Chapter Thirteen
Ryker
“Under attack by whom?”
“They’re Wraith Borne, Ryker,” Eamon panted, sweat soaking the collar of his tunic.
Cadence stiffened beside me, and I reached out, drawing her closer.
“Wraith Borne,” I repeated, the words tasting foul in my mouth. “How many?”
“At least a dozen. Maybe more.” Eamon’s chest shuddered as he struggled to catch his breath. “They breached the outer perimeter just minutes ago. Tore through the sentries like they were nothing.”
“Fuck.”
Cadence’s nails bit through the linen of my tunic, marking my flesh. I could feel the hummingbird flutter of her pulse, rapid and raw.
“Where’s Malesh?”
“Already out there,” Eamon said, jerking his chin back the way he had come. “Fighting on the ramparts.”
Cadence pulled out of my grip as she tried to push past me. I caught her by the elbow, but she set her jaw in that stubborn line I knew all too well.
“We have to help him.”
“You are not going anywhere.”
“Like hell I’m not! I refuse to sit idly by while people I care about are slaughtered.”
“I need you safe,” I snapped, grabbing her wrist. “We can’t let them get through the next line of our defenses.”
“Then you’ll want all the help you can get,” she said, fire blazing in her eyes.
I held her still as I tried my hardest not to shake some sense into her. “You’re powerless, Cadence.”
She recoiled as if I had slapped her. “And you are a fucking asshole,” she said, wrenching her arm from my grip.
“Cadence —”
“Save it. I’ll keep your godsdamned chambers warm, shall I?”
She folded her arms over her chest, her posture rigid as she glared at me.
There was no doubt in my mind that I would pay for that later.
“We don’t have time for this,” Eamon said. “They’re pushing toward the command tower.”
I bit back another curse as I ground my teeth together. The stone beneath my boots seemed to vibrate with the distant tremors of battle.
I turned to Eamon. “Reinforce the western flank. I’ll meet you out there.”
He gave a sharp nod and disappeared from the room.
“I can help,” Callum said, surprising us all.
“No, Callum,” Cadence protested.
He cupped her face and leaned in, whispering something in her ear. When he straightened, he cast a pointed look her way.
Cadence hesitated for the briefest moment before nodding once. “Be safe.”
He hugged her tight, and she clung to him for a heartbeat before letting him go.
“Always,” Callum said with a grin.
Then he stepped back, and I filled the spot he had vacated. I leaned in and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“Stay inside this room and do not answer the door for anyone,” I instructed.
“Don’t… die,” she muttered.
I cocked a brow, a smirk pulling up my lips. “Worried about me, Temptress?”
She rolled her eyes. “Worried about myself. How long do you think I’d survive once you’re out of the picture?”
I clenched my jaw. She made a valid point.
“We need to go.” I strode from the room with renewed purpose, my brother and Callum falling into step behind me.
Distant screams threaded through the corridors, underscoring the rising urgency. I grabbed my blade, strapping it across my back with practiced ease.
“Don’t get yourself killed out there,” I called over my shoulder. “Your sister would never forgive me.”
“Pretty sure that ship has sailed,” he murmured, and Riordan chuckled.
I clenched my hands into fists, ignoring the insolent fucker.
The acrid stench of death assaulted me before I had even cleared the corridor. My nostrils flared as I pushed through the enormous oak doors leading to the main courtyard. The scene that greeted me was pure chaos.
Bodies littered the cobblestones, some ours, some theirs. Steel clashed against steel as men and women hit the ground with a wet thud. Blood painted the walls with crimson streaks; the coppery scent burned my nostrils.
“Godsdamn,” Callum said, his face pale as he surveyed the carnage.
One of the Wraith Borne spotted us, his hollow eyes fixing on mine with predatory hunger.
“Left flank.” I drew my sword in one fluid motion. The steel sang as it cleared the sheath, the familiar weight settling into my palm. The intruder lunged, his hands outstretched, and I moved right, bringing my sword up in a vicious arc.
My blade caught his arm and sheared straight through muscle and bone. The man screamed, but he didn’t stop coming for me. I darted right, slamming my shoulder into his chest and sending him sprawling.
Again, the fool refused to acknowledge what his body already knew, as his life essence stained his tunic red. He rose to his feet, snarling like a wounded animal before he lunged.
