Page 85 of The Daughters of Nyx

Shots rang out, and roars filled the air.

Have they found me?

The voice answered,Yes, my flower, they have.

“The supes are here,” I gasped. I hadn’t wanted to admit the fear they wouldn’t arrive—or worse, that they’d been part of this attack. Rowan’s disappearance had worried me, and I’d thought he’d been hurt, but had he been part of this?

No. I shook my head and climbed to my feet.No, he’d never hurt me like this.

I hoped.

Footsteps thundered up the stairs. My gaze met Thea’s, and slowly, I reached for the gun at my back. Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the Glock, but narrowed when she spied the one still holstered at the guard’s side.

She swiped it, did a check, then clicked off the safety. The feisty eastern European woman, who had dragged us both to the range when we’d been sixteen, after she’d found out about Thea’s first boyfriend, would be proud.

Thea had the same thoughts as I did about guns.

But neither of us had forgotten those lessons.

Now, we stood side by side. The calm swept over me, and although my hands trembled, I levelled the gun at the door, waiting. Beside me, Thea sucked in a breath, but her hands didn’t shake. She was always the stronger of the two of us.

You are stronger than you think, little flower.

I hoped he was right.

“Love you,” Thea whispered, her voice trembling ever so slightly.

I swallowed thickly, and from the corner of my eye, I watched a tear slip down her cheek. “I’m so sorry I dragged you into this.”

Before she could respond, a man dressed in tactical gear appeared in the doorway, a sword raised, while a ball of fire ignited in his other palm. A snarl ripped across his weathered face.

Enemy, the voice whispered, and without a second thought, I shot.

The man jumped, and my bullet lodged in his shoulder. He growled, but Thea grunted, and her shot hit him square in the chest.

Flames spluttered out as he fell. When his body hit the ground, three more people appeared behind him. A woman with cropped red hair and ebony skin stared at the bodies, her eyes dancing over the two dead guards before landing on Thea and I.

She shifted, her body contorting, and within a moment, she went from woman to some sort of large feline.

But instead of leaping at us, she barrelled into the guard closest to her and tore into his throat. The final guard, a heavy set woman with olive skin, looked between us and the shifter before pulling her gun. She aimed it at the red-head, but Thea shot first, and the heavy woman dropped, gasping, despite the bullet that pierced her throat.

The red-head shifted back, though she kept her clothes. “I need one of you to shoot me in the leg. Incapacitate me.”

“Why?” I asked, my voice no louder than a whisper.

The red-head looked between Thea and I, then back at the door. “Because I’ve been working my way through their ranks, and I will not blow my cover. Do it now, or you risk the lives of everyone in our world.”

Do it,the voice whispered. I didn’t have the heart to answer. He’d gotten me this far.

I swallowed hard, lowering the gun. “Ready?”

The red-head nodded. I hardly heard the gunshot as it cut through her leg. The woman barely winced as she dropped to the ground. “In his pocket is a drug that’ll knock me out. Stab

it into my neck.” Her eyes widened, and it took me a moment before I heard the rush of footsteps. “Now! Do it now!”

Thea, closest to the guard I’d killed, dropped to her knees and rifled through his pockets. She found the small pouch and threw it at me, and I caught it with trembling fingers. Inside was a thorn attached to a stick.

I frowned and held it up. “Now, girl, or we’ll all be dead,” the red-head snapped.

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