Chapter 46 Luka #2
Razik snarled, flipping over and sunlight glinting off the faint scarring on one of his wings.
His massive tail swiped out, catching a nearby seraph and sending it hurtling straight to Luka.
On instinct, his jaw closed around it, teeth sinking in.
The crunch of bones and wings snapping echoed with the seraph’s cries of pain.
And the taste? Vomiting in the sky was not on his list of things to do today.
He released the female, letting her fall, and dragonfire engulfed her, courtesy of his brother. Sapphire eyes connected with his, and Luka could swear Razik huffed in amusement. That fucker knew they tasted awful.
Luka snarled, spinning away from him and once again making his way to his father, who was still battling the same swarm of seraphs. He couldn’t just send dragonfire at them without also risking hitting his father. It wouldn’t wound him, but he’d still feel it.
With a disgruntled growl, he barreled forward. Teeth snapping and claws swiping, he knocked them, dodging magic attacks as much as he could. It wasn’t enough though. He took hits of ice daggers to his flanks, and winds tore at his wings.
Razik was below him, black flames spewing from his mouth as Luka knocked them down, and Xan was finally able to shake off several of them.
His fury echoed again as he broke free of the swarm.
He banked sharply, the black and blue of his form shimmering in the daylight, and then Luka was darting out of the way as that fury exploded from him.
Dragonfire rained down, but not in the wild way his and Razik’s dragonfire was consuming.
No, this was controlled. It leapt from one seraph to another, the flames never banking or going out, as if Xan could control his magic even from his dragon form.
Luka’s head whipped to Razik only to find him watching their father too.
Luka had never been able to control his gifts like that when in his dragon form, and while he couldn’t read any sort of expression on Razik right now, he was guessing it was the same for him.
It was why they preferred to fight with just their wings, not fully shifted.
It was no wonder the seraphs had seemed to leave them alone and focus on Xan, and Luka suddenly wondered if the god of war and courage himself had trained his father.
Xan twisted to find them staring, and he snapped at them with a sharp growl, jerking his head to the side. The message was clear: do their fucking job.
Razik snarled, clearly irked about being caught watching, and he banked right, going in the direction of flames below. Luka followed his lead, going left. He’d take care of the skies above Theon and Tessa, while Razik managed those above Eliza. Xan could clearly handle the middle sector.
He didn’t know how long they fought, but he sank into it that same way he’d felt Tessa sink into her power. Magic was flying, cries of victory and agony mingling. He could hear the clashing of weapons and the bellows of orders being shouted.
Time both dragged on and flashed by. There was no time to think, just give in to instinct.
But that instinct was telling him this wasn’t going to be enough.
Rordan had bided his time. This wasn’t a frivolous attack, but one that had been meticulously planned.
He knew their forces were concentrated elsewhere and had attacked Castle Pines for that very reason.
Even with Theon and Tessa, Dagian, a Fire General, and two additional dragons, the odds were not in their favor.
Not as it seemed like three more seraphs appeared for every one they took out.
Not as more and more Achaz forces swarmed the streets of the city.
Not as those forces methodically pushed their own to the city center, effectively surrounding them.
Not as he started to feel his power weaken and drain.
If Theon started drawing from him, he’d have to shift back and fight from the streets.
Tessa wouldn’t need him. She was a godsdamn vision below, her chaos wreaking havoc and her arrows finding their marks.
She’d been training with the things, sure, but nobody became that skilled that quickly.
Whatever power created her arrows was connected to her on some level, ensuring her wishes were carried out.
And with every life that was forced to give, her power took and took.
His father streaked by, making Luka whip around to follow where he was going, only to see a fresh wave of Achaz forces appearing to the south of the city.
Son of a bitch, Luka growled down the bond. There’s more Theon. To the south.
Godsdammit, he muttered. We’re not going to win this. We need to switch gears. Focus on getting the innocent to safety, and then we can retreat.
Give up the city? Luka countered. It’s the closest one to Arius House.
I’m aware.
We’re just going to abandon it?
I’ll lose the city if we can save the people.
Then her voice was drifting down the bond. Rordan is here.
That was all she needed to say, and Luka was diving for them.
If he was as powerful as Dagian said he was, there was no way she was facing the male alone.
