Leaves rattle to our side, and a Ramves soldier bursts into our clearing. Reyes charges with a growl, brandishing his knife as the Ramves jumps backwards in alarm. “What do we have here?” the soldier taunts, flashing his rows of sharp teeth that make my heart drop. “A wee human and his wee pet?”

  “Fuck you,” Reyes snarls, swinging his dagger as he dashes forward. The weapon slices through the Ramves’s hand, and he jerks back with a look of utter shock on his face. Reyes is unrelenting, cutting a long slice through his forearm, but the Ramves recovers from his stupor. He pulls his sword from his scabbard, and I stumble back and thud to the ground with a cry as he swings.

  Reyes ducks under his arm and jabs his dagger into the Ramves’s side, then shoves him back with his shoulder. The Ramves shouts as Reyes yanks his blade loose, and a burst of blood oozes from his side and leaks down his armor. “You’ll fucking pay for that,” the soldier snarls, and charges with a fresh boost of adrenaline. Reyes ducks and weaves, dodging the blows until the hilt catches him on the jaw. He stumbles back, stunned, and the Ramves turns to me.

  “Maybe I’ll just take your pretty pet instead,” he taunts, and I scramble backwards until my back slams against a tree. “What would hurt worse, huh? If I fucked him here in front of you, or if I stole him and fucked him whenever I wanted?” He lunges at me, and I bury my face in my knees as I fist my hair, making myself as small as possible like I could ever hide from his wrath.

  “Fuck you,” Reyes shouts, and the shadow that was standing over me disappears with a howl. My eyes move up in time to watch Reyes sink his blade straight through the Ramves’s stomach, then twist it and rip it out. Blood gushes from the wound, and as the soldier’s head snaps up with crazed eyes, Reyes goes for his throat.

  I look away as droplets spray over the leaves, and the grass softens the thud as his body drops to the ground. Reyes rushes to my side, where my limbs shake uncontrollably. “Are you alright?” he whispers, and I nod through my terror. “The others had to hear that, Nyx. Come on, we have to go.” He drags me to stand, and I’m so tired my muscles scream for relief as we run again.

  But we don’t get far.

  Soldiers swarm out of the trees in front of us. So focused on what was happening behind us, we missed the rush of feet ahead. One carries a body. Long white hair, streaked in shades of red and pink, hangs low and drags over the forest floor until Xeni is tossed to the ground in a pile. Blood covers his clothes and face, and my panic builds as I stare at his unmoving body, searching for signs of life. After a few seconds, his chest lifts in a shaky inhale.

  He’s alive, but there are too many of them.

  Reyes swipes his dagger with a shout and pushes me backward, getting ready to dart back the way we came when the ones behind us catch up. They’re laughing, still laughing, laughing, and they drag Ronan by his arms. Trapped in chains and zip ties and ropes that even his gnashing teeth and twisted claws can’t break through. Solid black eyes and dark, damned veins, and contorted, mangled limbs thrash as he tries to free himself. When he finds my eyes he wails through the gag in his mouth. It’s a howl so full of desperation and sorrow it forms goosebumps across my skin.

  Anger like I’ve never felt boils inside my blood. Hot, too hot, an inferno that demands justice for every wicked thing that’s ever been done to me. It screams inside my head that they can’t get away with this. That it must be punished. The soldiers speak and taunt, but the ringing in my ears muffles their words. Reyes shouts and readies his dagger, and they laugh again, so arrogant and awful as they step forward.

  Caged.

  We’re outnumbered and overpowered, and they advance on their prize. Reyes lunges at the first to get too close, slicing their wrist open as they hiss and jerk backwards.

  They aren’t laughing now.

  They touch him, knocking his blade to the ground and grabbing his wrists as they force his body against theirs. My flower. My mate, my love, mine. He’s mine, and they can’t have him.

  They can’t have him.

  I won’t allow it.

  My vocal cords ache, and I realize I’m screaming. Magic rampages uncontrolled through my veins, violent and vicious and demanding. Its thorns scrape against my heart and coil around my bones, but I’m not the victim of its wrath. It consumes me until I think I might burst with it, tearing my insides to pieces and feasting on their fears. I don’t fight it.

