obsidian. He flexed his fingers and the long claws that gleamed onyx in the firelight.
She walked toward him and rose on her tiptoes to place her lips against his. His arms wrapped around her, holding her tight. His fangs gently scraped her lip, but instead of hurting, she found the sensation thrilling, and dangerous.
He released her and she moved against the wall. Lucan stood in front of her and a little to her left so she could see Fallon.
Her heart pounded in her chest and her stomach dipped and pitched so much she thought she might be sick. She wasn’t ready for this no matter what she had told Lucan. But no amount of training could have readied her for the coming attack.
She pulled in a shaky breath and made her fingers loosen on her weapons. She held them too tight, was too nervous. They would be knocked out of her hands without much force.
With a great amount of effort, she steadied her breathing and tried to calm her racing heart. Lucan and the others had taught her how to stay out of reach of the wyrrans and the Warriors. All she had to do was stay near Lucan. He would protect her.
An eerie scream that wasn’t human sounded from one of the towers. Cara’s heart lurched.
“It seems one of the wyrran found a trap,” Fallon said with a joyful smile.
The castle shook as something broke through the stones in an upper part of the castle. Roars and growls and wails of pain reverberated through the castle. Cara shivered and moved closer to Lucan.
The urge to run and hide was strong, but she was a Druid, a woman who had been gifted with the griffin symbol from her lover. She would not run.
Fallon lifted his swords over his head with a battle cry that would have made any Highlander proud, as the first wyrran entered the hall. He cleaved the beast’s head off and rotated his swords as he waited for the next.
They didn’t have long to wait.
Wyrran poured through the great hall like ants. They crawled down the walls, their pale eyes focused on her. Their inhuman screams made her tremble and long to cover her ears.
“Cara.”
Lucan’s voice jerked her out of her fear. He gave her a quick nod over his shoulder before he bent his knees and waited for the next wyrran.
It was a beautiful sight watching Lucan fight. He moved with such grace and skill and beauty that for a moment she forgot her life was in danger.
A blur out of the corner of her eye was the only warning she got that a wyrran had come after her. She lifted her sword and spun around. There was a shriek as her blade penetrated the creature’s chest. She wasted no time in cutting off its head.
But as soon as that one fell, two more took its place.
The hall faded away as she focused on the two wyrran. They moved as quickly as she did, but she managed to use her dagger to slice one’s ribs while she severed the tendons in the back of the other’s knee.
When it went down, she chopped off its head. She sucked in a breath as claws raked down her back. She was careful not to cry out and cause Lucan to lose concentration while he fought. Instead, she ducked and spun, using her dagger to cut the wyrran’s head from its hairless body.
* * *
Quinn leapt from the top of the battlements to the bailey below where a blue-skinned Warrior had just come through the gate house. He landed atop the Warrior and sank his claws in the man’s neck. The Warrior howled and reached back to scour the side of Quinn’s face with his claws.
Quinn bit back a curse as pain lanced through him, but the pain became anger, fueling his need to kill. He gripped the man’s head and tried to twist it to break his neck, but the Warrior anticipated Quinn’s move and bent over.
Quinn lost his hold on the Warrior and fell to the ground. He ducked his head and rolled. He came to his feet with a twist to face the Warrior.
“You won’t win,” the Warrior said. “No one wins against Deirdre.”
Quinn laughed as he recognized his blue foe as the Warrior he had fought in the first battle. “Then you havena tried hard enough. We’ve stayed out of her evil clutches for over three hundred years.”
“Ah, but the Druid will be your downfall.”
Quinn narrowed his gaze as they circled each other. “What do you mean?”
“Exactly what I said.” The Warrior bared his teeth and ran his tongue over his fangs. “Deirdre wants all of you alive, but I’ve a need for blood this night.”
“Imagine that. So do I.”
They clashed with a bone-jarring crash. Quinn jerked his arm away before the Warrior could sink his sharp fangs into him. He threw back his head and roared as the Warrior wrapped his arms around Quinn’s middle and squeezed.
Quinn head-butted the royal blue Warrior, sending him stumbling backward. It was enough for him to loosen his hold and for Quinn to break free. As soon as Quinn’s feet hit the ground he threw the Warrior against the castle. He fell to the ground with a resounding thud.
The Warrior rose up on his elbow and shook his head. Quinn had wanted a fight for a long time. It felt good to give in to the rage and bloodlust.
A shout from above drew his attention. He looked up to find Hayden and three wyrran fighting, Hayden’s red skin glowing in the moonlight as he threw a ball of fire at the ugly creatures.
When Quinn turned back, the Warrior was gone. Quinn cursed and hurried into the castle, only to stop in his tracks when he saw the sheer number of wyrran in the great hall.
“Holy hell,” he murmured.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Lucan lost count of the number of wyrran he had killed. Their dead bodies littered the great hall, and he had to watch himself so he didn’t trip over them. For every one wyrran he killed, another three took its place. They were everywhere, their wails making his ears ring.
He glanced at Cara as often as he could. She stayed near him, just as he’d asked. She had also managed to kill her share of wyrran, though he noticed one had given her a nasty cut down her back.
She moved with the speed and agility that she had shown in their training, but she was tiring. She wouldn’t be able to last much longer. And with the numbers of the wyrran, they could be battling until dawn.
Lucan fought his way closer to her so he could take on more of the wyrran. She gave him a quick smile of thanks before she plunged her dagger into one of the yellow creature’s chests, then lopped off its head with her sword.
Movement near the castle door caught his attention. He looked up to see Quinn enter the castle. A moment later he dove into the fray.
Somehow, through it all, Fallon had remained in his human form, using his swords as effectively as Cara. Lucan had known Fallon wouldn’t transform, wouldn’t give in to the god inside him. Fallon feared the god too much.
Lucan’s claws ripped down a wyrran’s chest before he severed its head from its body. It fell to the floor the same instant Lucan spotted three Warriors rushing into the hall from the stairs.
The traps had slowed the attack, but not by much. Above all the shrieks and growls, Lucan heard Fallon cry out. Lucan turned to see his brother fall, a purple-skinned Warrior standing over Fallon.
The Warrior smiled at Lucan just before he leaned down and sliced open Fallon’s chest.
“Nay!” Lucan bellowed.
He leapt over the diminutive wyrrans to land beside Fallon. His green eyes were crinkled with pain as blood seeped into his tunic. With him in this state, it would be easy for the Warriors or a wyrran to cut off Fallon’s head.
