Page 48 of Renegade Queen

“Change of plan,” I muttered, leaping to my feet.

It was stupid. I hadn’t thought it through, and yet the alternative rushed through my mind as I broke into a run. I saw Tank storming the clearing in his bear form. One bear against multiple swords. He’d probably be able to take one of them down, but the others would be on him before he could do anything else. The others would try. They’d rush in, filled with the bravado of the inexperienced. Dean would fall first. He’d make sure that he reached the Endless before his brothers. He’d take them all on alone, even if it would only give them a fraction of a second to make a difference. Ryder and Maddox would only be moments behind him, and their fate would be exactly the same.

No.

I wasn’t going to let that happen.

I didn’t pull my sword as I broke through the clearing. There wouldn’t be time to engage them all hand-to-hand. I needed to take down as many as possible because the others would be on my heels. There was no way they’d stand back to wait and see what happened.

My magic burst out of me in a wave, and I tensed, unprepared for the sudden rush of power. It was like I’d finally broken the dam that held it back, and it wanted out. So. Fucking. Much.

I’d spent years in the human realm, my magic slowly fading despite my best efforts. But even then, I’d kept it contained. It’d never had the chance to run free. And now we were back. My feet were on Nymerian soil, and I felt the hum of the land run through me. Entwining with the magic that lived inside of me. It coated the power I had and pushed it harder. Twisting and swirling in a dance that I didn’t even know I knew the steps to.

I was only ten steps away from them when I stopped, needing to focus on what I was doing rather than getting into the fight too early.

The Endless had kept up their unmoving vigil of the clearing. They didn’t seem to care, even when my magic had burst forth.

Until Nymeria joined me.

Then all their heads turned as one, and six sets of glowing eyes met mine.

The world held its breath for a fraction of a second, and then all hell broke loose.

Because The Endless were fucking fast.

But not as fast as me.

Thorny vines burst from the ground, wrapping around their legs as they started to run. Three broke loose immediately, I ignored them, only focusing on the three I had ensnared. There was no point losing all six. Not when I had a chance to half their numbers.

I wasn’t playing around here. Going gentle was a surefire way to ending up dead, and I had no intention of risking my life, or the lives of the men behind me.

As the vines gripped The Endless in my gasp, they moved, snaking their way up their bodies, searching for weaknesses to exploit.

That was the downside with armour. You became complacent with the perceived promise of safety it gave you. Every armour had a weakness though, and it was the living person inside it. That person needed to move. Where there were joints, there were openings, and my vines found them easily.

I pushed aside the thought of who was inside. That they hadn’t put this armour on willingly. Trying to save them and dying in their place might seem noble, but it wouldn’t save those I loved. The only mercy I could give right now was to make it quick.

I sent as much of my magic into the creeping vines as possible. I felt them like an extension of myself as they tore through flesh, taking down the three of them as quickly as possible, as the others would be upon me in less time than it would take to draw my sword.

In one final push, I let those vines surge forward, twisting, pulling, ripping. Whatever it took to achieve the one goal, I knew I’d hate myself for when all of this was over.

Tank’s bear rushed past me, colliding with The Endless closest to me. He floored whatever creature was inside as his massive animal hit it with the force of a train. His heavy paws slammed down on its chest, but the armour held. It bent, but it didn’t collapse in on itself like you would have expected beneath the full force of a bear.

That didn’t deter Tank, though. If anything, I had a feeling the bear was glad it didn’t end that quickly.

With a roar, he slammed himself down again. His jaws closed over the arm swinging a sword in his direction, firmly restraining it from being able to do him any harm.

I saw the first punch land in his side, his bear impossibly rocking to the side from the blow. It wasn’t enough to dislodge him, though.

But I didn’t have time to concentrate on what Tank was doing; I had to trust that he had this. At least this way, he only had one to contend with.

Dancing to the side, I felt the rush of air as a sword swept past me through the space where my chest had momentarily been. These guys weren’t pulling any punches, it seemed. Or maybe they’d retained enough of the person to hold a grudge against me for the friends I’d just killed.

Drawing my sword, I took my one chance to scan the clearing. Ryder was already at the jailer’s cart, trying to break the lock, and Fizzle was dutifully sitting on his shoulder, no doubt telling him all the ways he was doing it wrong.

Dean and Maddox were doing a good job of keeping the other Endless occupied in what was starting to look like a deadly game of keep away, both trading out darting in to keep it distracted.

If I could take the one down in front of me quickly, there was a chance we could survive this.

---