Page 113

I shook my head. I couldn’t think of that right now. The only thing I could afford to focus on was the next kill.

The next creature.

Soon enough, I was forced to focus on only the way my blade sliced into another demon’s chest.

Cutting off another creature’s head.

An arm.

Another chest.

I killed and killed, making my way down the hallway as I waited for Voiler to return with the other fighters.

Some goddess-damned help would be nice.

Two more vampyres approached. I turned, risking a glance over my shoulder to see if someone—anyone—was coming to help me fight them off, but found a hallway full of corpses.

No, it was just me.

Me and more bloodsuckers.

A roar of frustration escaped me. My shoulder burned as I lifted Venom again, diving the gore-covered blade into another vampyre’s heart.

I moved to pull the blade out, but my hand slipped.

Fuck.

There was too much blood, making everything slippery.

The second vampyre sunk its teeth into my other shoulder.

I shoved it away, its predatory growl making me shiver as I scrambled to find Venom’s handle.

The body around my blade crumbled. I pulled Venom out just in time. But not before one of the boney, sharp claws sliced my thigh.

I stabbed the second in the chest before limping over both bodies.

Keep moving, Huntyr. That won’t be the last.

Exhaustion tore away at my limbs, the gouge on my thigh burning. I was losing blood, way too much blood.

Where were the mentors? The protectors? The other fighters in this damn castle? Why was I the only one fending them off? The entire castle would be taken, I was sure of it.

I could fight a few vampyres, sure. But this?

There were too fucking many.

My movements grew sluggish, as did my senses. I was too distracted by the radiating pain in my thigh to notice the vampyre approaching behind me.

When its disgusting fingertips dug into my shoulders, I spun, but it was too late. The creature’s weight had thrown me off balance, and we both fell to the ground with a thud, the decomposing body falling on top of me.

I cried out, immediately scrambling to get the creature off me, but not before its teeth dug into my bicep.

I tried to dig deep, tried to find some hidden source of strength deep inside of me to fight harder, to shove its crumbling body off mine, but I had already lost too much blood. My vision blurred, my limbs grew weaker with every agonizing draw of blood into the creature’s mouth.

I hated it. I fucking hated this academy for allowing these vampyres to enter. I hated myself for allowing the damn thing to get this close.

“Huntyr!” Wolf’s voice filled the hallway, a low boom that forced my eyes to shoot open.