Page 28 of The Heirs

The movement of dozens of feet moving into position took me out of the moment and I backed away, Halley’s feet following mine in the opposite direction. Madden came up behind her, wrapping an arm around her waist and glaring at the blood dripping down the side of her neck. I, on the other hand, couldn’t help the heat rushing through me at the mark on her skin.

The Guard in charge of our group called us forward and we lined up, ready to enter the building. Ready for fucking war.

“You don’t leave our fucking sides, sweetheart, you got that?” Madden murmured to Halley, who stood between the two of us. The two who promised to protect her.

Halley nodded, glancing between the two of us, her gaze wary when it connected with mine. Reaching over, I rubbed the blood on her neck, smearing it with my thumb.

“No more of your blood will be spilled, princess.”

The Guard called out the orders and then we moved forward, sneaking around the building and to the door. When we reached it, the Drax in charge slammed the door down with his foot, allowing us access. And as we entered, a savage grin crossed my face. It was time for the Hunters to pay.

Chapter Thirty

Halley

I don’t know what I expected. Maybe a dark room filled with chains and prison cells. An underground cavern. A group of Hunters armed and ready to kill. I didn’t expect to walk into a sterile tiled room, lit up with bright lights. Men and women were scattered around the room, talking amongst themselves. When the door dropped to the ground, each head whipped our way, surprise written in their eyes. I knew our small group was worried that the Hunters would be informed of this attack, but it genuinely seemed like they had no idea this was going to happen.

A pang of guilt flashed through me, because I didn’t want to be cruel. I didn’t want to take innocent lives. But the feeling quickly washed away when each person in the room drew a weapon and an alarm began blaring throughout the entire building. They may not have expected us, but they were ready, and they weren’t going down without a fight.

Madden and Wilder both stood in front of me, but I wasn’t useless. Drawing on my practice with Knox, I took myself to the memory of last night. Happiness and another emotion I was scared to identify swirled through me and I pushed out my shield, protecting those around me. And not a moment too soon when the bullets began spraying towards us. Each hit bounced off my shield and then everything began to move. More Hunters began pouring into the room, more than I could see, each with a new weapon and hatred in their eyes.

The Guard and other students surrounding me began to attack, tearing into the room like the vile monsters the Hunters claimed Divines to be. Wilder left my side, tearing into the Hunters who dared to get close to us. Madden stood firm next to me, but I knew he couldn’t do that.

“You need to shift. We need you.”

My words seemed to bounce off him, refusing to listen. Gripping his arm in my hand, I repeated myself, firm in my words. When his eyes finally met mine, I refused to back down.

“Shift, Madden. I have my shield and I’ll scream your fucking name if I need help. Now, shift.” I growled out the last words and he finally listened, quickly transforming into his large tiger form, ready to rip into anyone who got in his way.

As more Hunters entered the room, I felt the swell of Divines at my back, joining the fight. I knew Knox was somewhere outside,seeingwhat would happen next and when reinforcements were needed. I also knew Eli was somewhere in this crowd, protected, inflicting pain and debilitating them. And Maeve was somewhere in the mess, fighting, and I could only hope she would make it home to Kalani.

Ignoring thoughts of others, I focused on shielding those I could, as far as I could. However, as Divines and Hunters began to intertwine, I couldn’t hold the shield specifically in such a small space and knew it was time for something different. I hadn’t spent the last few weeks practicing for no reason.

Pulling the shield back into myself, I focused on the carnage, allowing anger to boil beneath the surface, but keeping it under control, like Knox instructed. Eyeing the room, I caught onto a group in the corner, guns pointed at several Drax and Ethos, who cowered. Using every ounce of power I could, I lifted the guns out of the Hunters hands, twisting the steel until the guns were useless. The Divines watched in awe and then when they realized this was their chance, they attacked once again, taking control.

Eyeing up the rest of the room, I moved from area to area, seeing those on the losing end of the attack, and turning it in their favor. However, with each attacker I took out, it seemed another Hunter entered the room, arming those I had already taken from. We were wildly outnumbered and as the screams and gunshots rang throughout the room, I knew it wasn’t enough. Even with the strength of the Divines powers, nothing could help when we were outnumbered.

Taking a deep breath, I pushed the noise of the room out of my head. Now wasn’t the time to freak out. To grieve the moments as I watched Mom and Kalani be shot to death. I needed those memories to fuel me so I wouldn’t lose anyone else. Gathering the anger from those thoughts, I channeled my powers, using every ounce of focus as I had to not let it consume me. Replaying Knox’s lessons, I made sure that I controlled my power and not the other way around.

When I felt the power swelling over, as much as I could control at once, I reopened my eyes, focusing on every Hunter in my vicinity. I saw the shadows coursing over my arms as the power roiled through me, but I didn’t fear it. I knew it was a part of me. With a flick of my wrist, I watched in awe as dozens of Hunters fell to the ground, each bone in their bodies snapping in an instant.

The influx of power whooshing out of me had me staggering at the loss of energy but before I could collapse to my knees, a strong arm was wrapped around me. Immediately I recognized Madden’s grip, the softness of his touch contrasting with his rough hands and hard muscles.

“Fuck sweetheart, that was impressive.”

Too out of breath to respond, I gave him a weak smile and he seemed to realize I was hanging on by a thread. I had no clue how Enchanters used to do this multiple times.

“Go to the back and catch your breath. We got this.” Madden placed a swift kiss on my head and then he was shifting into his wolf, howling into the room, the noise echoing in an ominous tone, as if the sound of the Hunters imminent downfall.

Following Madden’s instructions, I used the last of my power to throw up a shield around myself and backed towards the door we had come through, avoiding Hunters and Divines alike. In chaos like this, any wayward hit could go my way.

Continuing to back up, I almost made it to the door when I shuffled into a large body. Assuming it was one of the guys, I sighed in relief and turned, ready to collapse. But instead of the men I was growing accustomed to being by my side, hard set eyes met me, cruelty in their gaze.

“What are you doing back here Enchantress? As far as I’m concerned, you’re supposed to be on the front lines.”

Stepping back, I tried to think of a way out of this scenario. The woman in front of me was no Hunter. And even though we all knew the possibility of the Council planning my death was probable during this attack, we hadn’t planned what to do if they actually tried.

Before I could maneuver out of the situation, the woman gripped my arm tightly, clearly a Drax given her superior strength, halting me from moving.

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