13. Chapter 13
Chapter 13
L ungs straining and heart slamming against the ribcage, my body is urging me to either lie down and surrender or break into a sprint and run for my life. So right now, I need to force myself to just keep moving at a medium to brisk pace. Through hallway after hallway and with that awful alarm blaring from everywhere around us, I’m doing my best not to bump into the soldiers we’re following.
They look so disciplined and dangerous as they keep marching forward, looking for us. If it weren’t for Dryden’s cloak and the fact that we hid right behind their backs, their boots drowning out the sounds of our footsteps…
We have been treated with the scent-erasing plant before we went on the mission, but if I hadn’t managed to heal Jaeger in the short space between us escaping that one soldier and spotting these four…
Nothing would’ve stopped the vampires from smelling her blood.
We keep following them until we barge outside, onto a large space enclosed by huge buildings shooting up into the black sky.
Still moving, I look up and then down. Must be some kind of drill yard.
I spot the main gate, my entire body flooding with hope.
At this rate, it shouldn’t be more than a couple of minutes before we’re out.
But I barely manage to take another step before the alarm suddenly cuts off, and in the dead silence that ensues, Nuala, Dryden, Jaeger and I, we all freeze.
What makes me really suspicious, though, is that the soldiers in front of us stop as well. That they stop as if they’re surprised.
What the…
The next thing I know, soldiers are materializing along the yard walls. Much more dangerous looking soldiers. But they’re not moving.
Then, after one long moment, I hear this deeply unsettling snarling coming from behind my back.
Dryden’s cloak still shielding us, I slowly turn around.
And there, at some distance, forming a strangely disciplined line and seemingly staring straight at us, I see a dozen creatures unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
Huge dogs, maws dripping with saliva, eyes burning with bloodthirst, flayed bodies trembling with tension as if caught only a split second before lunging.
The hounds of Nasgard.
Blood curdles in my veins. Because the presence of the hounds can only mean one thing.
Cain is here.
Blood pounding in my ears, I only register the fact that none of us are moving.
The way the hounds are positioned makes my eyes drag behind them and up the highest building across the drill yard.
There, I spot a figure standing on the very top, a distant silhouette barely visible against the night sky, high up in the air and above everyone else down here.
My wolf rears its head and sniffs wildly, but the figure is too far away. Just as she does that, the image of him flickers and the next thing I know, my heart is skipping a beat, watching him jump off the building.
It makes my eyes round, when I see the wings spring out of his back as he falls.
The next thing I know, there’s a soft flap of wings, then a forceful but steady hit of boots on the ground at the foot of the building.
The man I saw jump right now has deftly landed into a crouch in front of the line of soldiers, one knee and one fist connecting with the ground. Mesmerized, I drag my eyes from the boots up as he slowly lifts, as if he has all the time in the world and nothing to worry about whatsoever.
He’s all in black, the hem of his ankle-length leather coat swaying a little then settling down. When he straightens, he towers over everyone else, a black shirt with some insignia straining over his muscled chest and broad frame.
But what really knocks the air out of my lungs are the wings that are retreating and the black shadow helmet covering almost his entire face, allowing only a glimpse of the cold stare behind and the sharp cut of a jaw left uncovered.
Angel of death, that’s what he looks like.
But there’s not a trace of doubt in my mind about who he really is.
Blood pounding in my ears, I see him start scanning the yard with a slight tilt of his head. His eyes almost sweep over us…
Then stop.
He can see us?
He can see us.
I exchange a panicked look with Jaeger and she wordlessly reminds me of the plan. If push comes to shove, let Dryden try to defend us first.
But the next thing I know, the slightest gesture of Cain’s hand is propelling the hounds straight at us.
All the muscles in my body clenching, I watch Dryden use his tension magic to create a barrier around us.
The hounds slam into it, unable to push through, but the strain makes Dryden’s cloak fail and now everyone can see us.
Not a second goes by before the soldiers are moving to attack as well and all hell is breaking loose, Nuala making rocks shoot out of the ground, Jaeger ripping the vampire’s necks out, Dryden cutting them with his air blades. And since push really has come to shove, I myself summon a thunder whip and start hitting the soldiers with it.
It’s just as my hood almost slips that I sense the need to look to my right, where I see Cain tilting his head at me from the other side of the yard and then disappearing.
Fuck.
But then, as I keep defending myself, Dryden steps into my line of sight, an air blade flying from his hand, and blood spraying the air before him even before I see Cain come to a stop right next to him.
Dryden has managed to deal a bit of damage, but it’s all in vain, because Cain has his wrist in his grip, and all of his unfazed attention is on the fae.
I keep defending myself, but now it’s clear that Cain is about to kill Dryden. Panicking, I prepare to use my powers, but Dryden takes something out of his pocket, something that glows .
And the very next moment, I find myself being yanked somewhere, falling on my ass on the ground near the Academy Pull Chamber.
Immediately, this need overtakes me, I roll over and find myself face to face with Dryden. Ignoring the other people around me, I turn all my focus onto his chest. The scent on it.
It’s like it’s coursing through me, a heat burning its way through my body, consuming all of me before settling low in my core.
It’s the scent of his blood.
“You need to heal him, Anna,” I hear someone yell at me.
The sound comes to me as if through water. My head snaps to my left, where I find Jaeger crouching in front of me, staring at me with a frown and this strange expression in her eyes.
It makes me snap out of it, realizing I’m lying next to heavily injured Dryden, staring at his wound and fighting the urge to lick my lips. I push myself up and come into a crouch as well.
“Yes,” I mutter, “of course.”
And I bring my palms to his chest, closing my eyes and holding my breath in an effort not to be further distracted by the scent.