Chapter 69
Resistance Versus Magic Wielders
LUKE
Six Years Ago
We fight against men and wolves, desperately trying to leave the building and aid the small group on the grounds.
The deafening sound of Jessica’s scream reverberates in my head.
Is she hurt? Why didn’t she run? We’ve been through this.
It was always part of the plan. Anyone close to Jessica was instructed to stick with her, take her away from the fight, and get her to safety.
We all know the Resistance isn’t only here to attack the guards and the royal family. They want her. I want her to be hidden and safe. I fight harder against the attackers, forcing my way to the entrance of the building so I can reach her.
She’s so stubborn and refuses to back down. Using my earth magic, I whip a gun out of a man’s hand, flinging it across the room. Vines wrap around his neck. He panics, clawing at the vines with his hands. I use them to rip his head from his body.
One by one, the men start to fall at the hands of those they’ve been hunting—magic wielders.
A few men from the Resistance are left, cowering in the corner of the room.
Chris and Elias shout to keep them alive so we can question them later.
Matt is in wolf form, and he pounces on one of the men, biting him with his sharp teeth.
The man falls to the ground in a deep sleep.
Matt and Spike are among the few that we couldn’t identify their magical capabilities. Apparently, their magic manifests while in wolf form. Spike releases… well, spikes from his fur, and Matt can take down our enemies with his poisoned teeth.
Ean yells for recruits to join the group outside. He, Elias, and Elijah take the lead, their skin coated with some kind of metal, which has proven to be bulletproof. Chris yells at me to stay behind with Odyssey and Alexis to tie up the three men Matt just subdued.
No! I need to find Jessica.
Stay here! he commands. Odyssey, Alexis, stay with him!
What the fuck is this bullshit! I kick a severed head across the room.
The two recruits avoid looking at me and shift their attention back to our captured men.
With forced surrender, I assist the two by binding the men with my magic. We look around the room for a place to keep them while we finish this fight. Some of the Resistance might already be in the holding house searching for Boris.
I’m still in shock that Jessica killed him and never once spoke a word about it, except to the Leads.
Not Emily or Sixes or even Liam knew the full truth of what happened.
Her fear and guilt radiated down this invisible tether that linked our minds.
A twinge of guilt blooms in my gut. I fucking attacked her that night, convincing myself that she hooked up with my cousin and best friend.
The memory of those bruises forming along her jaw, the bruises from his bites along her neck, resurfaces in my mind.
My stomach twists and nausea begins to rise.
And despite everything she went through, she still accepted my peace offering.
Disgust and self-loathing fill my heart.
There are no gifts, no amount of apologies, that will ever repair what I did.
We find a nearby closet and stuff the men inside. I won’t stay in this building to wait for more orders. I’m going to find Jessica and protect her with my life.
I pick up some of the stray guns on the floor and check for ammunition, tossing a couple of them to Odyssey and Alexis.
We make our way out of the building, eliminating a few who made their way back inside.
There’s no room to leave any of them alive.
They could go back and notify the Resistance of what they witness here.
I already have a target on my back for being a member of the royal family. I don’t need to add to their list of reasons to take me. We make our way to the entrance, carefully watching each other’s backs for any oncoming stragglers. We reach the door and freeze.
There is an honest-to-Goddess snowstorm taking place out in the training field.
Claps of thunder shake the earth, and strikes of lightning light up the sky.
Screams, gunshots, snarling wolves fill the air between the loud booms. Footsteps pound behind us, and the three of us turn, raising our guns at the attackers.
“Whoa! It’s just us!” Liam exclaims. He smells of smoke. A mixture of soot and blood splatter across his face. Henry stands beside him, with a clean face but a dirty uniform. I lower my gun; Odyssey and Alexis do the same.
“Where did you two come from?” Alexis asks.
“From the other side. We heard their plan through Jessica’s mind link and decided to head them off before they reached the manor. We came straight here when we finished,” Liam answers.
Odyssey’s eyes dart back and forth between the two. “You took out all of those men with just the two of you?”
Henry smirks.
Liam scowls.
They both ignore the recruits, pushing past them out the door.
We follow behind them, stepping into the storm, preparing to continue our fight.
