Page 80 of Ember and Eclipse
Without any further thought, she threw a knife at Poroce, the blade sinking into his side. Another one, and it landed in his thigh. His steps faltered as he pulled the knives out with grunts. Some of the others stepped forward, but she paid no mind to them. In the seconds that had passed between her throwing the knives and Varus pulling out his, Devdan had backed off. Part of his sleeve was torn and a bloody mess from where the other Lunae’s dagger had cut into him.
But it was the expression on his face that made her pause. She’d seen him look that way before. It was the version of him that she confused for Death himself.
“You come here to my home, threaten me and my mate, then call for Aemulandcheat? You’re the coward. You don’t deserve to be anything.”
“Says the bastard,” Varus spat, a crazed look in his eye. “You should have never been allowed to live, let alone be a member of the pack. What is it that you thinkyoudeserve?”
Poroce turned to her, and with a snarl, the greasy-haired Lunae drew a dagger and came for her. Her magic sang—a comforting presence she’d never get used to. But she didn’t need her magic. Drawing two of her knives, she let him get within striking distance.
“Can’t throw your little knives now, can—”
Ducking, she dragged a blade across his stomach and as he doubled over, she buried the second into the back of his neck with brutal efficiency. “Throwing them isn’t the only thing I know how to do,” she snarled as she kicked him over to ensure he was downed.
When she turned around, her gaze sought out Devdan. Varus was attempting to choke him, his grip slipping from the disturbing amount of crimson on them both. Devdan was focused on getting the dominant position again when Havenar and Mer moved toward the wrestling couple.
Rel ran forward, placing herself between Devdan and them. Mer and Havenar drew up short, looking from her to the pair behind her. “If you take another fucking step,” she growled, “I’ll bury every single one of these blades in you.”
They considered her, and the one named Havenar laughed. It was Rel’s only warning before she was dragged backward by Bria, steel kissing her throat. The Lunae turned them toward the fighting.
“Look!” Havenar shouted as he strutted toward the battle. Devdan had just pushed Varus off him. Both of their chests were heaving from their efforts. When her mate looked over at them, he made eye contact with her. And all she had time to glean from that look was that he trusted her to handle herself before Varus attacked him again.
They had to make it out of this alive. There was too much left unsaid between them. She needed him to know that she…
Havenar had joined the fray. Varus was on Devdan’s back, their battle on the ground again. His arm was around his throat while Havenar kicked his ribs. Devdan swiped a foot out, bringing Havenar down as he kept attempting to slip free from the other Lunae’s hold.
Palms heating, Rel’s magic responded to the threat. To the danger that sheandher mate was in. She grabbed Bria’s forearm, the sizzling sound of her flesh drowned out only by her scream. When the Lunae let her go, Rel turned to confront her. Grabbing her wrist, she squeezed until the dagger fell to the ground. And then she smacked her, a fiery handprint appearing across her face.
Unbidden, her magic swarmed around her, a waking inferno. She was going to kill every single one of them. She would incinerate everything if she had to—becomewildfire.
Before her destructive essence grew into something deadly, Varus cried out like a dying beast.
When she risked a look behind her, Devdan was on top of him, his fists covered in crimson, blood splattering on his face and torso, as he beat the other Lunae’s face in. Varus attempted to push him off, his hands reaching for Devdan’s face, but there was no stopping him. When Varus’ struggles weakened and ceased, his features a mess of bone, blood, and broken flesh, her mate finally stood up.
She found Havenar already dead next to Varus.
Drenched in gore, he looked at the two remaining Lunae. The promise of death poured out of him in a tangible wave. Only cold fury was on his face, a challenge for anyone else to step up against him. As she looked between Bria and Mer, they were frozen in fear. But then they kneeled. Planting their fists into the earth, they stretched out their necks.
Devdan was the victor.
He looked her over, his eyes traveling a path from her head to her boots before he addressed the other wolves. “I didn’t ask for this. And I don’t want it. You’ll leave here and never speak of this place again. You will never return or send anyone else. You will never look for me or my mate again. The only reason I’m letting you walk out of here is to inform my successor. Return to Romul, and in my stead, Naut will be the pack leader.”
A long silence permeated the clearing, and she moved toward Devdan.
“I reject you,” he finally growled, and before they even stood up, he turned toward her. She met him halfway, reaching for him, ensuring he was whole.
They stood like that for a moment, holding each other. An impossibility of being alive that she couldn’t frame in words or actions.
“Let’s go home,” he murmured.
Chapter XLV
“Washup,”Devdanorderedroughly over the running water.
“You first. You’re covered in blood, and we need to see to your wounds,” she countered.
He didn’t argue. Immediately pulling his torn tunic off, he set about washing the blood from his arms and face.
They had walked and rowed back in a tense silence that she didn’t fully understand but also had no idea how to break. And now he was acting distant. But she could understand the feeling that reverberated in her. A burning anger, a sense of failure. Not only could she feel it echoing within the inexplicable way the bond connected them, but she could read it in the language of his body that she had come to know.
