Page 116 of Mortal Blood
“Save some for me,” he said, limping my way.
“Don’t worry,” Kallan said, leaning in as he got close to me. “I’ll let you watch us kill your mate before we get started on you. I wouldn’t want you to miss a thing.”
Gritting my teeth, I lifted both my legs and slammed my feet into Kallan’s chest with all my strength.
He staggered back with a pained grunt as the double kick caught him hard in the sternum. At the same time, my body’s sudden backward momentum sent Harvey crashing to the ground behind me. His grip loosened as he hit the forest floor and I rolled free, coming up in a crouch.
Kallan was still regaining his balance, rage burning in hiseyes.
“Grab her!” he yelled at Eva. She dropped the vines and dove toward me. I sidestepped her clumsy lunge, leaving her to sail through empty air, and darted to Cole’s side, standing protectively over him.
“Where is she?” Harvey asked, turning warily as he regained his feet.
“Three guesses,” Kallan said, nodding towards Cole. Ugh. I really was transparent—and not just literally. His mouth took on his customary malicious sneer. “Play all the games you like, dhampir. But you’re still outnumbered four to one. And I’m still going to kill your mate.”
“Three and a half, at best,” I taunted—because it wasn’t like they didn’t know where I was. Wes growled as he ambled towards me, and I switched to Cole’s other side, moving carefully to avoid giving myself away. Might as well at least make them work for it.
“Fuck it,” Kallan said. “I’m going to kill Bryant right now. And we’ll deal with the bitch later.”
“Yes, we will,” Wes agreed, in a tone that sent a shudder the length of my spine. But it didn’t matter, because if they wanted Cole, they were going to have to go through me first, and I was going to take as many of them down as I could.
“Let’s make this quick, shall we? More time to play with the dhampir.” He pulled a blade from a sheath at his hip—where the fuck had he got that?—and held it up. “You see this, dhampir? I’m going to use it to cut your mate’s throat. Then I’m going to use it on you.”
He advanced on Cole, and I carefully crouched right in frontof him. As soon as he came within range, I rose up, slamming my shoulder into his stomach. The air rushed out of his lungs in a sharp huff and I threw an arm up, blocking the knife as his momentum drove it at my back.
“Get her,” Wes snarled, and the other two rushed in. I shoved Kallan back and whirled, eyes darting between them, searching for the next attack.
Eva’s fist sailed through empty air where my head had been a heartbeat before. I seized her arm, using her momentum to hurl her aside. She crashed into Wes as he charged, sending them both sprawling into the dirt.
No time to breathe. Kallan slashed with the knife, the blade slicing the air inches from my stomach. I twisted away, the knife barely missing again as he stabbed at my chest.
Harvey barreled toward me. I dropped and rolled, his fist just glancing off my shoulder. I swept his legs out from under him before he could recover, and he hit the ground hard.
A blur of movement—Wes was on me again. His fist clipped my temple, making my head spin. I scrambled back as he loomed over me. He kicked blindly, his boot catching my thigh, and I bit down on a gasp of pain. His injured leg buckled under him and I rolled just in time to avoid him landing on me, but his flailing hand smashed into my face, splitting my lip, forcing a cry of pain from me.
“There!” Kallan yelled. He dove toward the sound, knife extended. I flung myself sideway, but not quite fast enough and pain burned through my calf as the blade nicked me.
They were herding me away from Cole. I couldn’t let them separate us. Kallan swiped at the empty air where I’d been. I dodged past him, sprinting for Cole’s side.
Almost there. Eva appeared before me, arms spread to block my path. I feinted left then went right, barely avoiding her grasping hands.
I skidded to a stop by Cole, chest heaving. They circled us, peering for any sign of me. Blood dripped from my split lip and I swiped it away with the back of my hand before it could hit the ground and give me away, but it didn’t matter. The marks my boots had left in the dirt told them everything they needed to know about where I was, and the blood from the jagged tear on my calf was already leaking through the shredded remains of my pants.
Kallan’s smile broadened. “Game over.”
Chapter Thirty-Five
A thunderous crackexploded through the tense standoff. Before I could react, Harvey was flung sideways, smashing through a pine in a spray of splinters and bark. He hit the ground hard, screaming as he clutched his mangled arm.
What the hell?
Thaden stood where Harvey had been a heartbeat before, eyes blazing, muscles taut and ready for another attack. His gaze raked the clearing, taking in Cole’s unconscious form and the rest of us—no,them, I was still invisible—frozen in surprise.
“Get the fuck away from him,” Thaden growled, his voice laced with lethal menace. “Now.”
Kallan flinched before catching himself. “This isn’t your fight, vampire.”
Thaden’s icy eyes narrowed. “It’s mine, because I say it’s mine. That shifter is mine, that bloodied fucking blade is mine, and your broken corpse is mine if I choose to make it. I’m Prince Thaden of the Moritego Clan, and you’re down two men. And you’re in my fucking way, so I suggest you move. Now.”