Suddenly, everything comes to a halt. My mind is no longer filled with the chaotic noise from Jessica’s mind link, and loud silence penetrates the crisp air.
The sky starts to clear. The stars and moon shine brightly over the field.
The snow covering the ground stains a crimson red.
Broken bodies lie everywhere. The only ones standing in both human and wolf form are the guards.
“Are all of the Resistance men down?” I ask Odyssey.
He inclines his head and grimaces. “As far as I can tell, no one is alive. But Anders is missing. I don’t hear his thoughts anymore.”
Shit. I turn to Alexis. “Gather some of the guards and head over to my parents’ home.” Flashes of electricity and a flurry of wolves make their way toward my home. I close my eyes and silently pray that they are safe and alive.
Frantically, I search for Jessica. The sound of crying pricks my ears. In a panic, I tread past the dead bodies and the remaining guards huddled around.
Sodie hunches over a body. “He’s fine, Jessica. He’s just being dramatic.”
I peer down at Skunk, lying on the ground.
He scrunches up his face and shoots daggers at his brother. “You try getting shot in the chest and tell me you’re being dramatic.”
Sodie leans back as Skunk sits up.
I scan Jess’s body for injuries. Blood trails down her arm. I step forward, but she waves me away.
“I’m fine. A bullet just grazed my arm.” She tilts her head, and my brothers lift their heads in response. They’re listening to something, but I thought Jessica severed the group’s mind link. Or was it just mine?
Odyssey nudges my shoulder. “Not just yours. She’s checking in with your parents. They’re fine, but they want you to call them as soon as the four of you are able.” I nod.
Chris and Elias scan the area. Charlie and Ean must have left with the other guards. I look over everyone standing around to make sure everyone is okay. “Is everyone in our group accounted for?”
Sodie looks to Jessica. She hesitates. “Anders is missing.” She confirms what Odyssey said when we were back in the building.
My hands tighten around the gun still in my hand. I stare at Jessica. Anders is her real father. If something happens to him, and she learns the truth of her parentage, I can’t imagine what this will do her. Moving closer to her, I place my hand at her back. More tears spill down her cheeks.
“We’ll get him back, Jess. Shadow, too.”
Her chin drops. She worries the hem of her shirt with her fingertips.
Dropping to my knees, I wrap an arm around her and pull her close into me. “I promise you this isn’t over. We’ll get both of them back.” She doesn’t push me away or fight against my hold. She simply sobs in my arms.
Exhausted from the training and the unexpected attack, we all pull together to clean the mess left behind. The twins borrow the backhoe from the dairy to dig a grave for the fallen men. We carry severed body parts and broken bodies to their final resting place. We count thirty-two bodies in total.
Burying them alone makes me a little paranoid. I worry that someone can sneak into our territory and uncover the bodies, hurting my father’s reputation, even though we were the ones attacked.
As if reading my mind, Liam steps forward and uses his fire magic to incinerate the bodies. The other guards with fire magic jump in to assist him.
When the bodies turn to ashes, I pull the dirt back into the large pit and encourage the grass to grow back.
The group falls silent while I use my magic.
They continue to stand, gazing down at the ground.
Twenty recruits are among them, along with my brothers and Jessica.
Five guards are present from the previous graduating group, including me.
Alongside us are two commanding officers, two Leads, and the first six members of our newly established special ops division.
I don’t care if my Uncle Chris made up the division in a strategic plan to fish out some spies. I’m going to make it official.
I study the Knight twins as they watch Jessica from afar. Their own pain and worry are etched on their faces. Anders shouldn’t have been captured. I refuse to believe that a group of inexperienced guards could survive this when he didn’t.
Dropping my chin, I glance down at my clothing, stained red with blood, torn in places from fighting. We all could have died tonight. But we didn’t because of him—one man who trained us to protect ourselves and each other. We took what we learned, banded together, and prepared for this fight.
My hands ball into fists at my sides, I refocus my attention on Jessica, who looks like she’s ready to collapse from exhaustion. I’m reminded of Jessica’s pleas to trade herself for Shadow, as well as Reggie’s explanation of how frantic Shadow was to protect her. That’s when it hits me.
Anders and Shadow weren’t captured because they were defeated. They sacrificed themselves to protect her.