Page 55 of A Dawn Of Blood

His shadows.

I don’t stay down, nor do I let panic overtake me. I immediately pick myself up, but I don’t have time to think. I lunge at the tower walls in front of me, grab onto the stone with my claws and start furiously climbing, until I’m flying over the caved-in ceiling.

To go through the opening, I shift back midair, all my muscles tensing as my boots hit the floor.

It’s in the center of the moonlit, crumbling circular space that I land, most of the walls around me intact but swallowed by vines.

Nowwhere?

I don’t get the chance to think. I only manage to stand straight before I sense the presence behind me, making me spin around with my heart pounding in my chest.

I barely manage to spot the shadowy figure filling the room with its broad frame before I find myself gasping for air — taken by the throat, lifted high into the air and slammed into the wall behind me.

Fuck.

The choking is making my eyes water, but the man who’s brought my face to his level, I can still see him, one corner of his lips curled into a victorious smirk.

I freeze in place.

I’m looking straight into Cain’s masked face, no doubt about it.

It’s the eyes that surprise me, though. Beautiful, hooded and black as the night, their gaze intelligent, calculating and unwavering.

My wolf starts sniffing wildly, but there’s no scent.

I watch the general narrow those eyes at me and step back, letting go of my neck only to calmly reach for one of the swords strapped to his back.

That’s what snaps me out of my haze. Suddenly on high alert, I use my Movement to dart to the side, hearing the brutal clang of the sword against the wall I’ve just run from.

But I can already sense him moving towards me again, so I spin around, dig my feet into the ground and shoot a blaze of fire straight at him.

It makes me stumble back, inhaling sharply, when I see him casually step into the fire, a smirk dancing on his lips as he raises a giant shadow.

The next thing I know, the wall right next to me is crumbling to the ground, destroyed by a single blow.

And now the man who dealt it is stalking over to me.

Once again, I spin around and lunge for the opening he’s just created, already starting to shift so I don’t die in the fall.

My feet are already off the ground, my body propelling forward, when he materializes in front of me, his shadows bursting out to wrap around my entire body and lock me tightly in place.

Fuck.

But before he can squeeze the life out of me, there’s this blast coming from outside.

It’s so powerful, it sends him slamming into me. We fly back and hit the ground, and my ears are ringing, I’m gasping under his weight, and he’s already moving to make his next move.

But before he can do anything, I use my thunder to send electricity throughout my entire body, hoping to shock him into unconsciousness.

It only makes him jump to his feet and away from me, as if burned but not hurting.

He’s a little dazed from the explosion, however, so I manage to get up as well, already moving to escape through the opening behind my back.

Then, out of the corner of my eye, I spot his helmet flicker.

And all of a sudden, I find myself turning around and freezing in place, staring at his face at the same time his scent suddenly hits my nostrils.

It’s like a sensory overload that makes time itself seem to come to a stop. This is just like…

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