Where are you, Tirael?
Raff had a lot of hard fucking questions for when he found her. She was one of Thalia’s closest associates, the Noxblade second in command. This had to cut deep. Only way it could be worse is if it was Ferith. He could almost feel sorry for the grunts he chewed through on the way to the top of the stairs.
It would’ve been faster, but he had a fresh bullet in his back in addition to all his recent wounds. This should go on record as the most dangerous honeymoon of all time, and he gave a canine smile, showing teeth as he topped the stairs. Korin snarled a question from behind, but he shook his head.
Later, he growled.
Once the fighting stopped, she’d need a briefing. Right now, though, she just needed to keep killing. Too bad she didn’t have the bear clan war machine she’d piloted during the Battle of Hallowell; she could unleash death from above on their enemies, but to Raff, that seemed like a cheap way to fight, out of your enemy’s reach. It was better to overwhelm them with your strength and taste their death with all senses.
Raff rushed, bursting from the tower to flatten the closest Eldritch before he raised his gun. Not used to fighting wolves, you son of a bitch? The Eldritch lacked muscular density; they were fast and quiet, but not strong. If this was a cloak and dagger dustup in the woods, they might have a chance, but not here on the open walls. The merciless winter sun wouldn’t let them hide, unless that was their gift, and few of them seemed—
A high, shrill note pierced the air, like the mourning pipes that marked Lileth’s funeral. Raff’s muscles locked.
His brain screamed at him to move—to launch himself at the golden-haired woman playing that hideous melody. This effect had to be part of some fucking Eldritch gift but knowing that didn’t help him break free. Fucking Tirael. He recognized her now, as the Eldritch beside her raised a weapon, a gun big enough to explode his skull.
Sudden death, catastrophic damage.
That was the quickest way to kill an Animari, but it wasn’t easy to inflict. The caliber of that boomstick would do the job, and he couldn’t fucking move. Not even to glance back to see if the rest of his troops were affected with the same paralysis. The pitch of Titus’s snarl-scream somewhere nearby said that he was locked down and pissed as hell.
It’s something that impacts Animari.
Raff glared defiance at the bitch who was about to end him, rage to the end. He couldn’t even close his eyes, but he wouldn’t have, if he could. Good thing, as he would’ve missed the arc of blue lightning that arced through her. As she dropped, the flute fell, and he sprang into motion. The shot blasted the parapet behind him, singeing his fur, but thanks to a certain Eldritch queen, he was still alive and breathing. Thalia locked eyes with him for only a few seconds from the other end of the wall, but it was enough.
Warmth surged through him as he savaged the shit out of the asshole who’d thought he could end Raff Pineda. Sure, he’d lived through no ability of his own, but picking the right mate, that was a fucking skill, too. Euphoria sang in his veins, so the killing became a kind of glorious symphony, with screams and howls in place of cymbal and drums. Terrified Eldritch hearts racing became his private song and their pleas for mercy as Raff cut them down, well, he savored those too.
He would’ve stopped if Thalia had asked him to, but she was beside him on the walls, reaping like the angel of death with her shining twin blades. Her braces must be dark now; she’d probably saved one shot, just in case, and she’d saved his life. Again. While she seemed to think she was in his debt, he’d lost count of how many times they’d saved each other. All he knew now was that she’d be there if he needed her.
Maybe it was too soon for that conviction, but as they bathed Daruvar in blood, the conviction grew. Korin, still alive. Fighting on. He exhaled and finished a wounded Eldritch who was sobbing, pleading for clemency. Not my call. Thalia knew best what needed to happen here. He’d fight until she called him off. Some might say that made him the Eldritch queen’s hound, but they could go fuck themselves.
At last, the keep was theirs, bodies piled in the courtyard, and Tirael was chained hand and foot. Thalia dragged her personally, kicking her down the stairs when the other woman balked. Hatred sparked from Tirael’s eyes, so shockingly clear that Raff could hardly believe she’d hidden it all this time. Thalia shoved her onto the filthy stones, beside the carcass of her failed rebellion.
The wolves circled behind Raff, still shifted, and ready to face a fresh incursion, if Ruark happened to get word of the massacre. Not bloody likely, they hadn’t left any survivors to spread the news. He couldn’t speak to Tirael, but that wasn’t his place anyway. He settled on his haunches, content to let his mate finish things as she saw fit. Korin sat next to him, Titus on the other side, bloody, but whole. Hard to say if any of that red belonged to the tiger.
The surviving Eldritch took to their knees, hands sealed over their hearts in a gesture that he presumed represented fealty. Overhead, the
