Page 34

Emil stalked forward, spurred on by the scent of his prey’s blood, but when he darted to the right, clearly intent on capitalizing on her already-wounded side, his steps faltered.

Inside, I was screaming as Emil’s body carried him forward, the momentum too much to stop even as his right leg buckled beneath him.

Then he stumbled straight onto Adrienne’s sword.

The blonde ranger choked back a sob as she released the hilt immediately and grabbed each of the Strigoi’s wrists, preventing him from swiping those talons through her throat. She’d punctured his heart, but it would take him a few minutes to die.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” she sobbed over and over again as she lowered her friend to the ground. Emil only snarled in return, fighting to get free, even as his lifeblood poured into the ground beneath him. Slowly, she pulled her sword from his chest and rose to her full height.

I tore my gaze away from them and looked at my aunt as tears streaked down my rain-soaked face.

Her dark, stony gaze found mine, and without hesitation, she gave the next order. “Nyx, kill Adrienne.”

“No!” I screamed and renewed my efforts to get free, only for Kieran and Alaric to hold me back.

“We can’t, Sam,” Kieran said through clenched teeth. “There’s nothing we can fucking do.”

I knew he was right even if I didn’t want to accept it. The only reason I stopped fighting was because the rangers standing nearby took a threatening step forward.

Thunder and lightning cracked and sounded over us before the rainfall became more of a deluge as the sky opened up. I shoved my hair away from my face and looked to where Nyx had been waiting while Adrienne and Emil had fought.

The spot was empty.

Adrienne grunted as she brought up her sword just in time to keep Nyx from clawing out her eyes. She’d also angled her sword so that the flat side made contact with Nyx’s forearm, a vicious snarl tearing from Nyx’s throat as they darted back before hurling themself at Adrienne again.

There was no deadly elegance to their movements like there had been to Emil’s and Adrienne’s. Just a feral intensity to rend and claw through flesh. Again and again, they struck at Adrienne, and every time, she deflected Nyx’s attacks without doing them harm.

But the defense-only tactic came with a cost, because Adrienne’s blood now soaked the ground along with Emil’s who, based on his slowly rising chest, was still alive but not long for this world.

“Nyx,” I half whimpered, but there was no sign of my friend in those wild, dark eyes.

My relationship with Nyx was complicated.

I’d known them at Drudonia, then they’d disappeared and only reentered my life when I’d returned to House Harker, but in my time back, I’d picked up on how close they were with Vail and his rangers—especially Adrienne.

I knew the older ranger viewed Nyx as a younger sibling.

And Carmilla had to know it too. For all the rage I felt towards her now, my aunt knew her people well.

This was a test to see how far the crown could push people against their instincts.

If it could turn them against those they loved.

Her pitting Adrienne and Emil against each other had been bad enough, but Adrienne and Nyx?

Carmilla was responsible for so many deaths—including those of my parents—and while I hated her for it, those had been tactical and efficient.

Carmilla could have just ordered her rangers to cut down anyone here with a crossbow bolt to the heart.

This felt cruel for cruelty’s sake. Something I hadn’t thought her capable of until now.

Despite how much Adrienne was bleeding, it seemed obvious she could win this fight at any moment she chose.

Emil had challenged her, forcing her to dig down deep and fight to the best of her abilities, but Nyx’s fighting skills had devolved.

Maybe because they were younger or because the crown’s magic had hit them harder.

They were only still standing because Adrienne couldn’t bear to strike them down.

Alaric shifted his grip so that his arm was around my waist while Kieran’s remained across my shoulders.

Alaric had been quiet during all of this, but I could feel the tension and fear radiating off him.

What we were watching was his greatest fear—losing himself to bloodlust and becoming Strigoi.

He’d witnessed his cousin suffer a similar fate, and it still haunted him to this day.

Kieran had also grown silent. I knew he considered Adrienne a friend. All of us were silently suffering in our own hells as we watched Adrienne try to avoid hers—to kill a friend . . . or die by their hand.

The rangers close to us shifted on their feet as Nyx stumbled back from another of Adrienne’s deflecting blows. Then Adrienne shoved the young ranger forward, even as they whirled and snarled at her.

“ Nyx ,” my aunt’s voice, infused with magic, rang out. “ Finish this. ”

Please , I begged the crown again. Do something.

