Page 152 of A Vow of Shadow and Blood

But my heart only lurches when I see the deadly figure that steps out behind her, his eyes searching the space until they land on me. I might be crazy, but for a fleeting moment relief softens his features—before the stony mask returns, the one that promises death.

Karius.

Power thrums inside my very being at his proximity, and I feel it charging up my veins like lightning. He came. Julian lets out a loud growl, and the remaining impures come to life. One runs at Ivana, its movement more beast than human as it charges on all fours in her direction. She sticks out a hand in front of her just as the creature reaches her, casting a smaller shadow portal. The creature lets out a strangled howl as it skids against the ground in a bid to stop, but it’s too late; its momentum carries it straight through the dark mass of shadows. She snaps her hand closed, and the circle disappears. She lifts her hand in the air, casting another shadow portal several feet above her. She doesn’t even look up as the same creature appears from the mass, falling from the sky toward her. She lifts her blade, and the creature screeches as it’s impaled, the sharp tip piercing its heart. She drops the corpse to the ground before spinning to fight another running in her direction.

Julian shouts out in anger, his voice thundering through the sky as his eyes turn the same dark black as the others. He throws Willow to the ground as though she is nothing, and then all chaos breaks loose. Creatures charge toward Ivana, bearing sharp teeth that seem to elongate as they gallop closer to her.

More race toward where Kaia and I are, but we stand our ground. Before they can reach us, a dark shadow figure forms before us in the shape of a soldier. It stretches out its hands, plunging them into the chests of the creatures and ripping their hearts out with ease before throwing them to the ground. The two impures fall dead instantly.

My eyes turn to find Karius as he whips his sword through the air with deadly precision, twisting just in time to slice the sharp blade through the throat of an impure charging at him. He’s controlling his shadow soldiers without even breaking a sweat.

“Shit,” Kaia says from beside me, and I follow her gaze up to the decrepit buildings before us and find at least fifty more impures perched on the jagged, broken edges, ready to jump into battle at any minute.

“Karius,” I scream out. He catches my attention for a mere second as I point to the others readying to attack. He says nothing but continues his assault on the ones on the ground.

Ivana clashes with two creatures that lunge at her, her strikes swift and lethal. She moves so fast that she’s almost a blur, and I realize that she didn’t even show half of what she’s capable of in the training room. Another impure leaps down from its perch above, landing behind her, but she doesn’t see it. I’m about to scream out when a shadow blade swipes across its neck, taking it straight off its shoulders. My eyes land on Ajax, and I can’t help but smile.

“You look happy to see me, Red,” he says as he lifts his hand, and a flurry of shadow arrows flies through the air, sinking into the chests of several creatures.

“I am,” I cry. “Your powers are back.”

He nods. “Your boy, Finn, isn’t too bad. Hold tight. He’s on his way with a dose for you both.”

He vanishes into the press of bodies, while Julian stays rooted, hidden behind the shield of impures he commands, sending more forward to die as the others are cut down.

“We need to kill him,” I tell Kaia.

“With pleasure.”

Just then, Piper stumbles into the mass. Her eyes widen as she takes in the chaos before us.

“What the…”

I look down and find two vials clutched in her hand.

“I’m sorry about what happened to you,” I say, taking her by surprise.

She nods. “It’s not your fault, Adina, and I’ll be ok. Let's just kill these things once and for all, and talk about it when we get home.”

Her words make me laugh, and a beautiful smile breaks out on her face.

“Agreed,” I say.

“Drink these, they don’t take long to kick in,” she says, shoving the vials into my hand. I pass one to Kaia before downing the yellow liquid myself. I try not to heave as the acrid taste burns the back of my throat.

“What the hell is in this?” I ask as I feel the tingle throughout my entire body.

“Does it matter if it brings your powers back?” I turn to find Finn standing with a smile on his face.

“You can’t be here. It’s not safe.”

He holds up an empty vial and shakes it in the air. “Don’t worry, beautiful, I’m juiced up.”

I shake my head, but the moment is short-lived when I see one of the creatures swinging its extended black claws through the air, aiming straight for Piper.

Iscream her name as the creature descends. It swings its sharp talons through the air, and I watch in slow motion as they head in the direction of her chest. I can’t get to it fast enough, and there’s no way she can dodge it. The entire world slows around me as my chest clutches in terror at the sight of what’s about to happen, but suddenly she disappears, her body becoming a mass of shadows. The dark tendrils twist and curl through the air like serpents as they wrap around the creature’s body. An unearthly screech fills the air as the tendrils tighten to an unbearable hold, squeezing until an explosion of flesh and blood shoots through the air, decorating the ground with the creature’s remains.

My eyes fix on the space, captivated as dark wisps of shadow weave together until Piper stands before me. I suck in a breath, struck by the realization that I’ve never seen her use her power.Our eyes meet, and relief floods me as she grins, standing there unscathed.