Page 175 of Filthy Royal

Anya was right; she could fight.

Maddox, too, was impressive in battle, and Scarlett had been around fighters most of her life, so she knew skilled combatants.

But most extraordinary of all was Damien.

She’d forgotten. The way he moved in the ring and in battle was like liquid power. He had such grace, especially for a big, solid male. He was mesmerizing. Breathtaking, even. And ruthlessly effective.

Damien plowed through their attackers three, four, sometimes five at once. Until it was clear their numbers were almost at an end, and even more astonishing, he’d barely suffered more than a scratch.

He truly was a sight to behold.

Nevertheless, she was ready when one of them slipped by his defenses and reached for her, her gift instantly blowing the attacker backward, his eyes lifeless before he struck the ground.

The walls shook, and bigger rocks tumbled from the ceiling.

Panting hard, she did her best to reel in her gift.

“And here I was, all set not to like you.”

Scarlett glanced over to see Anya eyeing the dead guard and then her, an impressed look on the other female’s face. “Looks like you’ll fit in just fine.”

Despite her fear and pain, the sweetness of Anya’s words pierced Scarlett’s chest in the best possible way.

“Here comes another wave.” Maddox’s unhappy grunt slapped her from her happy place.

Another wave? Twenty more guards? The hope that had started to swell inside Scarlett took a hit. The shadows, the urge to wreak destruction, raged higher, demanding their due, striking at her ribs as she locked her knees to remain upright.

“We’ve got this. Stay steady.” Damien, sounding as confident as ever, dropped back into battle position.

Drawing strength from his words, she stiffened her spine and blocked out the pain.

And Damien was right: they did have it. The dead bodies helped, making it difficult for the guards to maneuver as he and Maddox once again handled the next team that came at them. However, this round, a sure sign they were tiring, Maddox took three deep slashes to his arms and one to his chest that pierced his shirt and stained it blood-red. Damien, too, sustained a long claw slice across his forearm and another to his stomach. Meanwhile, she and Anya did their best to watch their protectors’ flanks and strike out when they could.

As a result, the Consortium bodies piled higher.

Even better, it looked as if Damien’s confidence might be warranted.

Until heavy footfalls echoed along the tunnel, and Scarlett realized another wave of guards had arrived.

This was not good.

Her body wrenched sideways as her gift slammed hard against her chest, demanding out.

* * *

Damien

Damien raked his claws across the throat of one attacker, striking an artery, while simultaneously kicking out at another and sending him flying backward.

He needed to find a way past these waves of guards. Maddox was injured and tiring.

Anya had also expended a lot of energy, and her ability to keep her gift going was waning. Soon, the guards would have functional lasers again.

Equally as worrisome, he could feel Scarlett’s gift against his skin growing in ferocity. Her control was slipping. The shadows on the walls and the growing tremors further proof that she was struggling to control her gift.

Which meant pain for her. Additional bruises he did not want her to have. And the risk that the ceiling could come down on all of them at any time.

His mind scrambling for a solution, he took out two more attackers.

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