I . . . cannot.

You must! I screamed through our connection and could practically feel it wince. I will do anything. Just make this stop.

Little queen , its voice whispered through my mind. You have no idea the cruelties I’ve seen. This is one of many. If you do not wish to experience this again, you must reclaim what is yours.

Whatever words I was about to hopelessly plead died as Nyx leapt towards Adrienne, talons outstretched.

Adrienne backed up a few steps, but she was too close to the rangers who had moved to stand guard in front of Carmilla, and they shoved her forward.

As if moving on instinct, Adrienne dropped one hand from the hilt of her sword to wrap it around Nyx’s throat, catching them midair.

Then, with one fluid movement, Adrienne had Nyx pinned to the ground by their throat .

. . with her sword buried in their chest.

Her sword pierced Nyx at an angle, so if she pushed down on it, the blade would have shred their heart. The predator in Nyx sensed this and went still, their talon-tipped hands wrapped around Adrienne’s hand on the hilt of the sword.

For a second, it felt like everything paused. I didn’t hear the storm or feel the rain on my face. The only thing that existed was Adrienne and Nyx.

“I love you. Never forget that.” Adrienne’s voice didn’t waver once, her golden hair draped around her face as she held the sword between herself and Nyx. “I know you will find your way back from this. Do not blame yourself.”

With that promise and command voiced into the world, Adrienne pulled her hand away from Nyx’s throat and loosened her grip on the sword.

Time unfroze, and I watched in horror as Nyx’s talons shot up . . . and ripped out Adrienne’s throat.

A fragmented scream of denial poured out of me, and Alaric’s and Kieran’s grasps didn’t slip, but I felt their bodies go rigid next to mine.

Blood flowed from Adrienne’s torn flesh directly into Nyx’s mouth, and they lapped it up hungrily as I alternated between sobs and strangled screams.

“You could have avoided this, my dear, if you had just come with me when I asked,” my aunt called out over the rain that pounded into the ground.

I raised my gaze from where Adrienne had collapsed on top of Nyx and pushed aside the hungry sounds of feeding to meet my aunt’s eyes.

“Someday, I might have forgiven you for what you did to me, maybe even what was done to Draven under your watch, but I will never forgive you for this. And if there are any rangers here tonight whose minds you haven’t scrambled, let this be an example of how you repay loyalty. ”

A few of the rangers shifted uneasily and traded pointed looks with each other while others sneered at me, but most of those lined up directly behind Carmilla didn’t react at all.

They just continued to stare blankly ahead.

Not even reacting to the Strigoi hungrily feasting on the blood of one of their own mere feet from where they sat astride their horses.

Or to Emil—one of the most well-respected rangers in the Moroi realm—who had finally gone still.

A cold, hard bitterness settled in my gut. She had used the crown on them despite telling me many times that she would only use the crown’s magic when absolutely necessary. Apparently she found it necessary to strip the free will of sixty rangers and force them to serve her.

As much as that disturbed me, there was a silver lining.

The half of the crown that Vail had given her had the ability to see a soul.

I took that to mean she could see a person’s true intentions.

If my aunt felt the need to compel loyalty from so many of these rangers .

. . she must have seen that they didn’t believe in her plan.

I had to figure out a way to break them free of the crown’s magic and to get it away from her so she couldn't cause any more harm to our people.

“Do I need to continue the demonstration, or will you—” Carmilla’s words were cut off when an agonized howl cut through the night.

My gaze fell back to Nyx, and I inhaled sharply. Kieran and Alaric did the same beside me.

The only occurrences of Strigoi becoming Moroi again had been the first generation of Moroi—the humans who had used magic to become something else.

The Moroi, Velesians, and Furies. That first generation was special for each of our groups.

For the Moroi, they were the only ones we knew of who had lost their humanity . . . and reclaimed it.

Outside of that generation though, it was a known fact that once a Moroi became a Strigoi, there was no coming back.

Nyx was no longer feeding on Adrienne. Instead, they were cradling her close and rocking her back and forth. I saw their lips moving, but I couldn’t hear their words over the rainfall. Nobody moved as Nyx grieved the ranger they had loved like a sister.

“‘I’m sorry. Please wake up,’” Kieran murmured, somehow figuring out what Nyx kept repeating.

Oh gods.

