29. Barrett
BARRETT
“ L et’s clear these beasts out!” I shouted to my men as we charged through the battle, cutting down unsuspecting darklings as they attacked other warriors.
I searched the countless faces, leaving my warriors to focus on thinning out the darklings while I searched for Lucia. She could be anywhere in this mess.
We’d entered this battle with almost four hundred warriors; we had never imagined we’d face thousands of darklings. Needless to say, our resolve had been shaken when their army approached, and we had seen just how many creatures we stood to face.
A deadly chorus filled my ears, and my eyes shot skyward to the black mass above us, nearly casting the moonlit sky in darkness.
I’d seen him summon the Coronis before, but something twisted in my stomach at the sight of the hoard of crow-like creatures as they flew not toward the front lines in aid at Damien’s command, but away , toward The Pit and the rear, where the healers worked.
Be aware of the shadow beasts if they come for you. They may not be under my command for much longer.
They descended, and my heart lurched. Something deep in my bones demanded I run, take cover. Flames sparked to life at my fingertips.
“Above!” I shouted, and warriors looked skyward to the rain of death descending upon us.
A bloodied hand shot up from the sea of bodies, and light erupted from the palm, shooting up before exploding into a white mist that fanned out above us. The Coronis crashed into the shield of light, some of them disintegrating into nothing while others spread their wings and rose to fly elsewhere.
“Focus on the darklings! I’ll keep the Coronis off as long as I can!” the light wielder shouted, and I stumble as I returned to my search.
My bones ached more with each muddy step. This battle had dragged out far longer than it should have, the darklings coming in endless waves, bound and determined to exhaust us, and now, with their attack on the city we were divided, our numbers already decimated.
“Lucia!” I shouted, carving my way through the crowd.
My warriors fanned out, aiding the equally worn and weary units who had held the last line of defense within the pit before the darklings could reach the rear where the healers worked. There had already been so few members of House Latros. We couldn’t afford to lose a single healer.
The warriors standing their ground were worse off than I thought. Too many darklings had gotten past the front lines, spread their dark magic like a plague to bolster their ranks and tear us down from the inside.
As I broke free of the chaos, my blood iced over at the sight of Lucia on her knees, her hand clutching her swollen stomach. I ran for her, shoving past warriors before I fell to my knees before her.
“Lucia!” I called over the shouts and shrieks as I laid a hand on her shoulder.
Her head rose, face painted with exhaustion, and gods, she was covered in blood. Her lips curved into a weary smile, relief faintly lighting her silver eyes.
My gaze fell to her stomach, where her hand remained, and my heart stilled. “Are you hurt?”
Her brows rose, and she followed my gaze to her stomach. “Oh no, I’m fine. Just winded.”
“Are you sure?” I pressed, unable to miss how heavy her breath was, how her fingers trembled as they clutched the hilt of her sword anchored in the ground to stabilize her. “I can take you to a healer.”
She smiled, and fuck, if it didn’t offer some comfort in this hell to see it. “I’m fine. Have you seen Damien?”
I bit down on my response and averted my gaze.
Her gaze hardened. “Tell me, or I won’t ask nicely the next time, Barrett. Where is he ? ”
I let out a sigh. I couldn’t lie to her—she’d know the second the deceptive words left my lips. “He went to the front lines.” Her eyes flashed and briefly flitted to the chaos at my back. “They became overwhelmed when our forces were split to stop the darklings attacking the city and?—”
A shriek pierced the air followed by a cry.
Lucia gasped and shoved past me. I twisted around to see a warrior pinned on his back by two darklings.
As I leapt to my feet, Lucia slammed into the darklings, their bodies hitting the ground with tremendous force, and I cursed as she rolled away from them before stabilizing on her feet, sword at the ready.
One of the creatures rose, turning on her with a hiss before I plunged my sword into the back of its head. She dropped to the ground, kicking the legs out from under the other darkling before she sank her sword through its heart.
They both crumbled into dust, and I paced back a few steps toward the warrior as Lucia ran to his side. I grimaced at the sight of his shredded stomach, blood already coating his armor and pooling onto the ground beneath him.
“Were you bitten?” Lucia asked, her voice somewhere between gentle and commanding. “Can you get up?”
He tried and failed to rise, letting out an agonized grunt, and it only aided in causing more blood to gush out of him.
“ Were you bitten ?” she demanded.
