Page 174 of His Ruthless Match
“We need to move south, toward the tunnel,” Jareth said, already turning in that direction. “They’ll be congregating there. Cain can use his fire to destroy the stones.”
Something in me rebelled against the idea. I grabbed Jareth’s arm, my grip tight. “No. Don’t go that way.”
He frowned at me. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s a trap. They want us to go that way. If we do, we won’t survive. I know it sounds crazy, but I can feel it.”
Jareth scoffed. “Eva?—”
“I’m serious,” I interrupted, my voice trembling with urgency. “Please. You said you’d trust me.”
He exchanged a long, silent look with Raffaele and Cain before finally nodding. “All right,” he said, his voice reluctant but firm. “What do you suggest?”
Before I could answer, an explosion rocked the ground beneath our feet, flames shooting into the air from the direction of the tunnel. The force of the blast sent a wave of heat rushing toward us, and Jareth turned to me, his eyes wide with shock.
“Looks like you were right,” he said quietly.
The fires smoldered, smoke curling into the air like lazy ghosts. The battlefield, littered with bodies and scorched rubble, had gone eerily silent. For a moment, all I could hear was thecrackle of dying flames and the distant, pained moans of the wounded.
My legs trembled, adrenaline still coursing through my veins, but my gut told me this wasn’t over. The quiet was too deliberate, too staged, like a predator lying in wait, teeth bared just beyond the shadows.
Cain landed beside me with a heavy thud, his wings folding with a flourish. His bare chest glistened with sweat, tattoos faintly glowing in the aftermath of the battle. “Well, that was a hell of a show,” he muttered, running a hand through his dark hair. His flames still flickered in his palms, ready for whatever came next.
Raffaele turned, his sharp features carved in stone as he surveyed the scene. “Looks like they were willing to sacrifice their own to try and blow us to pieces,” he said grimly. “It’s a good fucking thing we didn’t head to the tunnels like they expected us to.”
“Not luck,” Jareth corrected, stepping closer. His golden-brown eyes flicked to me, his expression softening despite the tension in his jaw. “It’s thanks to Eva and her sharp instincts.”
Heat rushed to my face, but I forced myself to meet his gaze. “We’re not done,” I said, my voice steadier than I felt. “This is just the quiet before the storm.”
They all froze at my words, turning as one toward the rubble-strewn streets. The tension crackled in the air, thick and electric. And then, like a dam breaking, the chaos erupted.
The rebels came from everywhere at once—emerging from behind piles of debris, surging out of dilapidated buildings, and rushing from the shadows. It wasn’t just the faceless creatures this time. Hooded figures with glowing eyes, sharp-toothed shifters, and magic-wielding fae swarmed the battlefield, their roars and snarls blending into a cacophony of violence.
“Move!” Raffaele barked. His shadows came alive, writhing around him like a living entity. “No one leaves this battlefield alive.”
Cain and his vampires were the first to charge, moving so fast I could barely track their movements. Cain soared overhead, flames spiraling from his hands as his soldiers engaged the rebels with feral precision. Raffaele’s assassins melted into the darkness, their blades gleaming as they struck with deadly efficiency.
I barely had time to process the chaos before a massive shape barreled toward me. It was a bear shifter, its eyes glowing an unnatural red. My stomach lurched, and I stumbled backward, instinctively raising my arms in a feeble attempt to protect myself.
“Eva!” Jareth’s voice was a roar, and then he was there, shoving me aside just as the bear lunged. His body shifted mid-motion, fur rippling over his skin as he transformed into his cougar form. They collided with a sickening crash, claws and teeth tearing into each other as they rolled across the ground.
The air was thick with the metallic tang of blood and the acrid stench of burning flesh. All around me, the battle raged. I caught glimpses of Raffaele using his shadows like lethal tendrils, snapping necks and disemboweling anyone foolish enough to get close. Cain swooped low, a streak of fire and fury, as his flames consumed rebels in an emerald blaze. But for every enemy that fell, two more took their place.
I tried to move, to run, but the battlefield was chaos incarnate, and there was nowhere to go. A hooded figure raised a staff, chanting words I didn’t understand, and a bolt of energy shot toward me. I ducked, the blast narrowly missing my head and striking the ground with enough force to send me sprawling.
Jareth let out a guttural snarl as he wrestled the bear shifter. Blood matted his fur, and he limped as he circled his opponent,his golden eyes blazing with fury. The bear charged again, and Jareth met it head-on, his claws raking across its throat in a final, decisive blow. The creature collapsed, its lifeless body thudding against the ground.
Jareth shifted back into his human form, his chest heaving as he wiped blood from his mouth. He was favoring one leg, but he still managed to smirk at me as I stumbled toward him. “Just a sprain,” he said, brushing off my concern before I could voice it. “I’m fine.”
Before I could argue, Cain’s voice rang out from above. “Move back! Now!” His flames burned brighter, turning a vivid, unnatural green that sent a shiver down my spine.
“Do it!” Raffaele shouted, his shadows curling protectively around him as he stepped away from the fray. I grabbed Jareth’s arm, and together we retreated, the vampires and assassins following suit.
Cain hovered in the air, his wings outstretched as he unleashed his magic. The green fire rained down in a deadly cascade, igniting the battlefield in an inferno. The flames didn’t just burn—they spread like a living thing, consuming everything in their path. A noxious green gas billowed from the blaze, choking the rebels who hadn’t already fallen.
I watched in horror and awe as the faceless creatures collapsed, their movements growing sluggish before they crumpled into lifeless heaps. Hooded figures screamed as the flames overtook them, their bodies writhing in agony before they were reduced to ash.
From a distance, Raffaele’s shadows finished off any stragglers, snapping necks with chilling precision. The battlefield was a nightmare of fire and blood, the screams of the dying echoing in my ears long after they’d fallen silent.