“Nyx.” My voice broke as I called to them. Slowly, they raised their head to look at me. “Not possible,” I breathed out, because Nyx’s eyes were no longer the solid deep blue of night. Now, bright blue threads weaved their way through the darkness.

When Moroi let their bloodlust rise, it was like racing along the edge of a cliff.

Most made sure to keep a decent amount of space between them and that edge—some, like Alaric, preferred to never go near it.

The rangers liked to live dangerously, trusted themselves not to slip while getting as close as possible.

Nyx had gone over that edge. I was sure of it. Now, they were clawing themself back up.

But when another ranger stepped forward, the brightness in their eyes faded, and Nyx released a sharp snarl in warning. Not all the way back . . . but not completely lost to us either.

“Interesting,” Carmilla murmured. I tore my gaze from Nyx and glared at my aunt, who was staring at the young ranger in quiet contemplation. “It would be handy to be able to turn humanity on and off like a switch.”

Nyx swiveled their head towards my aunt. I couldn’t see their expression, but whatever was in it had Carmilla blanching. Carefully, Nyx settled Adrienne onto the ground and rose, black talons once again extending from their fingers.

“Stop,” Carmilla ordered, her horse shifting its hooves nervously beneath her. Nyx stopped and held still for a heartbeat . . . then they took another step. “Do not move.”

I held my breath as Nyx once again stopped, then took another step after a few seconds passed.

Well, isn’t that fascinating? the crown’s voice swept through my mind.

“How?” I choked as the word slipped from my lips. I felt Kieran’s and Alaric’s gazes on me but couldn’t look away from where Nyx was fighting to get to Carmilla.

I don’t know , the crown finally admitted after hesitating.

Several of the horses snorted in distress and pulled against their reins as the rangers tried to keep them under control. Carmilla glanced at them with a frown before looking around the woods. I did the same, scanning the darkness, looking for any sign of a threat.

For quite possibly the first time in my life, I wished for a monster attack. We needed a diversion, and I had faith in us to use the chaos to our advantage and slip away—with Nyx, because there was no chance I was leaving them behind.

Carmilla’s mount reared up, and the unease of the rest of the horses increased.

Something had them seriously spooked, I just had no idea what.

My aunt looked past me, the corners of her eyes and mouth pinched.

“I have no quarrel with House Devereux, but I’ll be taking the members of my House.

If you choose to fight me, know that we’ll hunt down your children. ”

“You can try, bitch,” Celestina snarled.

I glanced quickly over my shoulder and saw her standing in front of her husband, a long, curved sword in her hands and eyes glowing with menace.

She would fight. And she would die.

My eyes went to Emil and Adrienne. No more deaths tonight. I’d escaped Carmilla’s grasp once. I could do it again.

I moved my hand behind me, where it would be visible to Roth’s parents, and made the signal for stand down .

All rangers, regardless of which House they owed allegiance, used a system of gestures for communicating when speaking aloud was ill-advised.

Technically, none of Roth’s family were rangers, but House Devereux was a warrior clan, so I had no doubt they knew the gestures.

“Nyx goes with them.” I jerked my head over my shoulder towards Roth. “You’ve caused them enough pain.”

“No. Nyx comes too. I want to—” Carmilla cursed as her horse reared again.

As soon as its hooves hit the ground, it shied into the ranger’s horse next to it.

“Grab Nyx and Samara and let’s go,” she said through gritted teeth as her mount tried to bolt and she barely kept it in check.

All the horses looked on the verge of running.

I could hear ours stamping their feet behind us as well.

Something was coming.

Half a dozen rangers stepped towards Nyx and another half a dozen towards us.

“Anyone have any bright ideas on how to get out of this?” Kieran asked tightly as he angled himself slightly in front of me.

“Nothing’s coming to mind,” Alaric replied in an equally strained voice.

Both of them were looking at the rangers approaching us.

Something, a vague feeling, had me looking to the sky, which meant I saw what no one else did—the dark streak flying through the air on silent wings made of night and shadow.

The rangers were halfway to us when she slammed into the earth between us, cutting off their approach. Leathery black wings spread out from the Furie’s back as shadows spun around her, like the night was thrilled by her presence.

Then, glowing golden eyes met mine as the Furie looked over her shoulder.

“Cali,” I breathed out.