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W arrick’s sword clashed with Puck’s as he jumped in front of me, protecting me.

I quickly slid Stormslayer back into the sheath at my thigh in favor of Nik’s sword.

I pulled it from the scabbard at my back just in time to clash with the blade of a Nightshade soldier from Donika’s army.

I grunted against the impact; the vibration traveling up my arms, my teeth clenching.

Donika had kept back more soldiers than we had projected, and as I had suspected… it was a trap. She wanted us to breach the castle walls. She wanted us to infiltrate the throne room. She had a force of Nightshade soldiers waiting for us.

There weren’t so many that we couldn’t defeat them, but there were certainly enough to keep us busy and to keep my fear singing in my blood. We needed to dispatch these soldiers and find Donika. Would she be in her personal chambers? Hiding like the coward she was ?

I spun out of the way as the soldier brought his sword down towards me.

It hit the marble floor with a spark; the soldier losing his balance and tipping forward.

He hadn’t expected me to be so fast. I took advantage of his slip and brought my sword up, swinging it towards the back of his head where the skin was exposed between his helmet and breastplate.

It lodged into his neck with a sickening thud and he fell to his knees.

Blood spurted over me, coating my blade.

I hadn’t swung it with enough force to decapitate him entirely.

Nik’s sword was heavy, and I hadn’t trained enough using it.

I internally cursed myself as I pressed my foot against his shoulder, pulling the blade free.

I swung once more, finishing the job. His head rolled to the marble floor, eyes fixed on the ceiling, unseeing.

“Diana!” It was Warrick’s voice that roared from behind me.

I had no time to turn towards him. Another soldier was already upon me.

This one was much smaller and faster than the first. He swung his blade, and it hit mine with a reverberating shock, but this time I had been expecting it.

I pushed back with all my might, and he stepped back.

I swung the blade down in the same moment, finding the sliver of skin exposed between his arm cuffs and hand.

The hand holding his sword severed easily, falling to the throne room floor with a grotesque thump.

I had to stop myself from gagging as blood pooled around the stump, the soldier screaming out and grasping his now severed hand .

“Diana, I never meant for any of this to happen, but you brought this on yourself by coming here!” Warrick cried.

I turned to see him still locked in battle with Puck, and from the looks of it, they were evenly matched.

Puck had never been able to defeat Warrick in our one-on-one training sessions, but Warrick was Noctani now.

He was faster and stronger. He also had bruising across the back of his neck, the skin around his eye blackened.

He had taken a beating—from who I wasn’t sure—but if his fresh injuries were any indication, this wasn’t his first battle of the day.

Another soldier stood between us, a smile on his lips. His lip was split open, blood coating his teeth as he peered down at me. He didn’t swing first but rather came at me with his shoulder, trying to throw me off balance. I stepped back reluctantly, trying my best to keep my footing.

I swung my sword first, and he parried, holding off my blade. I hadn’t had a chance to wipe it off, and it was still coated in the blood of the last two soldiers I had killed. The soldier let out a gruff moan as he pushed back, bringing his sword down again and again.

Each time I met his blows, surprise flitted over his expression.

My fingers gripped Stormslayer, and I pulled the blade free from its sheath once more, gripping it tightly in my nondominant hand.

When our blades clashed together once more, I used less power in my sword arm, allowing the soldier to fall towards me.

Surprise flashed across his expression right before I plunged Stormslayer into his neck.

Blood dripped from his mouth, coating his busted lip with fresh crimson .

He fell to his knees, gurgling.

I slid Stormslayer free and turned towards Warrick once more.

“He’s mine,” I ground out between my teeth.

Puck shot a glance at me over his shoulder as he watched me step up to them. He seamlessly backed away from Warrick, allowing me to step in.

“I didn’t want it to come to this, Diana.” Warrick’s voice was strained.

“Too bad,” I said, bringing my sword in an arc towards him. “I thought you were dead .”

