Her heart rose in her throat as the Treasurer smiled down at her.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
VESPER
Vesper’s erratic heartbeat matched the wild pulse of his vestige. As the knives at his friends' necks glinted in the low lantern light, panic climbed his throat. How had they gotten into this shitstorm of a situation? He clutched his sword, his knuckles white.
Could he summon his magic before the Gravers dragged the blades across their throats? He blinked rapidly, his attention torn between them all.
They all wore their horror uniquely: Thorrin’s eyes bled terror yet his face remained calm, Nef’s flushed cheeks harboured enough rage to burn down an entire city, and Gaelen andDimitri may as well have had ‘shitting my pants’ painted on their foreheads.
Then his eyes met Kyrith’s and Vesper’s heart constricted.
Her eyes drowned, not with panic, but with anticipation, ready for this fight. Ready to give these monsters the lashing they deserved. But he would rather throw himself into one of those bloody cages and tap into his vein than allow anything to harm her.
Vesper sneered at the arm snaking her waist and the dirt-crusted skeletal fingers. He would snap every one for daring to touch her.
“Move and they perish,” the Graver spat, the tinge of Vesper’s blood still on its teeth. It ripped the skin from its face to reveal bone, a thing composed of nightmares, features carved by fear itself. Its empty eye sockets scrutinized him, perhaps to see what foolish move he would make next. “Lay your sword at your feet and step away,” the Graver hissed. Blood gurgled in his throat.
The seven other Gravers remained quiet, their crimson hoods still drawn.
A trickle of blood spilled from the nick at Kyrith’s throat and a vicious roar began in Vesper’s head as he watched it pool in her collarbone. Her fingers slowly inched towards her sword. The blade shined, ready to slice through the cavernous darkness. And as her eyes met his, they said only one thing.
They would not submit. They would fight, even if it was their last.
And Izzy’s words flitted through his head as a reminder.
He was a Merikh.
He was a wolf.
And he was fucking ready to draw blood.
But one of the Graver’s cocked its head at him. Maybe saw Vesper’s intentions written across his face. It grinned.
Then dragged its knife across Dimitri’s throat. His flesh peeled open, a ribbon of red bloomed, and the blood just kept … spilling.
The cave erupted into chaos.
Nef screamed like her throat tore open with Dimitri’s. As her heel connected with the Graver’s leg, the snapping of bone echoed. The Graver’s jaws spread wide. She spun away and drew the sword from her belt, the one Dimitri had shown her how to use. The Graver lunged for her, but she slashed it with a two-handed spin. The monster’s head thumped to the ground and inky blood spurted from the stump of its neck as its body collapsed, twitching with the last movements of life.
Wet coughs rattled from Nef as she doubled over.
As Kyrith grasped the blade at her throat, the Graver wrenched the dagger from her grip. The blade sliced through her hand, and she bared her teeth in pain, but she stole that moment to reach for her sword. She arced it through the air like a shooting star as it sang a righteous tune and glowed the same turquoise as her vestige. The blade connected with the monster’s arm, cutting clean through the sinew and bone.
The dagger tumbled to the dirt along with the lifeless limb.
Kyrith twirled her sword in her hand with expert precision, while she waited for the Graver’s next move. Her other hand dripped crimson onto the ground as she braced it in front of her.
Unfazed by its missing limb, the Graver locked its eyeless sockets on her and retrieved the dagger. Then it unfurled its spine, stood, unhinged its jaw, and screeched a fucking terrifying sound of nightmares and things that lurk in the darkness. Spittle and clots of blood flew from its gaping mouth.
Kyrith didn't hesitate. Didn't flinch. Didn't even blink.
Dagger clashed with sword as she swung at the Graver.
Vesper glimpsed Nef crumpled on the ground with Dimitri, a hand clasped over his neck as he gasped and choked. Deimos’smausoleum flashed through Vesper’s mind, and, for a moment, he lost himself in that memory as Demitri bled out, but he shook it free and dove back into the battle.
He couldn’t summon Kaida with those people behind him. She could hurt them with her untamed flame, even if—