Theon didn’t have any additional gifts yet, and Dagian had said it would drain her to the point of breaking to face off with him. That was not happening today.
The ground shuddered as he landed behind them, forces from both sides scattering to accommodate his size.
Whipping his head around, he snatched up an Achaz warrior that was coming for Theon, careful not to draw blood because they seriously tasted fucking awful.
Taking a few steps closer, he dropped the male on the ground at Tessa’s feet.
Theon’s darkness wound around him, keeping him immobile, and Tessa lifted her gaze to Luka’s with a dark smirk.
“A late birthday present?” she crooned.
He shifted then, leaving only his wings on display. He needed to preserve as much of his magic as he could at this point. “Just wanted to see that viciousness in action,” he returned, taking in the blood splattered on her porcelain skin.
Then he frowned. There were spots on her arms, her shoulder, her thigh, where Theon’s darkness was cinched tightly around her. Luka reached out, gripping her elbow for a closer look.
“Her blood can’t touch the ground. It will summon Hunters,” Theon said tightly. “I’ve been making sure it doesn’t.”
Tessa pulled her arm from Luka’s grasp, crouching beside the Achaz male, that same wicked smirk on her lips.
“Please! Don’t!” he cried. “I have to follow orders. I have to—”
“You’ll have to plead your case with Arius,” she interrupted with a dark croon. “Because I do not care.”
Then one of her black runic daggers appeared in her hand, and blood was splattering as she dragged it slowly across his throat before plunging it deep into his chest.
She stood casually, dagger still in hand, as she said, “Rordan is here.”
“You said that already,” Luka replied, watching the mayhem around them. “You’re right, Theon. We need to get the fuck out of here.”
Then Eliza was there, panting and covered in blood herself. “What’s the plan?” she gasped, Dagian and Sasha behind her.
“My father is here,” Dagian said.
“We know,” Luka growled as Eliza spun and blocked an arrow with her sword before the warrior went up in dragonfire a moment later, Razik dropping in behind her. He’d already shifted, and Eliza was reaching for a dagger.
“No, mai dragocen,” he murmured, taking her chin between his thumb and forefinger.
“You need to fill your reserves, Raz,” she insisted, still trying to bring the blade to her forearm.
“If you think I am taking what little magic you have left when we are in the midst of battle, you are sorely mistaken,” he growled, stepping in closer to her.
“You need it more than I do. I can use my sword,” she argued.
“We combine them if needed,” Razik said. “Like we did to free Xan.”
“Razik, no. This is—”
“End of discussion, Eliza. I am not drawing from you right now.”
Her eyes flashed with anger. “Cut me off and tell me ‘end of discussion’ again, Razik Greybane. I dare you.”
“Be violent with me later,” he retorted, kissing her hard before she could reply.
“My Lord! Or— My Lady?” a panting Arius captain gasped out, his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.
“What is it?” Theon snapped.
“At the front. There are— We couldn’t stop them,” he gasped.
“Godsdammit,” Luka growled because Tessa was already moving.
So much smaller than they were, she slipped through the crowd practically unseen while the rest of them had to shove people out of the way.
Her wolves prowling in a radius around her helped some, but not enough.
He looked up, trying to spot Xan, but he was nowhere to be seen. Where the fuck was he?
“Tessa, wait!” Theon called, having to stop and use his sword or magic every few steps.
“Tessa!” Luka hollered. He couldn’t simply send a wave of dragonfire. Their own forces were too intermingled now. They couldn’t afford to lose any more.
She kept moving, and he and Theon kept fighting to get back to her. She was in so much godsdamn trouble when this was over.
Finally, they burst through a throng of fighting, only to go completely still as they took in the scene before them.
Tessa stood there, her aura swirling with light and dark, while Nylah and Roan were at her sides, teeth bared and growling. Across from her stood Rordan Jove, light undulating and crackling around him.
Seconds later, Razik and Eliza pushed through the crowd too, Dagian and Sasha at their heels.
“Well done, Dagian,” Rordan said with a small smile.
Luka slowly turned to the male, eyes narrowed. “If you betrayed us—”
“I didn’t,” Dagian spat, his eyes fixed on his father. “And he knows that.”
Rordan’s smile turned dark. “He speaks the truth. I raised him to take what he wants. If only he wasn’t as big of a disappointment as Tessa turned out to be.”