In a rush of motion, I reached over my shoulder to unsheath my wyrm sword.

Dazzling sunlight glanced off razor-sharp bone as I raised the sword high—

To punch down hard.

The blade sliced cleanly through the roof of the SUV. Beads of sweat trickled down my spine as I sawed feverishly like I was opening up a can of sardines and those inside were flapping fish caught in a net, meeting their deaths at the keen edge of my blade.

Skewering—

Spearing—

Stabbing—

Their screams and death throes deafened the roar of the car's engine.

Yanking my sword free, droplets of blood scattered wide as I twisted around.

And then I was pushing forward, moving fast—

Leaping to slam on top of the car's hood, spinning around and arching my spine, both hands wrapped tightly around the knotted hilt—

I drove the sword right through the reinforced windshield—

Cracks spiderwebbed across the glass—

And the car veered as the driver lost control—

I pitched sideways. As the car shuddered and shifted beneath me, I swiftly braced myself and slipped the wyrmblade back into its sheath. It gave a sound like a humming sigh as it slid back into the leather. Then I was snatching up my daggers once more. In a violent burst of movement, I kicked in the windshield. Glass shattered and scattered like a handful of diamonds across velvet.

The front passenger aimed his gun directly at my forehead—

A crossing of my twin daggers at his wrist and I cleaved through flesh and bone.

He screamed in agony. The severed hand holding the gun fell onto the dashboard, bounced up and down with the vibration of the road, before sliding onto his lap. His ruddy features were twisted in agony as he clutched the stump of his hand with the other. Blood poured freely, turning his uniform stickily wet. A look of utter disbelief flashed across his expression just as my dagger plunged through his forehead, giving a wet, sucking pop as it withdrew.

There was no time. I had to keep moving for Nelle. I had to catch up to the next SUV.

Reaching forward, I snatched hold of the driver by the back of his head and smashed his face down on the steering wheel. Once, twice—

Once more—

Disoriented, he blinked, woozily swaying, and I punched him with the hilt of my dagger. The impact smashed fragile bones—caving his face in, splitting skin, and fracturing bone that pierced his brain in fatal slivers. His bloodied, mangled head flopped forward as his corpse slumped against the steering wheel.

But, his foot still rested upon the accelerator. And with his deadweight, it slammed down, effectively flooring the SUV.

The car surged forward with a menacing roar—

I rocked off-balance, jostled by the sudden speed.

Lurching for the steering wheel, I frantically grabbed hold of it, before half-kneeling and twisting my upper body to face forward.

The rush of raging wind wrenched at my hair, sweeping it off my forehead.

Shit, shit, shit!

The incline was getting steeper and the twists of the road weren't exactly ideal for the furious speed we were traveling at. Water from a previous deluge of storm rain cascaded down the mountain, slicking across the road to run in a spread of water down the slope and into the forest. Tires splashed through puddles. Leaning myself into the sharp corner, the car skidded, rocking and fishtailing as I navigated around a hairpin bend.

There, right fucking there, exactly where I needed it was the third SUV playing rear guard to the limousine.

The wild blustery headwind shoved with force against my body, trying to shunt me off the car. The SUV shuddered and bounced beneath me, shivering against my bones. Its engine was a ferocious roar as I aimed the car right for the third SUV. I minutely adjusted the direction with the blood-coated steering wheel, my other hand whipping around to continuously slice aside bullets.

I pushed up out of my kneeling position and launched into a run—

My blades spun furiously—

Bullets sparked and shot aside harmlessly—

And I hurled myself off the hood of the car, my legs kicking through the air, to land squarely on top of the third SUV.

No time, no time—no time to take them down.

But as I ran across the roof as swift as a black-tipped wind, heavy footfall buckling metal, I slashed and cleaved men and women—

Limbs spinning free—

Bodies falling—

I slammed onto the hood, surging forward, always moving onwards, my gaze fixed with precision on the limousine as it began to pull away.

Just as I'd landed my last step, pushing off—

The SUV I'd used to get to this one rammed up the ass of the car. The force of the impact knocked me forward and off-balance—

Uncontrolled—

Spinning faster and lower through the air than I'd intended—

I struck the edge of the limousine's roof. Pain exploded down my shoulder bending my mind inward and darkening my vision.

Ah, fucking hellsgate!

I bounced up...

...to slam back down onto the roof, crunching the air from my lungs.

And my hurtling momentum carried me into a mess of out-of-control tumbles, right across the length of the roof—

Crashing down the windshield—

I skidded sideways along the hood of the limousine and fell—

Hellgate!

Ditching the daggers to one hand, I scrambled to latch onto the radiator grille with the other. My feet bounced on the rough, uneven road, the skidding sensation jarring my ankles and vibrating hot pain up my legs. Fucking melting the soles of my boots.

Holy hells!

