“Shade, get down,” Roarke shouts.
But I can’t look. Can’t run or dive for cover. My stomach heaves, and lunch starts coming up. I drop to my knees, trying to get myself under control, which is damned near impossible while throwing up.
Crap!
Something soars right past me and sizzles into the stream. An arrow – and it was on fire!
I brace myself against the ground, twisting to look past Roarke, past the body, up the boulders, and into the forest. Another arrow pierces into the stones nearby – still burning.
“Get behind me,” Roarke orders. “Now! Kitten, move!”
I clamber over the stones, staying low. Almost curled in a ball on my knees kind of low. My bare toes overhang the path, dangling in the icy flow of the water, but I barely register the sensation against the rush of adrenaline.
An arrow hits the stones to my left, skidding to a stop. The flames are still alive.
Then the air is lit up with flames and the sharp reflection of Roarke’s blade as he spins it in wide arcs. Bits of arrows clunk to the ground, sliced in two, but none of them extinguish. In a few beats, we’re surrounded by light that both pushes back the night and invites whoever is shooting at us to get a really clear view of all our vulnerabilities.
The arrows don’t stop, and Roarke’s movements are a blur of unnatural Saber speed. It’s impossible to follow the slice of his sword until he suddenly pauses it mid-swing. The guy isn’t even panting, and he doesn’t look at all intimidated by the three dark shadows that drop from the trees beyond the boulders and saunter towards us, moving with a feminine sway. They’re giving up on their arrows, or maybe they’ve run out. I hope Roarke just destroyed all of them. Wooden shards litter the ground, fletched in red and white feathers, tipped with metal barbs, and coated in something that makes them burn.
I adjust the ankle of my pants, making sure I can get to my darts nice and easily – if I need them. Though, I am behind Roarke, and he just might be more badass than I thought.
He lowers the tip of his sword toward the stones, glancing back at me with a smile on his lips and excitement painted in his dark eyes.
“This will be more fun,” he says, like it’s a melody, and he’s about to sing a song.
Yes, Roarke, because kneeling on the ground, scared shitless, is always my idea of fun. Me and this guy need to seriously improve our standards.
But not now. Three deadly Sabers are walking our way, and we just need to survive.
All three women have their hair tied back in tight braids. Two blondes and a brunette in thin leather tunics that taper down to V’s at their waists. Several straps and belts run across their chests. They’ve taken a leaf out of Killian’s book on the number of weapons a single person can carry, and they’re really flaunting it.
They step from boulder to boulder until one of them is on the path to the left, one on the right, and the other in front of us – standing up there on the boulder next to the dead body. Some of these boulders I wouldn’t even be able to climb across, and they just casually walked down them like a set of stairs.
“Well, this one would have to be Seth,” the blonde woman on our left says, which makes no sense – unless Roarke just Allured them into thinking it. She walks toward us with some serious swagger in her step, running an exaggerated hand over her braids. Flirting – but I don’t think she even knows it.
“It’s not the Alpha, that’s for sure,” the one on the right says, smiling and running a finger across her lips.
The woman beside the body crouches down, resting her elbows on her knees. My guess is she’s their commander.
“Not the one with the scar,” she says. “And not the AllureSeed, either. I don’t feel persuaded or seduced.”
Roarke’s watching them all, his head moving slightly as his gaze traces over each one. I glimpse his wicked smile each time he looks to the left, his head turning far enough for the expression to peek past his long hair. His fingers massage the hilt of his sword – but everything about him oozes smooth confidence.
“Pleasure to meet you, ladies,” he says, his voice dripping with hypnotic temptation.
My heart skips a beat, and in my head the words translate to come closer. I resist the urge, but the women don’t – can’t. They close in around us, jumping from the boulder or walking down the path, not stopping until they’re within arm’s reach.
“It’s an honor that you want to cooperate with me. Is this your work? It’s rather impressive,” Roarke Allures, nodding towards Eydis’ body.
“We didn’t make the mess of her chest – that happened after we felled her. We’ve been waiting to see if the thing comes back. And it happened that you two came instead,” the commander says.
“So you thought you’d fire on us?” Roarke asks.
“Rumor is, that one has a price on her head,” she says.
She lifts her sword and points past Roarke to me. I flinch, seeing the polished steel so close to my guy, to his unprotected leg. Is this how he got himself hurt last time? I know he was questioning a ShimmerSeed – but was he this reckless? I like his legs still attached to his body, thank you.
“Whose rumor?” Roarke asks. He doesn’t seem to care that she could cut his leg off right now.
Just thrust her blade downward, and… I swallow against the mental image as Roarke’s words sink in. Not the ones he’s said out loud, but the ones that Allure through my skin – Put your weapons down.
They obey. Their expressions stay neutral – self-assertive even. Do they not realize that they’re under his spell?
My fingers begin to obey,
