56
White bled into ruby as the salt flats turned into a bloodbath, especially where it pinched us between a low field of jagged rocks on one side and the steep slopes of an outcropping on the other. In the air, on the ground, we battled for every inch forward.
I’d known this position wasn’t ideal before we decided to engage. The narrow path made it difficult for either side to advance. Because of that, I’d assumed the Angels would realize the futility and retreat. Unfortunately for me, something shifted in their attitude and they fought with a ferocity that had been lacking since we collided in the Paks Desert.
We’d be battling into the night after all.
An Angel lunged for one of the males spearing into the front line, and without thought, I flung shadows at him. Using them like a noose, I yanked him toward me and ran him through the middle with my bronze sword. A Destructor blasted a boulder apart to my right, and I barely managed to twist my hand and morph the shadows into a shield to cover those of us in range from the falling rock.
“Fuck!”
I shouted when one slipped through and whacked my shoulder. “Watch your surroundings.”
The male didn’t even have a moment to apologize or acknowledge me before two females leaped from their vantage point and onto him. There wasn’t nearly enough room to maneuver around, and the random arrows raining down didn’t help the situation either. Having to keep eyes everywhere only caused distraction and increased the chances of death.
I slashed again, pushing forward with the group, managing to pierce deeper into their line. If we could only divide them more…
Fear, so potent that it sent me staggering back, exploded down the mating bond. I stumbled to the side, nearly tripping over a fallen Angel, before shaking my head to clear it. That terror wasn’t my own, which meant the source of it waited for me at the camp.
“Assyria?”
I called down our bond. The battle had taken all of my attention, and I hadn’t even thought of her since I leaped off my horse and charged forward with the Demon warriors.
Silence.
“Assyria!”
Distracted, I nearly missed the incoming arrow. At the last second, I leaped to the side again. The projectile buried itself in the back of a face-down Demon.
“Assyria!”
I shouted for the third time, flooding our bond with attention in the hopes she’d respond to me.
I felt nothing, heard nothing.
An icy chill rolled through me. Something was wrong—very, very wrong.
All around me, the soldiers struggled for more ground. Spearheading the attack into their front line, my power and my leadership were essential. Dividing their forces would aid us in eliminating them, and if we needed to change course, I was in the heart of the action to determine that. Without Rapp or Trol, I was the sole command and all major decisions rested on my shoulders.
A need, stronger than all logic, all reason begged me to return to Assyria. Never had our bond felt so empty. It frightened me more so than the Angels’ bared teeth and aggressive press.
Assyria was mine to protect, just as I protected my soldiers.
The decision ripped me in two, but I knew what my only true option was.
“Hold the line!”
I yelled at the males in front of me. The ones behind me, I ordered to part and push forward to support their brothers-in-arms. But racing in the opposite direction from the battle was no easy task, and it didn’t take long for my retreat to draw attention.
“Keep fucking going,”
I barked at the ones who seemed to hesitate.
Finding a few Százados coordinating an attack on the ridge, I relayed further instruction and emphasized the need to continue our assault. One raced off to find a Parancsok to replace me at the front. Then, I attempted to push through the line of oncoming Demons and return to the camp.
Too much time was passing, and Assyria still wasn’t responding to me.
Heart pounding in my ears, I called on the shadows in my chest and pulled my wings from between my shoulder blades. In two steps I was airborne, flying low over the army and calling more shadows from the fading light to cloak my form.
Minutes ticked by, each serving to twist my stomach even more. “Assyria!”
I slammed to the ground in front of the healer’s tent, not even bothering to account for the overflow of males there.
I had to search for my mate.
Her long, dark hair and devious burgundy eyes were nowhere to be found.
One of the healers raced by, and I snatched his arm and spun him to face me. “Where is she?”
I growled, violence lacing my tone.
He paled and shrank back. “I don’t know, haven’t seen your chosen in a few hours at least. We’re overwhelmed here.”
I threw him away with a snarl, then stalked to another male and interrogated him too. When the third didn’t know, what little patience I possessed fled entirely. I ripped off my horned ebony helmet. A growl, loud and threatening like a pissed off wolf, rumbled in my chest, drawing the attention of each male around me. They needed to witness the promise of violence exuding from my every pore.
“Where is my mate?”
I bellowed, the force of my voice shaking the canvas in all directions.
Silence reigned as everyone went utterly still.
Chest heaving, I bared my teeth at them all. “Someone tell me where the fuck she is right now.”
A healer working on a soldier with a massive gash in his thigh straightened, wiping sweat from his brow. “I sent her for more bandages and pium, but she hasn’t returned.”
Without acknowledging he’d spoken, I stalked toward the nearby supply tents. I slapped each flap back with enough vehemence that I startled Grem and Zeec, whom I’d left behind to patrol the camp.
Sensing the tumult of fear and fury rolling off me, they trotted dutifully alongside me. “Search for Assyria,”
I snapped at them, and they raced away, noses in the air and on the ground.
I should have left them to guard her rather than the whole camp. Why didn’t I tell them to stay with her?
Because I was angry and hurting. Regret swirled in my stomach. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to keep moving. I learned my lesson and would not make the mistake of leaving her unguarded again.
All I wanted was to find her, safe, right now.
Zeec released a sharp bark, and I whipped around a corner, continuing to check every tent along the way. None revealed Assyria.
As I turned away from my latest assault, Grem sprinted by me, fixated on a spot ahead. Without hesitation, I chased after him. My heart hammered wildly against my ribs and hope rooted in my heart that I’d finally find her and could return to the fighting after a thorough castigation for not responding down our mental connection.
The dogs planted themselves on the earth, tongues lolling as their attention focused on the ground in front of them. Careening around them, I found a pile of bandages strewn across the ground, like they’d been forcibly removed from someone’s hand.
My entire body went cold.
I raced forward, knees crashing to the ground as I searched for any sign of her. Something glistened in the dirt, and I snatched it between my fingers. Even in the dim light, the tiny garnet inlaid in the dainty gold ring glinted as I turned it over.
My breath lodged in my throat, and the world spun as pure, untethered rage licked its way up my spine. Red coated my vision, so much darker than the garnet in Assyria’s mother’s ring. A roar ripped from my chest, filled with so much anguish and fury that I hoped the sound would carry to the Angels and make them quake in their boots.
Because I knew, without a doubt, they had Assyria.
And I was going to fucking slaughter them all.