Page 188 of What Lies Within Masks & Shadows

Not here. Not now. Not again.

Her head spun, picturing two—three—four of everything in the room. She heard Jade grunting through flying fists somewhere. Dots spotted in her vision, and she steadied herself with a hand on the wooden floor.

Sweaty palms and large fingers dug into her shoulders, forcing her other knee to the floorboards.

With gritted teeth, Alora whipped her head over her shoulder just as the male straddled her back. She’d let her hesitation put her into this position.Stupid.But his stance over her only made her next move much sweeter.

His face lowered to hers. In the shell of her ear, he bitterly whispered, “You’re mine now.”

Embers lit in her eyes.

I. Am. No ones.

The back of her skull collided into the male’s face with a crunch. His unrelenting grip released her shoulders and stumbled back into the mess of tables. She wickedly smiled at his pleasingly broken nose, now oozing bright as a ruby.

Taking the opportunity of him crying with eyes closed from the pain, Alora swung her elbow into his broken face. Her body seethed. Smiling in rich satisfaction over his motionless body under the table.

It felt exhilarating. So damn good. Every nerve in her body burned. Every muscle flexed with raging blood. Body spinning, rapturous for more, she needed to hit something, needed to feed on the adrenaline that sent electric shocks through her fiery veins.

The brawl must have attracted the attention of the rooms upstairs. Faeries ripped open their doors, hobbling to pull on boots and fastening their pants around their waists. Few lined the rickety railing. Most ran down the stairs to join.

Alora fought her way to Jade, who had been cornered. Still, she smiled like it was a game and led them into a trap.

“Bout fucking time!” Jade threw a table leg to her, and she caught it effortlessly.

A table leg, not a sword.

Alora understood the message:Don’t kill them.

She hissed, no time to answer her as two males came up behind. With squared shoulders, raking the approaching male’s hair to boots, Alora prepared her stance just as Thalon had drilled into her a thousand times.

“Come on, boys, at least give us a challenge!” Jade’s boot collided with a face.

The room quickly surrounded them. Hard bloodthirsty faces snickered curses. Fists and weapons were ready to end them. They were trapped. Boxed in with far too many opponents.

“You’re outnumbered, bitch.” Ebony hair and hazel eyes stepped forward, staring at Alora. “Two of you against all of us.” He snickered.

The crowd responded with laughter.

A whistle carried from the mezzanine.

All eyes shifted upward before black folded buckled boots slammed into the only upright table at the center of the circle. The crowd stepped back from the impact, dust clouding around where a male landed.

“You… are horrible, really, at counting. Mother never schooled you?” He paused. “There’s three.”

I know that voice.

The room erupted into an all-out frenzy with colliding limbs, fists, and boots. The male wearing a long, frocked black coat,embellished with ornate brass buckles and buttons, pulled a curved sword with his left hand from his red-sashed belt and slashed it deep into the guts of two faeries.

“Bastard!” someone yelled, hands gripped around his ankles.

“That’s Captain Bastard, you mangy dog!” Black buckled boots tore from the grip and pounded down onto the faerie’s fingers.

“You’re still alive?” Jade jumped on the table, seemingly annoyed.

“Well, don’t sound so disappointed.” The male picked her up and tossed her over the crowd. “I might think you actually don’t like me!” The pommel of his sword smashed into another face when he jumped to the floor beside Alora.

Alora swung around.

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