Page 42 of Of War and Realms

A loud, roaring scream shoots across the field and I instinctively know it’s Xamira. I look just as the demon squeezes her torso, causing her to groan again. “No!” I call to my magic, cursing when I remember that will not help her. I bite through the leather as I attempt to stand, needing to get to her immediately. I don’t fucking care about my body.

“Nell, wait, I haven’t set it yet!” I keep limp-running, thankful that I seem to be healing in the places I need.

“Then follow.” My voice is clipped, void of all emotion as my eyes stay glued to my sorid. Calix runs up behind me muttering something about my ridiculous stubbornness before pressing a hand to my shoulder and grabbing my arm. He twists, and I scream, doubling over as I feel the pain settle.

There’s a dagger attached to Cal’s belt. I reach to unsheathe it, twisting my body and thrusting with all of my force. The blade sails through the air while I pray to the fates that the demon does not move before it strikes. A sob leaves me when it strikes in one of the eyeless sockets, causing the demon to drop Xamira. I do not stop the tears when she stands, nodding to me that she’s unharmed. She jumps and drives herself forward, and against my screaming protests wraps her mouth around the creature’s ribs.

Calix and I halt when it screams. The sound isn’t the screeching or clicking that we’ve heard thus far. No, it’s an actual scream. One that says something very painful happened. Closing the distance just as the demon falls to its back, I slide to the ground next to Xamira, willfully ignoring the sharp pain in my side. She lets go, stepping back looking like a fucking goddess. The fire above us illuminates the golden flecks in her eyes and the iridescence of her wings. She stands tall—breathing heavil—with the demon’s blood dripping from her mouth. I forget where I’m crouched until a gurgling noise forces my gaze to the demon.

It’s breathing, though clearly struggling. I desperately run my hands along Xamira’s bite, laughing when I feel soft, thin skin just behind the ribs. I press on the wound there, sweet relief filling me when the demon screams again. Grabbing the last dagger on my person, I angle the blade and shove it into the fucking bastard who dared lay a hand on my sorid. The demon stills for a moment before its entire body goes limp.

I want to sit and bask in the knowledge we now have, but there’s no time. I reach for my males, my mind lightening when I feel their presence. I would know if they were killed, but that does not stop the panic.

Nell, where the fuck are you? What happened? I swear it felt like something slammed into my side and broke a few things. Emrys’s crazed tone bursts down the bond. I do not get to answer before there are several arms around me, lifting me to face Cas and Em.

Em’s hands pat me frantically, his eyes wider than I’ve ever seen. “Where are you hurt?” he shouts, the tremor in his voice giving away his terror.

“Em.” I try to grab him, though he doesn’t notice. “Emrys!” I drop to my knees in front of him, leveling our faces together. He pauses, actually looking at me for the first time. “I’m healing. It’s okay. But there’s something imp—” He grabs the back of my neck and roughly kisses me, the taste of blood and sweat coating my lips. He pulls back just as quickly, leaving me completely breathless. The male can be incredibly intense when he wants to be.

“Next time you’re hurt, fucking answer me or I’ll kill you myself. Do you understand?” I don’t have it in me to tell him I did not hear him through the bond, so I nod, leaning forward to brush my lips across his forehead.

Cas’s hand cups my cheek, and my eyes find his, exhaustion coating his face. How long have we been out here? It’s still dark, so no more than a few hours. I lean into his touch, smiling and allowing myself to soak in their closeness for just a moment.

It’s over too quickly as I harden my gaze once more, focusing on them and Calix. “Xamira figured out how to kill the demons.” I nod toward the body behind me and my bonds look over my shoulder, both their faces masks of shock as if they hadn’t noticed the huge demon next to us. I point to my dagger, not having removed it yet. “Our blades can easily pierce just behind the ribs, where I assume their hearts are. This one died immediately when I stabbed it. We need to tell everyone we can. Killing them is our priority.”

Casmir nods his head, looking back at me. I send them and Calix in different directions to let the others know. Turning to Xamira, I stand to scratch the part of her face not covered in demon blood. “You did good. Now let’s go demon hunting.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Casmir

Every instinct I have wails as I run from my bonds. I fight how unnatural it feels, forcing myself to yell at every fae I see. I do not stop to clarify; I do not turn around to answer their questions. I keep running.

Passing Hale and Romial, I whistle to get their attention. “Behind the rib, it kills them!” I point to the location on my body and focus on the next set of fae up ahead.

At least something useful is coming from our magic tonight; well, just the fire wielders, as the rest of us cannot produce light. There’s a whizzing approaching me, and I duck, rolling to the ground before resuming my task. If Ender wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself. The amount of obsidian weapons the other side possesses could not have just been transported recently. He must have been working with Andras for years. I instructed Em and our close guard to go for the fae with the most weapons first, hoping that we stave them from piercing any of the gods.

Sweat runs down my body, completely soaking me as if I was just swimming. I’ve made it to the end of the field, warning everyone I could. I just hope it’s enough to help. The demons are much larger than anticipated and reaching their weak point will be difficult for some.

I cannot think about that now. There’s so much to be done.

I make my way back to my bonds, the sick feeling in my abdomen lessening the closer I get. I was not shocked to find how aware I was of them after the bonding, but I didn’t realize I’d feel some of their injuries. I had thought the fae I was fighting impaled me when an intense level of pain hit my body; but when I looked down to see no wound, I knew it was one of the others.

We’ve insisted on trying to spare the lives of the Ceross fae, the horror they feel at hurting us clear in their gazes. But at that moment, I didn’t care…I swung my sword through his neck and ran the direction I felt the pain coming from. I didn’t once look back or feel regret for the decision. I still don’t.

The healers in Anloria distributed as much sleeping tonic as they could. The recipient must breathe it in, so it is difficult to get close enough to wrap a cloth around their noses. But it will keep them asleep for many hours; and the alternative is injuring their heads to render them unconscious. So for the sake of the people, I’m doing my best to not hurt them.

But this is war. Death and injury cannot be avoided.

A strained groan catches my attention, turning my path to the fae who hold swords to each other’s chests, attempting to push the other off. I grab my cloth, immediately knowing which fae is not Anlorian, and slide up behind them, cupping their face tightly. They struggle for a moment before going limp. We cannot waste resources relocating the bodies, so we just have to hope they do not get injured.

“Thank you, my prince,” the female in front of me murmurs, resting her hands on her knees to breathe heavily. I nod and continue on, determined to reach Em and Nell. My steps slow as the distance between me and them closes. I’m nearly there when the scream of a familiar voice swarms my ears, causing me to wince.

My head whips to the side, the blood completely draining from my face when Ansa falls to her knees with an arrow jutting from her chest. Right where her heart is. I bolt in her direction, sliding through the thick, bloody mud to catch her head before it hits the ground.

“No, no, no.” Breaking the head of the arrow from her back, I lay her flat to assess the damage.

There is nothing to assess.

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