A Clash of Storms (A Shade of Vampire #50)(44)

The coolness gathered back into my chest and closed around my aching heart. I felt something snap inside me, but it didn’t hurt.

Suddenly my lungs were free, and I inhaled a profoundly deep breath, wheezing as the pressure in my ribcage vanished. Blood rushed through my veins. My legs and arms tingled as I regained feeling.

My heart muscle pumped strong and fast, making up for the minutes I’d spent being deprived of oxygen. I could see clearly again. I could see her. And there was relief shining all over her gorgeous face.

I could feel it, too, as death begrudgingly retreated and daylight washed over me.

The sounds of battle around us were once again clear and loud, and I reveled in each of them. Each clang, each thud, and each grunt was a reminder that I’d escaped my own end, twice in a row, within the same hour.

“Anjani,” I croaked, pleased to hear my own voice.

She bent forward and wrapped her arms around me, hiding her face in the hollow space between my neck and shoulder for a brief moment. Her heart was beating frantically, her muscles twitching as she held me tight.

I responded to her embrace, thankful to still be alive. Thrilled that I’d been given a little more time by her side.

“My love,” she said, her voice trembling, and she kissed me deeply.

“How did you do that?” I managed to ask as my senses kicked back into gear and I regained full control of my consciousness and my body. Azazel’s blood spell was gone.

“I found the old fae that gave you the pendant downstairs in the dungeon,” she explained quickly, glowing like the moon. “She told me what she’d been forced to do for Azazel, taking your blood and all that. But she gave you the wolf’s head pendant to help you. She knew something like this would come to pass and told me the moment she recognized me. So I came up here to find you—”

“And right in the nick of time, my sweet succubus.” I grinned and took her mouth in a brief but hungry kiss. “I love you now more than ever.”

“Good.” She winked. “Now let’s kick some Destroyer ass!”





Aida





My brother had made it. I almost couldn’t handle the joy of seeing him breathe and talk again. “Relieved” didn’t even begin to cover how I felt, and I made a mental note of the massive slap on the head that Jovi would get from me for nearly getting himself killed, followed by the hug of the century.

Field and I barely managed to give each other a smile before more Destroyers came at us. The shifters were doing a great job of keeping others at bay, but the slithering beasts kept pouring in. Field grabbed his hatchet from the floor, and I snatched a sword off one of the fallen hostiles. We took our stances.

My blood chilled as I recognized one of the Destroyers moving toward us.

“Goren,” I murmured as horror clutched my heart.

He was big, a massive chunk of pure evil and brutality. I’d evaded him more than once, and yet he’d come all the way back to Luceria to fight us. I took a deep breath as a grin slit his face, his yellow eyes flickering black with anticipation and what appeared to be sheer excitement.

He seemed to live to inflict pain.

“We get to play again,” he hissed as he drew closer, his broadsword screeching as he pulled it out of its scabbard.

I caught a glimpse of Viola kneeling next to Hansa, who was convulsing from the poisoned arrow. The Daughter’s hands glowed pink as she pulled the projectile out and pressed on Hansa’s wound. But then I couldn’t watch anymore—Goren raised his sword and brought it down against me with a heavy swing.

“Come here!” he growled as I dodged and launched my own attack. He roared, blocking my sword with his.

Sparks flew, and he bared his fangs and laughed, effortlessly pushing me back.

Field darted past me and took on the other Destroyer, his hatchet sharp and relentless as he swung it down hard, forcing his opponent to slowly move back.

Goren came at me again, his blow even harder the second time around. I managed to block it, still, using my forearm to stop my own sword from being pushed back. I felt the blade cut through my skin, drawing blood, but I couldn’t back down.

I ducked in a swift spiraling move with my sword out, slashing his abdomen. Dark blood sprayed my face. He hissed, and I quickly withdrew, my gaze darting up and down his body, looking for weak spots.

“Don’t worry, little wolf girl.” Goren smirked. “I’ll take my time with some good old-fashioned torture before I hand you over to Azazel. Besides, you don’t need arms and legs to have visions.”

I shuddered at the mental image but held my ground, raising my blade with a confident grin.

“I kicked your ass once, and I can do it again,” I shot back.

It was enough to annoy him, a vein popping out of his thick neck. He charged me once more, and I summoned everything I’d learned during my sparring sessions with Field, Phoenix, and my brother. Goren, like every other sack of meat out to kill on this platform, had little tells I’d quickly learned to identify.

I was able to tell what kind of attack he was going for from the moment he raised his sword again. I dodged, then hit back with my sword at a lower angle, taking him by surprise. He still blocked me, but it took him the extra ounce of effort I needed to quickly perform a 360-degree turn to amplify my hit speed and ram my blade into his arm.