Page 80 of The Blood that Binds Us

I smirk and look away before he can see the blush on my cheeks. As much as I may hate to admit it, his appearanceisa distraction. Suited up in armor, his eyes burning with intense focus and his hands clenching at his sides as if he’s itching to reach for his sword, helookslike the reaper Aegidale and its neighbors have come to fear.

The ground rumbles beneath our feet as the distinct shrill of Legion battle cries pierce the air, and the galloping of their armored horses stampede towards us.

A storm of arrows hurl above our heads towards them, knocking a few soldiers off their horses, but the majority of them lodge into their poorly crafted shields. The first sendoff of arrows is our agreed upon cue, so Sin and I jump into action. We conjure a wall of fire before us and stretch it into a line that extends far off in either direction, through the side streets and alleys, creating a flame barrier between our first and second armies. Legion’s mundane won’t be able to cross the fiery blockade, forcing their transcendents to separate from the rest and dividing their numbers. The shifters will be able to cross the fire, but it will temporarily weaken their defense. It takes a lot of magic to wound a transcendent, but a sharp sword can slice through their skins as easily as any human’s.

Ahead of us, the sound of metal against metal cleaves the air, signaling the fighting has commenced. And as predicted, a wall of transcendents come barreling towards our fire barricade. I plant my feet, opening and closing my hands as the magic warms there and simmers in anticipation. Our second army moves in around us with weapons drawn as the pounding of the transcendents’ monstrous paws grows louder. And as soon as the Legion shifters are in range, Sin and I unleash a wave of destruction magic towards the charging beasts.

It hits the six shifters in the center the hardest, sending them stumbling sideways for a brief moment, while the others break off to cross the barrier from farther away. The ones in front regain their footing and lower their shoulders as they near the flames, hurtling themselves through the blazing wall like rabid, overgrown wolves.

Sin and I retreat a few steps as they tear through, their coats littered with ash and their bared teeth glistening with saliva as they growl and dip their heads. We reposition to stand back-to-back, covering the blind spot of the other as we surround ourselves with a ward. The transcendents separate and charge into the second army, while three of them stay and circle around us, snapping their heads to the side and licking their snouts as they let out low, guttural snarls. Two of them are reddish colored and the third a dark blonde, each with sharp pointed ears, long rectangular snouts, and golden eyes set deep in their canine faces.

Our ward is too strong for them to get much closer, so long as we can maintain its potency. The weight of Sin’s back pressed against mine keeps me focused, grounded, as I pour my intention into the ward protecting us.

I swear to protect you in the face of battle tomorrow, he promised last night. And right now, with our bodies pinned together at the shoulders, I trust the Black Art with my life.

The flames that were ravenous with hunger a moment before vanish into a thick gray fog.

They extinguished the barrier.

We knew it wouldn’t hold for long against a species known for their advanced abjuration magic, but we did underestimate how many of them would still be standing before the wall came down.

The ground shakes beneath my feet, and I strain to see through the barricade that has been reduced to a smoldering curtain, but the smoke is too thick. My knees buckle as whatever is approaching draws nearer, making the city streets quiver beneath my boots and—

“Sin!” I call over my shoulder as a second surge of transcendents come rushing through what remains of the smoking wall.

This lot of them appear diseased, patches of skin blistering beneath their charred furs like a bubbling stew. Our men must have rained the boiling, iron-infused water on their backs before they breached the defense. Kingdom soldiers move in and surround us, lunging and hacking at the beasts while the three surrounding us snap at and test the boundaries of our barrier—a barrier that won’t hold against this many of them.

“We need to put them down!” Sin yells over his shoulder. “Give me your hands!”

I reach behind me, and as soon as his white clenched knuckles lock on top of mine, my spine arches as he bleeds the magic from my body. I don’t fight him as he rips the collective from my blood and siphons the magic right from my veins. My arms convulse and shudder in his grip, my body teetering on collapsing as Sin drains me from the inside. And suddenly my head is too heavy, and my neck falls limp against his shoulder, my knees threatening to give out next.

“Hang on,” he growls under his breath, his hands tightening unbearably around my own. With a feral shout, Sin releases a wave of destruction strengthened with the magic he tapped straight from my own source, and the symphony of howls that follows in its wake snaps me back to alertness. I open my eyes and watch as the furred legs of the three immediately surrounding us wobble under their weight, and they crash to the ground, limp and broken and bleeding.

Sin spins me to face him, demanding to know if I’m alright, and violently shakes me when I don’t answer. But I can barely see him through the red haze clouding my vision, and I struggle to hear his voice over the whispers in my head.

Herwhispers.

My eyes narrow in on the fallen beasts, on their torn sides and dripping wounds, and I…

Ismellthem.

I inhale the scent of their suffering, hints of mulled wine and citrus petting my tongue, and I lick my teeth at the sight of them. Sin grabs my chin and jerks my head forward, forcing me to meet his eyes, and I bare my teeth at him instinctively.

“Remember who you are,” he says, his words coming out hurried but gentle. “You are stronger than her.”

I am stronger than her.

She who would rush to their fallen, crumpled bodies and snap their necks without a second thought; she who would lap the blood pouring from their wounds; she who would laugh as they begged for mercy.

Remember who you are.

High-pitched chants sung from the lips of Legion soldiers dance across the dense, smoking wall moments before they emerge in the flesh, weapons held above their heads. Swords, hammers, battle axes of varying sizes and quality stampede towards us, and I nod to Sin as I spin towards them, drawing my sword from my hip.

He pulls his own weapon from his back, and side-by-side, we stare down the flood of monsters storming towards us with the force of a raging tsunami. My agility surprises me, the caster’s high pumping my body with adrenaline, allowing me to move faster, sharper. I jab and thrust and lunge with more swiftness than I could muster in training while my magic replenishes itself.

I quickly infer that an order was given to protect me at all costs as I am never alone. Sin’s men flank me on all sides, letting me beat down my opponent but always stepping in to deliver the fatal blow once they’ve fallen before me. We hack through them one by one, our kingdom steel easily finding the holes in their makeshift armors and overpowering their pieced together weapons. The smell of bloodshed invades my senses, encasing my very bones in a euphoric glaze as I allow their affliction to fuel my power. I pivot to my right as a screaming woman charges me with a raised hammer, and dodging to the side, I spin and plant my foot into her backside, sending her stumbling into one of our soldiers who puts her down a second time—permanently.

Now facing the other direction, I catch sight of Sin through the blanket of smoke. Five transcendents slowly circle him, forcing him to resort to magic before it’s regained its full potency. But even he knows five shifters is too much for the Black Art to take on with steel alone. Goddess-blessed magic doesn’t make his human skin any less vulnerable to jagged canine teeth.

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