“And what would you know about any of this? You should be with your men!”
His eyes shot to Benedict who stood slowly, sighing.
“Tell her—it may convince her.”
“Tell me what?” I shot back.
Thad’s mouth opened, but then a large boom was heard further down the tunnels.
“Shit,” Thad said helpfully. Benedict growled.
“I knew Davos was a filthy little traitor.”
“You don’t know that—”
“RUN!”
A wall of flame rushed towards us. Benedict threw himself in front of me as a shield and grabbed Thad’s hand at the last moment. We disappeared in a wisp of dark shadows, reappearing further down the passageway, in a different set of tunnels. My ears strained, trying to tell if more flames were rushing towards us.
The flames bellowed down the next corridor, and Benedict grabbed us again. We vanished and appeared in the alley with the sewer entrance we had used our first night in town.
“Move!”
We dove out of the alley at the same moment the tunnels exploded, heat sizzling against our backs as it demolished everything below the city.
“Guess I can’t stay back now,” I noted to no one in particular. Benedict looked torn, but Thad put a placating hand on his chest.
“I’ll watch her and keep her safe. You fight. Besides, she has magicks and can shift like you, can’t she?”
Benedict knew he had no real argument or place to stash me, so he simply huffed and took to the air, snatching Thad in his arms. I scoffed and flew after him. The city below us was chaos. vampyres and demons were running, human slaves were screaming, and there were only a few lykos. Everyone was making their way to the palace—the large, sandstone building that rose from the center of the city. We landed just inside the outer wall, crouching in a well-kept garden. The palace was massive, though built mostly favoring an open-air concept. It was easy to see the advancing human army spilling out onto the rotunda, entering from a forgotten dungeon passageway.
“Well, sounds like Davos isn’t that much of a traitor if the rebels got in.”
All of us ducked as another explosion rocked the building, sending debris and bits of rock flying. Benedict whipped around, pinning Thad with a fierce gaze.
“I order you to protect her, even over your own life.”
He seized me in a crushing kiss before vanishing into the shadows. I cursed and pumped my wings.
“Hey!”
Thad grabbed a hold of my leg, pulling me back down.
“Let go!” I snarled
“No way—I promised to keep an eye on you!”
I kicked at him with my clawed feet, hissing.
“You OWE him nothing! What about your promises to your men? I don’t give a fuck what you promised Benedict, I’m going in there!”
He grabbed my wing, twisting the delicate skin. I screeched and fell back to the ground in agony. His sword met my neck, even as I bared my fangs at him.
“Benedict said a draken’s wings are the weakest point.”
My daggers were in my hands moments later.
“Why would he tell you something like that? What else did he tell you?”
Thad lowered his sword.
“He told me you’re the most incredible female he’s ever met. That he’s treated you like complete garbage, and that you love him anyway—keep giving him time to love you back. He trusts you to take care of his people if anything happens to him.”
I lowered my weapons, caught off guard.
“Benedict said that?"
My voice wavered, almost daring him to say it was all a joke. Thad moved closer, putting his hands delicately around my wrists. This close, I was startled to see his eyes were true black, his irises indistinguishable from his pupils
“I knew all of that already, though. I knew it from the first time I laid eyes on you five nights ago.
I groaned in frustration.
“Now is not the time, Thad. Confess your undying attraction to me later.”
Another large boom reverberated through the ground, but from much further away. A cloud of black smoke rose from the distance, in the direction of a place I was all too familiar with. I grabbed his arm and we disappeared, emerging right in the middle of smoking ruins. I double checked the landscape to ensure I had the right place, and I did. The breeding manor I’d grown up in looked like someone had taken a giant fist and pummeled it, splitting the building into two halves with debris and possessions scattered everywhere. The women were gone, as well as the staff.
“I don’t understand,” I whispered to no one. There was no rebel plan to take out any other lords as far as I was aware. Thad stepped cautiously out, lifting beams and frowning in confusion.
“No bodies or any sign of struggling. It’s almost as though the manor was completely empty before it blew up.
“That’s not possible, we weren’t ever allowed to leave.”
He stopped, swinging back to face me.
“You grew up here?”
I turned away, blinking back tears. I hoped all the women were ok and got out before any of this happened.
“What?” I demanded, as Thad took off through the wreckage, picking his way quickly and carefully through the rubble. He ignored the sharp edges of wood and glass as they dug into his skin, intent on whatever it was he had seen.
“Is someone alive?” I asked.
Thad slid his fingers underneath a pillar and grunted, using all his considerable strength to lift.
“Help me, I can’t pull him out and hold it.”
I flew over the wreckage, landing roughly as I tried to stay clear of nails and other sharp bits of wreckage. A leg emerged as I peered underneath the pillar, and I gasped as I recognized the fine tailoring of the suit. Only the glass behind me kept me from scattering backward as Thad grunted with exertion.
“Wren, I can’t hold this much longer. Pull him out and I’ll do the rest.”
“But, I—”
“WREN!”
My muscles were rigid, my mind frozen in terror. I was intimately familiar
