Page 44 of The Veil of Blood and Magic

“Do not move,” he says. “You draw any more attention to yourself and we won't be the ones handing you over. The core will have no qualms killing you.”

“I don't give a fuck,” I say, my heart racing so hard it hurts. Panic spiderwebs its way down my spine, but I can’t think about myself right now. They're hurting him. They're hurting that little boy for no reason.

“They’re going tokillyou?—”

“They're going to killhim!” I struggle against his impossible hold, eyes falling on the little boy who is being picked up by the core only to be thrown to the ground again. His little body crumples from the blow, and my stomach churns.

Fuck this.

I jerk my head back so hard it cracks against the bone of Zev’s nose. His grip faulters for a split second, which is all I need.

I use all of my speed, ignoring the pain in my chest and any strategic thought. The only thing I can think about is getting between that youngling and those three assholes.

I throw myself in front of the boy, the hard end of a baton splitting my cheek open as I take the hit meant for him. It's hard enough to rattle my brain in my skull, and it would’ve certainly killed him.

I bare my fangs, the power beneath my skin sizzling and begging to be set free, but I don't need it to kill this trash.

“Try and touch him again,” I snarl. “I fucking dare you.”

“You should have stayed in fucking hiding, monster,” the Core who delivered the hit spits toward me.

I glance behind him, noting that almost all the patrons of this village retreated to their huts when the prince arrived, no doubt knowing from some previous punishment what would happen to them if they didn't.

The two other collector core buddies flank his side, drawing their swords as they bear down on me.

“Didn't your master tell you to leave?” I say as they approach. His mother is trying to crawl to him, but she's still stunned from the backhand she'd gotten.

“Move aside,” one of them says. “Or we’ll cut you down.”

I bare my fangs at them again.

Audible hisses sound from behind their helmets, and they grip their spiked batons tighter.

They don't even try to mince words anymore, they just start swinging those weapons toward my neck in an attempt to lob my head from my shoulders.

Too bad for them I'm fully fed and fully pissed off.

I dodge their swings, utilizing every drop of succubus power I have, causing everything around me to slow. In seconds, I have one on his back, his baton clattering to the ground and sliding a few feet away from him.

The sounds of more collector core arriving down the road draw my attention for only a moment, and I find Zev and Jagger cutting them off.

“I'll give you this one chance,” I say, returning focus to those in front of me. “Leave now and none of you have to die. Touch this boy again and I'll send you to Aletha.”

They don't deserve to walk away, but I know there's some truth in what Zev said. I reallyshouldn'tbe drawing attention to myself, but they really shouldn't have laid hands on the boy and his mother.

The one on his back clambers to his feet, and the other two laugh.

“That boy caused me a lot of trouble today,” one of the core says as he points his baton toward the boy behind me. “Which earns him a spot as my new pet. Don't worry, I'll keep him alive long enough to entertain me.”

The core lunges at me, quick but not quick enough. I grip his throat and squeeze hard enough to feel muscle and bone crack. He hits the ground in a lifeless heap.

“Who's next?”

The remaining pause for only a moment before they're racing toward me, one slightly faster than the other.

I focus on him, dodging the mighty swings of his baton, which shuffles me a few steps away from the boy. I need to draw them away, need to give the mother space to get to him.

The first one takes the bait, sticking to me like sap on a tree in his fury. He swings and swings and misses, his hulking body tiring out with each heavy attempt. I'm smiling, toying with the asshole before I reach out to give the final blow?—

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