.”

The fight ranged across the large circle that had formed, but it was utterly silent as the fae and vampires watched with breath held as they waited for a victor.

Trin and Rei were splashed with blood, and more red smeared their swords from the hits they’d scored on each other. Trin was dressed in shining silver armor that helped to protect him from more than one of Rei’s strikes. On the other hand, Rei wore a much lighter leather armor on his chest and arms, which seemed to at least give him a speed advantage over Trin.

“You’ve abandoned your people,” Trin snarled as their swords clashed against each other. “What right do you have to interfere in their future?”

“I may not want to be their king, but I also won’t allow you to drive the fae to complete ruin.” Rei blocked a slash from Trin and spun away from him. As he did, he swung his sword out so that the tip sliced between two silver plates at the back of Trin’s right knee.

The king shouted and his leg gave out beneath him, sending him to the ground on one knee. But Rei didn’t race in for the kill. He lingered several feet away, as if waiting to see if Trin still had some trick up his sleeve.

“Thousands upon thousands of years ago, when the stars were still being born, and the goddesses walked through our realm each spring to wake the flowers, the door between worlds first opened,” Rei said in a low, firm voice as he circled his half brother. “Bridging the two worlds was never to conquer the human world, but to provide them with a brief gift of our magic. It was to teach us to appreciate the world we have and be grateful that we don’t have half the messes the humans do.”

“We have magic. We are stronger, faster, and more skilled than humans. They don’t deserve this world they are destroying,” Trin countered, sounding as if he were chewing up each word before firing it at Rei. The elf king didn’t rise. He just watched each step Rei took, reminding Leo of a crocodile waiting for the perfect moment to strike its prey.

“We have no right to judge what they do with their world,” Rei snapped. “And by trying to conquer their realm, you have drained our home of its magic. Your greed is killing our people. Take. Them. Home.”

“Lies!”

Trin soared to his feet, lunging straight at Rei. The elf had been waiting for him to act because he had no problem backpedaling and spinning out of the way.

Leo dragged his claws through the dirt, part of him aching to jump in and end this struggle at last. He might not be big on fighting, but the mounting tension was driving him mad. How was Yichen even standing still? If this were his Jun-Jun, he would have charged in twice already. Muscles shifted and tensed under his fur as he prepared to pounce all of his considerable girth onto Trin, but a gentle hand came to rest on the top of Leo’s head. Long, slender fingers threaded through his fur, stroking away some of the unease winding up in him like a spring. Leo tipped his head up to see Junjie staring at him. A smile played on his pale lips while worry still weighed heavily in his eyes.

“Rei will succeed,” Junjie murmured.

The words were barely off Junjie’s tongue when horror struck.

Rei was in retreat and the heel of his boot caught on a divot of dirt. The entire world seemed to slow as Trin rushed him while Rei fought to regain his balance. Rei lifted his blade to block Trin, but the elf king batted it aside with his own sword before plunging it right at Rei’s heart. The elf twisted his body at the last second, narrowly dodging the blade.

Yichen’s panicked scream rang out across the silent field, but Leo’s eyes remained locked on Rei as he flashed his half brother a wicked grin. Rei brought up his left hand to reveal a small knife clutched in his fist. Trin had no time to react as Rei slammed it into Trin’s neck up to the hilt.

Blood sprayed out across both of them. Trin released his hold on his sword, allowing it to fall to the earth with a heavy thud. He staggered back three steps, a horrible wet gurgling and choking sound rising from him. He collapsed to the ground, and a heavy silence crashed over the field. The fae king was dead.

Yichen ran to Rei and caught him as he fell. One arm cradling him from behind, Yichen eased him to the ground while checking his wounds. Leo ran with the rest of the vampires and shifted as he reached Rei and Yichen. Philippe muscled his way to Rei’s other side and began pulling gauze and bandages from a black bag.

“ Shhh , Yiyi…I’m okay,” Rei crooned, though his voice sounded breathless with fatigue.

“You’re covered in blood,” Yichen growled.

“Come on. You know it’s not all my blood. They’re just little wounds, and they’re already healing. Look at how Philippe is bandaging me up nicely. The bleeding will stop in a minute. Besides, who here hasn’t been stabbed?”

“Um…not me,” Rafe interjected.

“Me neither,” Aiden chimed in.

“Shut. Up.” Rei ground out those two words between his teeth. He turned his attention to Yichen, who was still too pale and seeming as if he wanted to kill a few more fae as payback. “My Yiyi, I will heal and we are going to spend eternity together. Possibly annoying your family the entire time. Doesn’t that sound wonderful?”

“You’re evil, and I love you.” Yichen silenced Rei’s nonsense with a slow, sweet kiss.

Leo turned his attention to Junjie, ready to point out that the Zhang clan was free, but his gaze caught on the many hundreds of elves still circling them.

This was not over.