He easily batted it away. Warrick was the one who had trained me, after all. After Nik. He knew my moves, and I knew his.

“I was,” he ground out. “Diana, please. I need you to listen to me.” His voice was pleading, and my brow creased in confusion.

“The time for talking has long past,” I replied, my sword clashing powerfully with his.

His face was coated in blood and grime. Any light that had once been in his green eyes had been swallowed by darkness.

“How dare you wear her brand,” I said, motioning towards the breastplate. “How dare you fight against us!”

I ducked low, swinging against the back of his knees. He quickly jumped out of the way before I could sever the back of his legs.

“I never wanted for any of this to happen,” he cried, pushing towards me .

I shook my head as the level of emotion in his voice shocked me. I stepped back, mirroring his steps. “It doesn’t matter what you wanted .”

He stifled a sob as it tried to escape his throat. “I only wanted to save my family.”

“ We were your family. We could have helped them. There was never a chance in hell Donika would have given them back to you after you betrayed us. You are a fool . And now you are simply one of her monsters.” My voice dripped venom as I let the sword fall to my side.

Warrick shook his head. “I didn’t want any of you to risk yourselves to save them. Risk the resistance. I thought I was thinking about the bigger picture.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Didn’t want us to risk ourselves? But you were just as happy to turn us over to save them?”

He could see that I was backing him into a corner and his footsteps turned to the side, bringing us back towards the center of the throne room.

“That was never the plan. I wasn’t going to turn you over to her. I wouldn’t do that.”

I raised a brow at him. “What do you think happened back there?” I asked. “You led her straight to us. And now? Now that you are under her spell ?”

He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I never wanted that. She tortured me!”

Spit flew from my mouth, my voice lethal as I cried back, “ I know all about Donika’s torture, you fucking coward, and not once did I give anyone up to save myself. ”

His black eyes dimmed, resigned. “Then you are stronger than I am,” he replied.

I scoffed. “That’s more than obvious. Torture is no excuse. You betrayed us . Turned your back on us. You’ll meet your end at the tip of my blade.”

Warrick swallowed hard as I brought my sword up again, moving towards him in earnest.

“What can I do to convince you?” he asked.

Pleaded. His voice was desperate.

“Nothing,” I hissed, our blades clashing together again.

“She kept me here and tortured me, beat me. Turned me into this monster ! Made me meet you here in the throne room. I never wanted any of this .”

“Made you? No . She didn’t make you turn against us. Didn’t make you battle us here, killing resistance members that you once called family. You chose . And you chose wrong. You are a coward and a liar.”

When my blade met his again, he pressed me back, and I slipped against the blood-stained marble, scrambling to keep my footing. A sting pressed against my abdomen, right below my ribcage. My hand pressed against the flesh there, and when it came free, it was covered in fresh blood.

I narrowed my eyes in confusion.

Warrick’s blade hadn’t touched me.

I felt down the bond, but it was dull. As if I were wading through quicksand. A thick haze coated the emotions that were once so crystal clear.

Nik.

He was blocking me out.

He was injured.

I couldn’t go to him. Couldn’t run out onto the battlefield to protect him and make sure he was all right. I had to trust that the resistance would have his back, as they had mine.

If he died, I died.

We were wasting time. We needed to find Donika, and we needed to find her now .

Blood dripped from the wound to soak through my shirt, thickly coating my leather jacket.

Nik’s wound was my wound.

Warrick stared at me—his mouth open. I used his distraction as my opening. I hit him across the shoulder with my sword and the blow took him by surprise. Before he could get his own sword up between us, I twisted to kick him, and he fell to his knees.

“I’ll make it quick,” I told him.

I raised Stormslayer between us.

His eyes fell on the blade, a soft smile crossing his lips.

He recognized it.

Recognized what it meant to me.

To Nik.

I glared down at him, my own emotions warring inside of me that Noctani could show such emotion. Such humanity . It went against everything we thought about them.

“Mother, forgive me,” he whispered, right before I sliced Stormslayer across his throat.