Gritting my teeth against the fiery sting coursing up my ankles, I hauled myself upwards, breathing hard as I lifted a leg over the hood to scramble up and over.

The remaining SUVs directly behind the limousine collided. The third vehicle was shunted off the road before it tipped over, rolling with a grinding clash of metal on stone, to crash into the forest. The second SUV spun out of control. Tires and metal screamed. Gravel and dirt sprayed as the car spun sideways down the slope and slammed into a pine tree, smashing its furrowed trunk on impact.

I heard the trigger before I saw the first wayward shot scuffing paint, and then burning heat erupted in my neck. The grazing shot tore across the skin. My mother's legacy took effect—blood vessels and flesh mending—pain slowly easing.

A soldier sitting in the front passenger seat of the limousine was leaning out of the open window, firing rapid shots.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Whipping my hand forward, the dagger flew fast and straight, slicing cleanly through the knuckle of her trigger finger.

Her shrill scream tore apart the morning air. The gun fell from her bloodied severed fingers.

Rising, my shadow fell across her as I rushed up the hood of the jostling limousine. I didn't give a fuck that the SUV traveling ahead unleashed war upon me. Bullets hit the car's hood and cracked off the back of my armor. I snarled, and kicked—

The tip of my boot caught her chin. The force employed snapped her neck.

Quickly sheathing my dagger, I leaned down and grabbed hold of her fucking hair to drag her dead body through the window and out of the limousine. The wild streaming headwind fought me as I strained to yank the door open. Swinging up and over, I clambered inside just the wide-eyed, terrified driver fumbled with her pistol.

I jammed a blade into her temple—a wet schlicking sound as I popped it free. Reaching over her corpse to open the driver's door, I shoved her body out and slid behind the steering wheel, punching the control for the privacy window.

My fingers wrapped around the handbrake, forearm muscles clenching as I readied to haul it up. But when the privacy window slid down and a scent filtered from the back of the limousine, horror twisted my gut. Arousal permeated the air like a rank, dirty sheet. As I tasted the vile, eager tang on my tongue—the exact same taste I'd encountered when I'd stumbled across my sister pinned beneath Danne—my blood froze and fear swept through me.

I glanced in the rear vision mirror—

Twin boys, others, and—

Danne was there with his back to me, on his knees, his pants hanging halfway down his ass.

Roaring silence filled my head.

I felt numb...I couldn't even feel the steering wheel beneath my white-knuckled grip.

Danne shirked aside, pressing a hand to his ear. "You fucking bitch!"

Between his fingers, blood matted his hair and poured in thin red lines down his neck, and I could see ragged, bloodied scratch marks across his freckled cheeks.

Nelle was pinned beneath him on the floor of the car. There were purple bruises, like bracelets around her wrist, and on her thighs where her skirt had been shoved up—

Her panties were torn and discarded beside her.

No, no no, no...NO!

GODS NO!

An anguished sound of rage ripped from me.

Nelle had never looked so wild and regal.

Never tasted so terrified.

Her mouth was pulled back in a snarl. Blood smeared her pretty pink lips and trickled down her chin. She spat something out of her mouth at him—something soft and fleshy.

His earlobe—

She'd bitten his earlobe off.

She screamed, the sound feral and panicked.

I didn't understand why she hadn't incinerated him to ash. How had he managed to cage whatever lurked beneath her skin?

She thrashed and bucked, clawed at his face with blood-coated fingers.

He pulled his arm back and slapped her—the force whiplashing her head to the side. She cried out in pain, momentarily stunned and dazed. Danne took advantage. His hands grasped hers, forcing them down beside her head. Her cheek swelled with a red handprint, and her wide, terrified eyes focused on Danne as he leaned over her.

Gusts of white-hot wrath like a dry desert wind burned through me. It filled my insides, my head, as that ancient strain sang its song—End him, end him, end him!

I was going to obliterate the motherfucker!

I roared my fury—ripped the handbrake up, spun hard, and flipped the bitch. The heavy-assed limousine swung round, jackknifing, tires smoking—

And the car surged forward, barrelling back down the mountain.

The Pelan convoy continued onward, not seeing the maneuver coming. I kept my slitted gaze on the rear-view mirror. The violent motion of spinning the limousine had knocked Danne off Nelle. Flying sideways, his temple smacked against the walnut console holding the wet bar and he groaned in pain.

Nelle scrambled, righting herself in a flurry of limbs, and pressed into the rear seating of the limousine like a wild animal finding herself cornered.

But there was no fucking way I was leaving her back there alone.

I'd been so desperate to find her, I'd gone straight for the limousine, knowing this was where he had her trapped. I thanked Zrenyth I hadn't taken out his entourage first.

