Page 89 of Clash of Sin and Secret

My muscles coil with anticipation as we descend the stone steps. The night air carries the scent of the ocean, but beneath it, something else.

I reach out through our bond to Huntley.We’re finished and coming your way, Viking. It’s on.

The attack comes fast—too fast. There’s a blur of motion and suddenly pain explodes across my chest. I look down to seethree parallel gashes torn through my suit jacket, blood already soaking the fabric.

“Zane!” Scottie’s cry of alarm turns to a grunt of pain.

I spin toward her just as a net of crackling energy descends from above.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Huntley

We’re finished and coming your way, Viking. It’s on.

Zane’s voice in my mind brings me to high alert. Everything is in place—I hope—and now we just need to fight for our lives. No pressure.

Because make no mistake, that’s what is coming.

Agostino wants to take what he could never earn for himself, and he thinks he’s got the goods to overthrow Zane. We need to prove him wrong.

Gravel crunches under my feet as I race up from the dock to where they will be coming out of the building. Visibility is oddly low as I climb the embankment. Mist rolls in from the water, thick and unnatural, obscuring our path. The weather here is weird.

No. It’s not the weather—it’s magic.

“Behind you!” Scottie shouts.

I push through the fog to get to them, my heart hammering to escape my chest. The two of them are under attack, and I arrivein time to see Scottie spin Zane as the blade of a short sword whistles past his ear.

The blade embeds itself in the tree where his head had been moments before.

Through the fog, a rich laughter echoes, bouncing off the stone walls of the sanctuary. “Did you really think I’d let you walk away with my birthright, cousin?”

No, we didn’t, you arrogant fuckwad.

Figures materialize from the mist—at least a dozen turned vampires, their red eyes glowing with bloodlust. They form a circle around us, cutting off our escape to the water.

Zane draws the Diamond Dagger, its blade catching the moonlight. Scottie’s back presses against his, her own blade at the ready. I raise my hands, claws extended. I prefer hand-to-hand and have every intention of disarming them to even the fight.

A flash of steel catches my attention, and my heart lurches as I spot Agostino’s blade slicing toward Zane’s throat.

I launch into motion, my boots pounding across the damp grass. “Down!”

Zane’s already moving, the Diamond Dagger singing as he parries the strike.

Daeva materializes behind Scottie, her burgundy hair whipping in the coastal wind. My stomach drops as more shadows emerge from the tree line—two dozen at least. How many mutts did this asshole turn?

Damn, I had hoped we got them all.

I slam into the first mutt that reaches for Scottie, driving my fist through his chest. His body crumbles to the ground as three more take his place.

Scottie’s power flares, a pulse of energy creating an aura of power around her. As the vampires strike, the buffer absorbs the hit and reflects it back, sending two of them flying backward.

“Viking!” Zane’s voice cuts through the chaos. He gestures to an opponent, rushing me from the side and I get my head back into the moment. Disarming the fanger fledgeling as he advances on me is easy. Then I spin, decapitating him as he stumbles away.

Blood sprays across my face as Agostino’s blade finds Zane’s shoulder. The rage that fills me is primal, visceral. I charge forward, but more mutts block my path to him.

They are no match for us in skill, but with their numbers, there’s always a chance they can land a lucky strike and do some serious harm.

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