  And in this moment, I understand.

  The reason I could never fully heal.

  I invite the magic inside, surrender, and let my broken fragments shatter to make room for its fury. Muscles shred and bones splinter as it fills the crevices this life has left behind. It permeates every fractured chasm within this beaten body, and for that fleeting moment, I am whole.

  I am complete.

  They’re laughing again as I fall to my knees and push my fingers into the earth, calling on her strength as the magic rips me apart. Louder and louder I scream, and my body rattles all the way to my bones as I watch Reyes fight their hold, his eyes wide and terrified as they land on mine. Sounds disappear as my ears fill with the insistent song, and I release my tether to reality.

  The world is silent.

  And I am weightless.

  Reyes

  Never has a heart broken so completely as mine does in this moment. Nyx falls to his knees, and my fear holds time captive. The world slows to a crawl as I fight the insistent grip of the monster who holds me. Nyx’s screams are deafening, and the sound is as terrifying as it is haunting. He’s so small there on the ground… too small to be the vessel for such fury.

  “What the fuck is he doing?” someone asks, and they laugh as Nyx’s gaze whips up to mine.

  His hands are on the soil, fingers piercing the earth as the grass blades climb to weave shackles around his wrists. A blinding golden light explodes from inside him, as bright as staring straight into the sun. Rays of magic scald my eyes, so intense it feels as though they might rip him into pieces, but I won’t look away. Never from him.

  “I love you,” I sob as he screams louder, impossibly louder, before everything happens at once.

  Branches reach from their perch above us, and ivy whips from the grass, slithering leafy serpents that chase the soldiers as they shout in alarm. The one holding me cries out and shoves me away from him. They scatter as they try to run, but they don’t get far.

  They aren’t allowed.

  Roots lift from the earth, tripping them as they flee, and paths that were once clear are suddenly covered in thorny barricades. Those limbs and vines bind their wrists and ankles, securing them in place as they yell for help that will never come.

  Time still moves in slow motion, and my heart roars in my ears, but I don’t waste a single second. Dirt kicks under my feet as I scramble to the soldiers closest to Ronan, and I dig in their pockets until I find the key to his chains. The moment his bindings are undone, he releases a roar that shakes the leaves and dashes to the nearest monster. I turn my head as he rips into their neck, but their blood sprays across the grass at my feet.

  Nyx pours himself into the ground, his eyes closed and face to the sky as he screams in a never-ending breath. I need to go to him, need to help him, but I force myself to handle the immediate danger. Throats are slashed unceremoniously, and like the earth knows they’re no longer a threat to her servant, they’re released to collapse into piles as they die.

  Mercy doesn’t live in these woods. It has no home here.

  This once-peaceful forest becomes their tomb. By the time Ronan and I have finished our work, eight of them lie on the crimson-stained ground, and the metallic punch of their blood is thick and cloying in the air. Necks are torn open or sliced wide, and they’re either dead or dying. Death throes and gargling, begging moans are the only signs of life left among them, but even those are overpowered by the scream that echoes through the trees.

  And then, the world falls silent and that light is extinguished.

  “Nyx!” The word rips from my throat as he crumples, and I rush to where he lies unmoving on the forest floor. Flowers and tall grass surround him, too much like a gravesite as it shrouds his ashen skin. “Nyx, sweetheart, please,” I beg as I collapse beside him and scoop him into my arms. His body is limp, and he feels so small as I hold him against me. “Get up. Wake up… you have to wake up. You said you’d never leave. We promised, remember? We promised we’d stay together, always.” I press my ear to his chest, and another punch of breath leaves me when I find the heartbeat that drums behind it.

  It’s faint, but it’s there.

  He’s there.

  I bury my face in his hair and sob—great, gasping, mournful things that quake my whole body. Relief creeps around the edges of my fear, but doesn’t dare infiltrate it. Not while we aren’t safe, and not until he’s back with me.

  My throat feels like it’s full of sand and gravel, but I swallow and take a breath. “Where did they come from?” The words are so rough I’m surprised Ronan can even understand them.