He shook his head and gasped as he clutched his stomach. “They nearly got me, though.”
Lucia turned to me. “Get him to the healers.”
No. I couldn’t leave her here. “You should take him. I’ll stay here and fight.”
“He can’t stand, let alone walk,” she bit back, rising to her feet. “Does it look like I can carry him, Barrett?”
I couldn’t argue with her there.
“Get him to the healers then find me again,” she said.
“You’re the only one who can stand up against the darkling queen!” I shouted. “Your wellbeing outweighs that of a single warrior who may not even make it to the healers!”
“That’s an order!” she shouted, the gentleness gone from her voice.
I heaved a sigh and ran my fingers through my hair. There was no arguing with her, and I growled my frustrations. What could I do to convince her to stay at my side? “Come with me.”
“I can’t,” she said, and I hated how quickly she turned me down. “I have to be ready if the daughter of Matthias appears.”
She was right. There was no telling when that bitch would show her face or where. The pit was the centermost point of the battlefield, if the darkling queen made her appearance at either end of it, Lucia would be better placed to quickly intercept her .
A wall of fire exploded at the front lines, drawing our attention.
I prayed Damien was holding up, that his presence was making a difference, and we could bring an end to this madness.
Lucia’s eyes welled with fear as she watched the front lines in the distance, and she took a hesitant step toward it, as if she might abandon her post to go to her mate.
I feared she might very well do that if I left her.
I crouched and looped the injured warrior’s arm over my shoulder before hauling him to his unsteady feet. He let out an agonized cry, unable to hold himself up as I supported his weight.
Lucia stood, her gaze shooting past me to the front lines where her mate fought. I stepped closer to her, and her gaze shifted to me, the fear residing within those silver pools breaking something in me.
He’s strong. He’ll come back to you. I wanted to give her all the comforting words but couldn’t bring myself to, fearful I might give her false hope. “Be careful, spitfire.”
A smile crept across her face. “You too, hothead.”
I pulled myself away from her, cursing that I couldn’t stay at her side as I started toward the healers. She was powerful, she could hold her own, and I’d be back to fight at her side.
A shriek at my back halted my steps, and my heart stuttered before I twisted around to find myself face to face with a darkling bound by vines, torn jaws snapping at the air.
It fought to get free, to get to us, claws slicing through air but coming up short.
Lucia grunted, her hands balled into fists as she willed the vines to tighten around her target before she jerked her hand back.
Roots shot into the darkling’s chest, through its heart.
The darkling disintegrated, and the vines fell slack as Lucia sagged on her feet, her breaths coming in quick pants.
Could she truly do this alone? Would she stand a chance against the darkling queen in her condition? I took a tentative step toward her, ready to drop the warrior and stay at her side.
She ground her teeth, seeming to pull herself together, to mask just how exhausted she was. “Go!”
I cursed under my breath but dipped my head and turned to hurry through the crowd before I made the mistake of arguing with her.
The sooner I dropped this warrior off with the healers, the sooner I could get back to her.
With each step, the warrior grew heavier at my side, his grunts quieting, the scent of his blood growing thicker in the air, overwhelming the stench of darkling and death. I had to move faster.
“Hold on,” I demanded. “Just a little farther.”
The edge of the forest grew closer, the white tops of the healer tents peeking out from the view of colliding bodies until we reached the rear guard, where rows of warriors stood the final ground, defending the healers.
“Just a bit longer! We’re here!” I yelled, jostling the warrior who was no longer responding .
The hairs on my arms stood on end as a strange energy surged over me, something unnatural and wrong halting my steps.
“Barrett?” one of the rearguards asked, brows furrowing as my pace slowed. Then, he seemed to feel it too, his eyes wandering.
“Something’s…” I looked around. Something was wrong, very wrong.
The shrieks of darklings quieted around us, and I looked over my shoulder to see their bottomless eyes lifted to the tall trees.
They didn’t seem to care that their distraction allowed our warriors to cut them down, as if they welcomed death willingly.
I turned, following their gazes, and my heart lurched as a figure leaped from the forest. Tendrils of darkness swept out from her body before she crashed into the ground, and a shockwave of power shattered across the field.
It slammed into us, knocking us back, and shadows erupted like great beasts, swallowing everything.
I hit the ground, air rushing from my lungs, pain slicing through me as the sky was swallowed by darkness.