My blade passed through his torso, slicing deep. Blood sprayed from the wound, dark and arterial, as he collapsed with a choking gasp, unmoving.
About fucking time.
I glanced in Callum’s direction. Vines crept up his forearms, and I studied him with keen interest as he sent them sailing forward.
They wrapped around the throat of another Wraith Borne before he tugged.
A loud crack reverberated through the courtyard, and I could admit, albeit begrudgingly, that I was impressed.
But I didn’t have long to dwell on it. Another one was already coming toward me, faster this time, her lethal magic pulsing in sick, twisting waves that churned the air.
I barely had time to pivot, parrying the first strike and driving my boot into her chest. She staggered back, and I used my advantage to sweep her legs out from under her. She landed on the ground with a groan, and I advanced, burying my sword in her gut.
“Stay close!” I said, hearing Callum’s breath behind me.
My gaze swept the area, and tension coiled at the back of my neck. The Wraith Borne were attacking, but their numbers weren’t enough to secure a victory.
Something didn’t add up.
It was as if they were testing us, sending a few warriors in to take out as many of our soldiers as they could before retreating.
“Ryker!” Riordan yelled from somewhere above me.
I glanced up and saw him on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. He swung himself over the ledge, pulling two men with him, both howling in surprise. He landed in a heap but regained his footing. Riordan slammed a dagger through the temple of one man before stabbing the other in the eye.
“What the hell is wrong with you? They’re Wraith Borne, and you let them close enough to touch you.”
Riordan scowled at me. “I was careful. And besides, you should have had this skirmish put to rest by now.”
“I’m analyzing their tactics, you moron. We need to understand what they are after.”
The words were barely out of my mouth when an explosion rocked the tower to my left. Chunks of stone rained down, shattering across the hard ground. Callum covered his head and ducked around the rubble as Riordan and I followed behind him.
The fighting intensified as we approached the tower. Three Wraith Borne blocked the path: two men and a woman.
“Go!” I shoved Callum and Riordan ahead of me. “Find Eamon,” I called after them before I turned and squared off with the trio.
They wasted no time as the first man lunged, his hands reaching for my face.
I ducked and took him out at the knees with my blade.
He crumpled to the ground, and the woman screamed as she leaped over his body.
Shadows surged from my palm, and I caught her midair.
I used her momentum against her as I slammed her head into the stone wall.
She slumped and failed to get back up again.
The third one hesitated.
But I didn’t.
I drew my dagger and threw it, slicing straight through his throat. He tried to shriek, but all that came out was a wet, bubbling sound.
Ahead of me, Callum had reached the tower. Half a dozen Wraith Borne were advancing, but instead of cowering, he stood his ground, erecting a wall of vines, thwarting their advance.
Riordan jogged up beside me, his knuckles split and bleeding, but smiling like he was having the time of his life. “You missed one hell of a show,” he said.
“Not over yet,” I grumbled.
“Eamon needs his head checked. This is a lot more than a dozen Wraith Borne.”
I grunted in agreement.
A fresh wave of assailants hit Callum’s wall, breaking through the vines. One of them was huge, head and shoulders above the rest, his face painted with black runes.
I looked at Riordan. “You take the left, I’ll go to the center.”
He grinned, teeth bloody. “Gladly.”
We sprinted into the fray.
My blade delivered deadly blow after deadly blow. I blocked out everything else except the blur of enemy bodies as I carved my way through them, their screams following me as they died.
I spotted Malesh in the melee, still fighting, but he was struggling.
He was bleeding from a dozen wounds, hunched over, sword arm trembling.
One of the Wraith Borne advanced on him, and I darted forward.
As I broke through the line, I flanked his attacker and plunged my sword through his spine.
He arched, letting out a wail, before going limp.
Malesh sagged, spitting blood. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
We pressed ahead, side by side, as we drove the enemy back toward the far wall.
I watched as they darted forward, attacked the soldiers closest to them, before retreating. Again and again, they deployed the same move, drawing in close only to turn and run at the last moment.
“They’re not here to win,” I said, wiping blood from my eyes. “They’re here to keep us busy.”
Malesh nodded. “They sent in shock troops to draw us out. But what the hell are they distracting us from?”
I spun, scanning the horizon. In the distance, a horn sounded, and all the Wraith Borne abandoned their posts as they turned and fled.
Dread settled in my gut as one thought kept circling in my mind.
“Cadence.”