Page 111 of The Bond That Burns

Sweet of him to wish to protect you darling, but unfortunately for you both, bloodlust runs strong on both sides of your family,she murmured.

I ignored her, suddenly too apprehensive to respond.

Blake swore under his breath, glancing at the attackers, who had begun to spread out. If they’d wanted us all dead, they’d have used their crossbows already, so it was clear they wanted something else. But what?

“This isn’t a game,” Blake snarled.

“You need every blade you can get,” I shot back. “I’m not a child, Blake.”

“Oh, shut up and let the girl help,” Visha snapped, moving to stand beside me. “This isn’t the time for one of your petty lovers’ spats. Are we doing this or aren’t we?”

Blake growled something under his breath but didn’t argue. He turned to face our attackers, his sword raised.

Next to me, Visha rolled her shoulders, her rapier poised in front of her, her grin wide and her fangs out with anticipation.

The highbloods on horseback spread out to encircle us. The two with crossbows kept their weapons trained on Blake and Visha, while the other three dismounted, blades glinting silver as they slowly advanced.

Blake didn’t wait. He was the first to strike. He moved faster than I’d ever seen him, his sword clashing against the nearest attacker’s. Crossbow bolts went flying, hitting the carriage, missing Blake by a mile. I prayed none of the bolts penetrated enough to hurt those inside.

Visha had become a whirlwind, moving to the next attacker, her rapier darting.

For a moment, I stood in stunned awe. I’d seen both of them fight before in our classes, but never like this. It was as if being intrue danger had unlocked a deeper well of their highblood skills. Their movements had never seemed more inhumanly fast.

I raised my dagger defensively as one of the highblood attackers, a tall figure with a jagged scar visible on his cheek above the mask, turned his focus on me. My heart hammered. His sword seemed nearly as long as I was tall.

He was bigger, stronger, and better armed but I wasn’t about to back down. Not when my friends were trapped right behind me.

Our blades met. The impact sent a jolt of pain up my arm. My dagger was too small to block him effectively. I backed up, feeling the uneven surface of the road beneath my feet.

What is it? What’s wrong?Nyxaris’s voice was suddenly in my mind, sharp and almost panicked.

I barely managed to duck another swing of the sword. Still, my best defense was going to have to be my speed and my smaller size, I decided.

Not a good time to talk. We’re under attack,I sent back to him.

There was a pause. Then to my shock, his voice came again.I’m on my way. Hold on.

I was frankly amazed he was turning around. He’d already saved my ass once that day. Still, I didn’t know how long it would take him to get there. For now, we were on our own.

My attacker lunged and I twisted, avoiding the blow.

Suddenly, a blur of motion surged out of the treeline.

A massive silver wolf sped across the road and launched itself at the highblood attacking me. The man screamed as the wolf’s jaws closed around his arm, dragging him down to the ground.

Visha appeared beside me, panting and licking blood from her lips, as she stared open-mouthed at the wolf. “What the hell is that thing?” Then she shrugged as the wolf tore into the highblood attacker. “Fuck it. At least it has good taste.” A manic grin spread across her face. In another instant, she was gone.

I glanced across the road at where Blake was fighting two foes at once. All of the attackers were off their horses now. I saw one of their crossbows lying in the road where the man Blake was fighting must have dropped it.

I darted forward, intending to pick it up. Before I could reach it, another attacker stepped in front of me. His sword was sheathed, his hands were up. He seemed more interested in grabbing me than harming me.

But before he could even touch me, the silver wolf was there, knocking the man onto his back and pinning him beneath his huge paws. The beast didn’t hesitate. It tore into the highblood with savage efficiency, crushing the man’s skull like a grape. I peeled my eyes from the gruesome sight and moved around the wolf, reaching the crossbow.

I’d just picked it up when arms snaked around my waist, yanking me off my feet. I screamed, struggling, twisting and kicking, but he was too strong.

“Medra!” I heard Blake roar over the fray, but I knew he was too far away. Locked in combat.

Before I could raise my dagger to strike downwards, the man’s blade pierced my side. I gasped at the burning pain and looked down to see a small knife sticking out of my side, the man’s hand still wrapped tightly around it. Just as he pulled it out, a massive silver blur collided with us, knocking us both to the ground.

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