  “I don’t know,” he responds, and his voice is deep in a way that’s unnatural. The stories of his bloodlust didn’t prepare me for the terror of seeing him like this. Every instinct tells me to run, despite the fact that he crouches beside Xeni and carefully checks his wounds. Ronan’s black eyes land on mine, with inky veins mapping his skin. His gaze dips to Nyx in my arms, and even in this form, fear shines through his expression.

  “He’s alive,” I say, but my voice trembles with the words, and I close my mouth before I break down. Ronan tends to Xeni as he slowly regains consciousness, searching him for wounds. Xeni takes a few shuddering breaths, and Ronan helps him to sit, careful of his claws. I shiver, thankful it’s still my friend inside that body.

  “What… happened?” Xeni groans, then hisses when he reaches behind his head to the gash that’s turned him bloody.

  “They were military,” Ronan says, and when Xeni focuses on him, his eye goes wide. He scrambles backward, thudding against a trunk as Ronan scoffs. “And they say I’m the drama queen.” It’s strange, seeing him roll his eyes when he looks so much like a monster, but oddly enough, the gesture calms me by a fraction. “They came out of the woods and ambushed us. One of them knocked you on the head, and you dropped like a log. I killed three of them, but there were too many. They were prepared for beasties like me with those restraints.” His eyes shift back towards the camp, and his ears twitch as he listens. “I don’t hear anything right now, but we need to be careful. We can’t be sure that was all of them.”

  “I have to get him somewhere safe.” I stand with Nyx’s body draped in my arms. He’s so small, so fucking tiny as he hangs there, and I struggle to tuck his hair under my arm so it doesn’t drag. The knots hurt him and I don’t want to hurt him. I never want him to feel another ounce of pain. “We have to go.” It comes out pleading, and Ronan nods.

  “Let’s get to the…” He trails off, his ears perking up before he growls and takes off towards the camp.

  “Ronan!” I bellow, and Xeni climbs to stand on unstable feet. He needs help too, but my arms are full. Once he’s standing and semi-steady, we cautiously follow Ronan’s trail. When we find him, he’s positioned over a body just outside of Nyx’s old tent, and fresh blood stains his chin. Noise from inside makes his head tilt with a predatory interest that gives me chills, and Xeni and I rush to catch up as he shoves the flap aside.

  Matuk sits in the cage, his enormous frame shoved into a place not meant for someone of his size. Large gouges slice through his cheek while he cradles an arm that appears freshly broken. “You came,” he gasps, and his head hangs as he releases a quiet sob.

  “What happened?” Xeni’s tone is soft as he approaches. I kneel on the ground so I don’t exhaust myself with Nyx’s weight, careful not to jostle him too much.

  “I came alone,” Matuk says as Ronan stands at the flap, his barbed tails twitching as he keeps watch. “I didn’t want to risk the others in case you didn’t show. The platoon must’ve been following me. There were just too many of them, and they… they dragged me with them and threw me in here when they saw your group. I… wanted to help. I tried.”

  “How badly are you hurt?” Xeni asks, and Matuk steadies himself with a few shaky inhales.

  “My arm is broken. Maybe my ankle, too.”

  “How many were there?” The giant fangs pushing against Ronan’s upper lip make his words hiss more than usual, and I shudder again, picturing the way he ripped through the throats of those soldiers.

  “Thirteen.”

  “There’s one left, then,” Ronan says, squaring his shoulders, but I shake my head.

  “No, there isn’t. I killed one in the forest before we ran into you all.” He gives me an approving nod and allows his guard to drop by a fraction. The tension in his shoulders lessens, but he doesn’t move from his lookout position. A lock clicks as Xeni finds the correct key, and the old, rusted hinges shriek in protest as the cage door is opened. Ronan comes over to help him stand, and Nyx whimpers in my arms with a small twitch.

  “We need to get him to safety,” I plead, and everyone focuses on me as my eyes move to Matuk. “Can we go to your camp?”

  “Reyes—” Ronan interjects, but he pauses as I snarl.

  “No! We don’t know if they were alone. There could be more coming, and we are in no condition to handle that right now. I will not sit here with a fucking target on our backs just because you’re scared. I’m fucking scared too, Ronan! I’m fucking terrified, and I need to get him somewhere safe because I cannot lose him.”

