Disappearing slaves, a vanished infiltrator, a stolen deputy and a kidnapped renegade. All have ties to Winter and her terrifying new ally, but her prison compounds are empty. She is known not to kill.
With Winter's lackeys closing in, the remains o...
"Don't be like this, Bluejay," she said. "His safety rests on what you do from now on."
The battle broke. Blood-streaked and snarling, Wing landed between Jay and the trio again. The tall male was scarcely out of breath.
"I do not give a Drakon shit how I come out of this," said Wing. "Jay, you don't even remember them and seeing them does this to you?"
"I taught his body, not his mind," said the tall male.
"You're the one he's scared of."
They slammed into each other again. This time, the Flatlander seemed to have doubled in strength; he was only just starting to get serious.
"Don't move," growled the grey Northlander as Rose tensed. "I hate killing bystanders."
Wing was spun around and slammed into a wall; he broke free and ripped into his opponent's shoulder. A kick met his ribs and drove him to the ground. The tall male slammed his stomach before he could recover his breath. Wing lay gasping. The Flatlander stood on him and said, "Bluejay."
"Get out of here, Jay," gasped Wing. He screamed as the tall male snatched the broken arrow from the ground and rammed it into his flank.
"That is your first warning, Bluejay," said the creature.
Jay was faltering, but he still flinched away when the female Flatlander stepped towards him.
The tall male slammed Wing's head against the ground. "Second warning."
Wing had gone still. Blood leaked across the stone beneath him.
"How did the last one die?" said the tall male. He stepped off Wing and set his teeth in the mutt's stomach. Something gave out in Jay. He walked to the female Flatlander and did not flinch as she pushed him to the ground. She knocked him out with a hard cuff.
"We're done here," she said. "Stone, leave the bondmate. If he dies, we go through all that trouble again. Cinder, we're leaving. That one"—she gave Rose a hard look—"won't follow us."
Rose did not. She could not. She could only watch, tears trickling down her face, as they picked up Jay and walked out of the hall, leaving the bodies of Wing, Beech and Ash behind. Only one of the three was still alive.
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"Should I double the guards?" said a quiet voice.
"Yeah. We already confirmed how they came in, but someone might have followed them from Costar. Get a border patrol out, too."
Voices rustled and smells curled around each other in the half-darkness. Someone lifted Whipper by the scruff and set him on a soft ledge. He could feel Dusk's fur beside him. The world felt more dream than reality.
"Mariah," said someone.
A Watermouse shouldered her way through the shapes by the door. All but one left. The Watermouse finished rolling up her sleeves and put a paw on Whipper's forehead, then Dusk's. Drakon-shell arm guards graced both her forearms. "This one needs an operation," she said to the last shadow in the room. The Coppertail stepped forwards and dropped something on the ledge. Mariah pulled a vial and a cloth from her well-stocked belt. She uncorked the vial and poured a few drops on the fabric, which she rolled into a ball. The vial was recorked and replaced.
