Page 67

“Are you alright?” Puck asked, wiping his Katana off on his jacket.

I nodded, taking in big, heaping gulps of air.

“Good. Get the antidote. Let’s end this.” He nodded at me once before turning and disappearing back into the melee. I could see him moving towards Tess to engage in the Noctani she currently battled with.

I turned back towards my pack, hoping I could quietly sneak inside it. I moved towards it quickly but silently, hoping not to draw attention to myself. My sword was long forgotten in the clamor of battle but Stormslayer was still tight in my grip, and Stormslayer was the blade I needed to administer the antidote.

My eyes never left the pack, my gaze focused on it as I moved towards it. As I neared closer, a pair of familiar boots entered the peripheral of my vision.

Nikolai stopped before me. He was equally as close to the pack as I was, and it lay mere feet away from me. I needed to dip this sword into the liquid. Coat the blade in magic.

I just needed to get my fucking bag.

“What’s wrong, Firecracker?” he called over the mayhem, a sadistic smile across his lips. “Not going the way that you planned?”

My gaze darted towards the others. Kenna was on her knees, a dagger buried in her thigh as Saanvi rushed to her side. Puck and Tess fought a Nightshade that was faster than any I had ever seen before. Zion fought Isaac, and while I thought they would be equally matched, Isaac was easily overtaking him. Annelise and Amiyah fought, too. Three of the five resistance members who had joined us lay dead in the dirt beneath the glint of the moon. It appeared as if Kenna was going to join them soon if Saanvi couldn’t get that blade out and heal her. And fast.

I didn’t hesitate, I lunged for the pack.

I rolled in the dirt, my face and body coated in blood and dirt as I kicked up even more earth around me to distract him. Nik’s eyes lit with surprise, as if he had half expected me to simply stand there and argue with him.

I grasped the pack and took off at a sprint. Nikolai was faster, he was always faster. He took off after me, close on my heels in an instant. I rushed through the trees, circling around them to put more space between us and buy me time as I pried the top of the pack open and slid my hand inside. When my hand grasped the bottle, I let the pack slip from my fingers, the antidote safely in my grip. I turned towards Nikolai, popping the top off and sliding Stormslayer inside.

He took a hesitant step back.

“What is that?”

“What’s wrong, Nikolai? Are you afraid?” I asked, a teasing edge to my voice. Now that I had coated the blade in the antidote, I needed to bait him closer.

I could sense the spell down to my bones, a strong and heady pulse. It throbbed up the arm that gripped Stormslayer, syncing to the gallop of my beating heart.

Nikolai took another step back. My gaze traveled from the blade up to him.

This had to work.

It had to.

I sprinted forward headlong towards Nik, Stormslayer extended between us. I needed to bury it beneath his ribcage, lodge it in his chest. Then this would all be over. Nik deflected my first blow, smashing my arm with the blade off to the side. I held tight to Stormslayer as my arm smarted. I whirled, thrusting the blade upwards once more.

He blocked again, his mouth curving into a smile. “Having fun?”

I grunted as he kicked out hard, his boot connecting with my thigh. I buckled but managed to keep my stance, pain searing through my leg. Nik’s eyes were eager as he moved forward, tackling me to the ground. The impact of his body crashing into mine was jarring, his leg wrapping around me to hold me down against the packed earth.

I tried to shrink away, but his grip on me was tight.

I was utterly exhausted. My hair was plastered to my neck with blood and sweat, my breaths coming in short, quick pants. But I raised my chin as I steeled myself, crashing my head back against his. Unlike the last Nightshade, he didn’t release me, but I still saw stars behind my vision.

“Little devil—” But his words were cut off by a shriek that shook the very earth beneath us. It sent a tingle down my spine that chilled me to my core.

Nik had my forearms grasped in his hands as my gaze searched for the source as the scream continued, piercing the air with a shrill cry.

Annelise was on her knees, a Noctani holding a blade to her throat. Zion was shaking his head in disbelief, standing over a Noctani he had killed.

Puck was cradling Tess in his arms, rocking her back and forth.

Her eyes were closed, her body motionless.

No… she couldn’t be. She wasn’t. She had to only be injured.