  “What happened?” Xeni asks as he examines the cuts on Matuk’s face. “How did you guys possibly fight your way out of that?”

  Ronan scans outside the tent once more before he walks over and crouches beside me. He runs his palm over Nyx’s hair as he sighs. It’s an affectionate touch, one you might expect to see between brothers, and the softness brings forward the tears I’ve been fighting ever since I heard those footsteps in the woods.

  “Nyx saved us.”

  Reyes

  The slow trudge is made worse by our injuries and Nyx’s weight in my arms. Matuk is parked closer, at the opposite end of the trees as ours, so we make our way there first. We load inside after Ronan helps Matuk into the passenger seat, and I pull Nyx into my lap as Xeni drives us to our vehicle. The military trucks are visible through the trees, and, despite my protest, Ronan stops to collect the spare fuel they carry.

  Once he's finished, we continue to Matuk's van. Ronan offers to carry Nyx, but backs away at my snarl. I transfer him to our vehicle, laying him across the middle bench and resting his head on my leg. Xeni stays with Matuk to drive, and Ronan climbs into the driver’s seat. The purr of the engine is a welcome thrum as Ronan waits for the others to leave, then falls in line behind them.

  Nyx’s lashes flutter and his eyes dart underneath his eyelids. I cherish the signs of life, sliding my thumb over his cheek until I realize my hands are coated in dark, drying blood. My clothes too, but there’s nothing to be done about it right now.

  “Do you think he’ll be okay?” I ask, and Ronan glances at me in the rearview mirror. The black pools of his eyes have receded until they’re his usual brown again.

  “He’ll come back to you,” he says softly. “The string around your middle? The one that always leads to him? He’ll follow it. You’ll guide him home.” A single tear slips loose to slide down my face, splashing into Nyx’s hair as I pull him close. And then I don’t care that Ronan is right there, or that he can see me as I break down. I don’t care that we’re headed to a strange place, or that I need to be on guard.

  I don’t care about anything except his honeysuckle smell and the quiet pulse of my mark as I place it over his.

  My body shakes as I sob, hugging him and focusing on the soft way he breathes. The gentle beat of his heart becomes my metronome, and I let its steady rhythm wash over me as I cry. Tears track my cheeks and wet his hair, and I refuse to loosen my grip on him until the van slows.

  “We’re here.” Ronan’s voice is still soft. I nod, and sit tall, sniffling as I swipe away the tears. He hesitates as he leaves the engine running, then turns in his seat and places a hand over my forearm. “I owe him my life, Reyes. Without him, and without your quick thinking, this would’ve turned out very differently. Cameron would’ve been alone. Elas would’ve never learned what happened to me… the thought of it makes me sick. Whatever I can do to help, I will. You have my word.”

  I mutter my shaky thanks, furiously wiping away my tears that don’t seem to stop. He squeezes my arm once more before he turns around, focusing on the camp. It’s like every other small camp out here in the wilderness—a mix of weather-beaten tents and ramshackle structures, but only half of them still stand. A dilapidated fence runs the perimeter, but most of it has fallen into piles of rubble. This place offers them the basest level of protection, barely keeping them safe from the elements.

  Audra and Samuel, the humans we met on our previous trip, step out from one of the larger tents. They’re visibly nervous. Audra tries to hide it by jutting out her chin and playing tough, but Samuel wrings his hands in front of him.

  “Take your time,” Ronan says, drawing my eyes back to his. “Collect yourself before you bring him out. He needs you to be strong, Reyes.”

  “I’ll try,” I whisper, fighting the fear that’s trying to drown me alive.

  “I know you will.” Ronan slips from the van and leaves me in the silence.

  My palm runs over Nyx’s hair, plucking a stray twig from the strands as I stare at his stony face. “Hey, sirrha. I’m not sure if you can hear me, but I’m here and we’re safe. We got out. You did it. You saved us. I know you’re tired, and it’s all right that you need to rest. Sleep, okay? Sleep as long as it takes for you to heal, just promise me you’ll come back to me. Can you promise me that?”