A Clash of Storms (A Shade of Vampire #50)(10)

“I’ll find cover in one of the tallest purple trees on the east side of the jungle,” he said. “Once Jovi confirms the little Daughter’s out of the castle, I’ll give the signal, like we agreed.”

His satchel was mounted on his chest, tied with strings around his back to make his flight easy and comfortable. I nodded, and he flapped his wings and took off, followed by the shifters.

We rushed to the front steps of Stonewall, where horses had been prepared—not just our indigo stallions, but several other white mares that had made a habit of grazing by the citadel walls.

Rebel went ahead with forty Bajangs. They all morphed into their giant feline forms and darted across the meadow. Jax’s nine wards rode after them, focused on keeping potential predators and hostiles at bay.

Draven, Hansa, Anjani, Jax, and I rode out after them, accompanied by the six Druids.

We crossed the wide meadow, hooves thundering below, and noticed strands of black smoke rising in the distant north.

“Hostile campfires,” Jax said. “They’re getting closer to Stonewall. Sluaghs must’ve survived from yesterday and reported back to Azazel.”

“Or he figured it out on his own when the Sluaghs didn’t return. Either way, we’re out of here,” I muttered. “The sooner we kill that snake, the better.”

“Right on, sister!” Hansa cheered on my left, her fingers brushing against the bejeweled gold handle of her broadsword.

We rode like the wind, angry and determined and ready to strike hard and mercilessly until Azazel’s head tumbled at our feet.





Serena





An hour passed as we rode deeper into the dark jungle, our horses galloping at incredible speeds. According to the terrain markers we’d passed so far, and the notes on our map, we were a couple of miles away from a Mara camp, and three miles from Luceria.

We couldn’t see the castle yet because tall purple trees curled out above, nearly covering the sky and casting heavy shadows around us. We had the swamp witches’ spell ready if any green fireflies decided to get too close. It involved throwing diamond dust at them and uttering a three-word incantation that would temporarily blind them, or, if they were close enough, would burn each of those creepy critters into a tiny puff of smoke.

Draven and I were first in line, galloping down the narrow path leading to Luceria, with the young Druids, Anjani, Hansa, and Jax right behind us. The Mara wards and the Bajangs kept a close distance, circling us about a third-of-a-mile away.

I could hear Destroyers hissing in the distance and the drums of war echoing from the castle. They were on high alert, aware that a strike was imminent. Zeriel, Tamara and the others had already circled the area with their armies, but were keeping a low profile, waiting for the signal. It didn’t matter what Azazel’s troops were up to anyway; we knew what we had to do. Furthermore, Azazel could amp up his defenses as much as he wanted, but the first hit was still coming from the inside.

My indigo horse got nervous and came to an abrupt halt, nearly throwing me over its head. Draven’s did the same, and I heard the others neighing behind. I looked up, clutching my crossbow and turning on my True Sight. I saw shadows darting around through the dark woods and Bajangs growling nearby.

I looked over my shoulder and saw that Hansa and Anjani had each loaded and raised their crossbows, ready to strike, as did Draven. Jax’s eyes flickered gold as he clicked his teeth with a displeased expression.

“They’re moving too fast,” he muttered. “I can’t latch onto them.”

I focused on what was in front of us again. One by one, the shadows rushed closer, and I got a better view. Our horses nervously began to trot back. These were succubi, dozens of them, wearing white paint on their faces and arms.

They were coming in too fast, so I pushed out a strong barrier, enough to knock some of them back, but more darted through the woods toward us. I heard the Bajangs growling as they moved back and tightened the protective circle around us. The wards must’ve managed to capture some slower succubi with their mind-bending abilities—several White Tribe members crawled out onto the path, holding their heads as they cried out, begging the wards to stop.

More of them came out toward us, but we already had our crossbows ready to strike.

“Stand down or we’ll shoot!” Draven shouted.

A sharp whistle shot through the forest, and the succubi stilled, slowly raising their hands in the air. My heart thumped in my chest as I realized what was going on. Jasmine was somewhere nearby. These were her succubi, after all.

“Jasmine must be here,” I whispered, not ready to put my weapon down just yet.

“She’s very smart, Draven,” a female voice echoed around us. “I’m impressed.”

I saw her then, just a few feet away, as she revealed herself and stepped onto the path. Jasmine was tall, with long, pale, sandy hair pouring over her shoulders and steely gray eyes that mirrored Draven’s. She wore a navy-blue dress, multiple layers of silk wrapped around her slender body, and a dark green hood that partially covered her tattooed arms. The Druid bands were a symbol of her training and wisdom, but it was her jaded gaze that truly reflected her experience.

She came closer, eyeing us all before she focused on Draven and put on a warm half-smile meant to defuse the tension. I felt a mixture of curiosity and anger seeping out of him, and I couldn’t blame him. He was most likely asking himself the same questions that had arisen when we’d first learned that she was still alive.