That spirit of hers had diminished. She looked like she was going to kill him, but something had guttered inside her. And her heart, her godsdamned heart, was breaking. He'd stolen something from her—her fearlessness. She was frightened and didn't know what to do, didn't know if she was going to make it out of the limousine with her life.

Her eyes sliced to meet mine in the rearview mirror, flaring wide in shock, chased by such intense relief it scrambled my senses. A sob choked from her. "Gray—"

"Hold onto something!" I yelled back.

She hesitated.

"Now! Hold onto something now!"

She jolted at my bellow. But she spread her hands over the roof and the curve of the window, pushing herself back as deep as she could go into the plush corner seating to brace herself.

I slammed on the brake. The steering wheel vibrated in protest beneath my hands. Plumes of white smoke billowed from the tires as the limousine screeched, sliding off course to skid sideways along the road, spraying sheets of dirty water. Dirt and gravel arced as its fat ass drifted and dipped over the roadside verge. Danne was flung sideways, his back striking the car door handle with a satisfying crack.

Those others, whatever the fuck those things were, tumbled like skittles.

We'd ended up half on the gravel and dirt with the rest of the car's ass on the road, rocking back and forth until it settled.

Danne fell backward, dazed. Shaking his head, coming right, he lurched forward, scrambling for Nelle. She struck out with her feet, kicking him in the face with a shriek of rage—

Sending him sprawling.

I didn't even bother getting out of the car. I threw myself through the space dividing the front and the back of the limousine and—

Jerked backward—

The godsdamned hilt of my sword had caught on the headrest.

FUUUCK!

Danne, his face twisted in fury, lunged for Nelle—

Missed—

She'd moved faster—shoved the car door open and fell out in a tangle of limbs and a pained cry.

I watched through the partition as she scrambled to her feet, backing away wide-eyed, her cheeks wet with tears and sticky with Danne's blood. "Graysen!" she yelled. The flash of desperate need for me sweeping through her gray eyes and across that pretty face, sliced through my heart like a motherfucker.

She stepped toward me.

"Run, Nelle, RUN!" I bellowed at her.

Fuck! Run, Nelle, now!

My bite of fury snapped her out of her indecision. She kicked off her high heels, spun around, and ran.

Danne tumbled from the limousine, his hands fumbling to zip up his pants as he ran. I was outside of the car a heartbeat later, throwing myself onto the hood, sliding over to slam to my feet, surging forward, following in a streak of speed.

Nelle ran straight for the forest.

Danne was after her. He was so fucking obsessed with her, he didn't care that I was chasing him down. His shitty, shiny shoes slapped against asphalt, then made a soft dull thudding sound as he crossed gravel onto uneven sodden earth.

Pounding across the road, I reached for Danne. My fingers were an inch from tearing into his freckly neck—

White-hot pain burst through my body as lightning tore through me, chattering my teeth and fizzing through my brain. The force of the cursed crossbow bolt punched through my armor and spun me sideways.

Agony ripped through my shoulder, setting my nerves aflame as the bolt tore through flesh and cartilage and bone.

I staggered, grunting in pain.

Danne spun around, backing away. His surprise to see me there faded away, replaced with a sly superior expression that looked so much like fucking Corné, it had the blood in my veins turning to ice.

Nelle was halfway down the slippery grassy slope to the tree line. The shadows of the thick, gnarled forest cast her in gloom.

She'd whirled around as soon as she'd heard me.

"GRAY!" she screamed. Her heart raced so fast I thought mine might burst inside my chest.

She started running back toward me.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" I roared back at her.

She slammed to a halt, her hands balled at her sides as indecision wrapped itself around her. She darted quick furious glances between the remaining SUVs pulling up, the Pelan soldiers pouring out, and back to me, taking another step my way. "NO!"

"RUN!"

The feeling of her heartache reverberated right through my chest. "I can't!" she wailed, her eyebrows slashing upward and bottom lip trembling.

"NOW!"

Her features tightened, warring against me, but she spun, her torn, bloodied dress flaring wide and her pale hair sweeping like a sheen of moonlight as she took off toward the forest.

Danne's men formed a distant half-circle around me and Danne backed away to stand flush between two of his soldiers. He reached over and plucked a Glock out of one of their hands. His hazel eyes gleamed in eagerness as he pointed the gun at me. "Not so infallible after all, Crowther."

I took in Danne's men, their guns and crossbows aimed at me.

The bolt had gone right through my body, the crackling head just poked a little way out of my upper chest. I reached over my shoulder and snapped the bolt in half, dropping the fletching end with a clatter to the ground. Gritting my teeth, I gripped the head, still sparking with energy, and pulled the fucking thing right through my chest, keeping my eyes locked on Danne Pelan, watching that smugness drip from his face like melting ice. I flung the bloodied bolt aside.

I was going to take great pleasure in dicing Danne into tiny slivers.

This was going to be fast and so godsdamned satisfying.