She was a fucking dog on a leash sitting at her master’s feet. A master who might decide to eat her at any moment.
The remains of the leg hit the ground a few feet from her. Unfinished, the creature moved faster than her eyes could track, tearing the remains of the other leg to shreds in a matter of seconds, his claws cutting through the muscle and tendon like a hot knife in warm butter.
She dry heaved, scrambling as far away from the smell as she could get. She pulled Matthew’s unconscious weight with her as every muscle in her body filled with fiery agony.
She struggled to clear her vision, wishing at the same moment that she couldn’t see at all. Her head felt like rats were devouring her brain from the inside out, the pain unique and impossible to describe. And when she had tried to summon the energy to use her voice? The creature had laughed at her.
Laughed.
She was going to die here.
The hopeless thought flashed through her mind and was gone. Dismissed.
If she died, Matthew died, and that was not acceptable. She would stay awake. Focus. Wait for an opportunity.
Think about Falden. His kiss. His touch. The way he worried about her and walked around determined to protect her.
The way he felt inside her, making her cry out, cling to him. Beg.
Tears gathered in her eyes, the hot liquid burning like acid behind her eyelids. Still she held them back. This creature and his freaky Darkoor slaves were not going to see her cry. Her love for Falden was a sacred thing now. Pure. Untouched by the evil in this room.
She had been prideful, demanding. Hadn’t told him how she felt or admitted that she wanted a future with him, had fallen in love with him.
Swallowing the tears was hard. She’d been a fool. She knew that now. Maybe Falden would come for her. She would cling to that hope until she was gone from this Earth. He would come. She just had to hold on.
Chapter Thirteen
Falden and Gareth fought their way to the stairs. “Vander. Cassiel. Status report,” Falden ordered as more Darkoor poured in from the next room.
“I think they’ve got a portal open! Their numbers are growing. We’re coming to you, Commander,” Vander shouted. “No fucking way you’re going in there alone.”
Just then King Dagan appeared at the foot of the stairs, accompanied by Torrin and Juliette. All wore Lumerian armor. “Damn right,” Dagan agreed with a grin as he reached for his favorite dagger, an eight-inch blade that could cut through steel like butter.
Torrin smiled grimly, two short laser swords at the ready, his Lumerian sword strapped to his back. “We heard the call. Never thought I’d see the day you pressed that beacon.”
Fuck. Two royals from two different planets. If the Dark One killed either, there would be intergalactic war. Planets would be decimated. There would be nothing left. Still, Falden couldn’t help but be grateful. Even Torrin’s new mate was an asset, her hands playing with the fire she could now generate at will.
Falden nodded his acceptance. They were all honorable. Loyal. They would fight with him until the end. “Anyone else out there?”
Cassiel was the first to answer as he and Vander tore their way down the stairs. “Saw two Lumerians out front. Didn’t recognize either one. Been too long. They’re already knee-deep in Darkoor and those human assholes. Fucking traitors.”
Falden couldn’t agree more, but now was not the time. Closing his eyes, he gave himself to the old ways, taking knowledge from the web of energy that surrounded all living things. Sifted through the maze of auras. Focused on finding Isabella. Faint. So faint.
Opening his eyes, he took the steps three at time until he saw the door he knew without a shadow of a doubt held both his love and one of his greatest enemies behind it. Terror gathered into a black void in his chest. Isabella’s life force was fading fast.
Violence of action was his stock in trade. The others were right behind him, weapons ready. They’d done it a thousand times together. Falden was always first in. Surprise and speed on their side. They were fast and lethal.
Falden couldn’t wait for Dagan to slice through the door as he normally would. Pulling an explosive from his tactical sling, he threw it at the door and raced through the blast, protected by his armor.
Isabella forced her eyes to open as a deafening roar blasted her ears, an intense blue flash illuminating the darkened room. She’d known someone was out there. Could hear the fighting. The inhuman screams. The creature knew it, too, extinguishing all the lights, suddenly fading in and out. Or maybe she was hallucinating. She didn’t know anymore.
Through the flash Falden rushed the creature, his movements faster than her eyes could track, sword slashing with deadly accuracy through anything standing in his way, electricity crackling.
Suddenly a breeze stirred her hair. Within seconds the breeze became a miniature whirlwind. Isabella’s hair blew in every direction. The table slid across the room, slamming into the wall. Her heart lodged in her throat. He’d come for her.
She thought Falden was alone until Darkoor bodies started flying all around the room. Heads rolled. Balls of flame lit up the room from out of nowhere, blasting the evil Darkoor, the human traitors, the alien creature who had no name
Her heart nearly stopped as the creature disappeared, only to reappear behind Falden, impervious to attack. Nothing fazed the dark creature. Its clawed hand, fingers twice the length of a human’s, with razor-sharp bones protruding from the tip, slashed through Falden’s armor before he could move, a fresh cut on his arm. He jumped away, slicing with the tip with his sword before the creature disappeared again.
Isabella screamed, her heart in her throat as she watched the creature slice into Falden again and again. He never faltered, hacking and slashing at the
