Heat blasted over him from the collapsing roof as the fire rushed outward in a loud whoosh. Sweat beaded across his brow and dripped down his back, causing his shirt to stick to him as he moved. Twisting in his arms, Aria pulled another arrow free of her quiver and fired it at a vampire rushing headlong into the woods. The arrow caught him high in the chest, knocking him to the ground. Daniel drove a stake through the vamp’s chest before he could regain his feet.
Aria turned and fired at another vamp as William planted his feet and released a series of arrows. The arrows pelted the small wave of vamps trying to escape around the back of the house. Max, Daniel, and Maeve leapt forward to stake any who had survived William’s arrows. To the right of him, Xavier lifted another vampire and drove him onto the jagged, broken branch of a tree.
Bursting free of the woods, Braith surveyed the scene. The guards on top of the wall were firing down on the vamps running through the street. He spotted Gideon, Melinda, and Ashby on top of the wall near the gate, commanding the troops.
To his left, Jack, Timber, and Hannah had also broken free of the woods and were fighting to carve their way through the vampires trying to flee around them. Some of Sabine’s followers had shed their brown cloaks in an attempt to blend in, but many were too panicked to have taken them off.
Perhaps some of Sabine’s followers would figure out the black streaks on the faces of those attacking them also kept them from blending in, but not many of them would before it was too late. The guards on the palace walls focused on the vampires wearing the brown cloaks, the only ones they knew for certain weren’t on their side. No matter that those within the palace knew they had allies on this side of the wall now, the gates wouldn’t open before their enemies had been destroyed.
To his right, more vampires were being battled back by the small army blocking their escape at the end of the road. His eyes narrowed when he spotted Sabine walking casually down the street, her hair trailing behind her and her blood-colored cloak bright in the flames spreading through the town.
Her arrogance is her greatest weakness, Aria had said more than a few times and he saw now just how right she was.
At Sabine’s side walked the vampire with the shockingly white hair. His uncle, Goran, her possible only other weakness. A dozen or so vampires flanked her sides, looking to keep her protected, but it wouldn’t be enough to stop Braith from killing her.
Sabine was outnumbered by those blocking the end of the road, but with her strength she would cut through them with ease. He set Aria on her feet. She pulled two more arrows from her quiver and fired them at the retreating couple. Sabine turned, her eyes flashing red as she snatched both the arrows out of the air and snapped them within her fingers.
“Bitch,” Aria murmured as she lowered her bow.
Sabine smiled at her before tossing the arrows away. Then, her gaze slid to Braith and he saw the slightest stiffening of her shoulders and a flicker of unease within her eyes. She hadn’t been expecting him, at least not so soon. A smile curved his mouth before he raced down the street toward her.
CHAPTER 37
Aria
Aria fired arrows at the vampires surrounding Sabine and at those trying to escape as she ran behind Braith. She knew he could move much faster without them, but he stayed protectively in front of her. Xavier remained beside her, grabbing anyone she was unable to take out. Behind her, William worked to bring down more vampires with his bow. Daniel, Tempest, Max, and Maeve methodically staked any who survived their arrows.
As a vampire leapt out at Braith, she swung her bow toward him, releasing an arrow that struck him high in the shoulder and flung him back. Daniel pounced on him, driving his stake through his heart before tearing it free. Arrows soared through the air around them, their impacts making a thudding sound when they pierced through bodies or hit the earth.
A whistling sound reached her. She twisted to get out of the way of what she knew was coming from behind, but she wasn’t fast enough. The arrow pierced through her right shoulder, knocking her forward and nearly causing her to lose her grip on her bow. Her arm erupted in tingles that made her fingers feel thick. She hadn’t made a sound, but Braith must have caught the scent of her blood on the air as he spun toward her, his reddened eyes blazing hotter when they landed on the arrow protruding through her.
“I’m fine!” she shouted to be heard over the growing cacophony of battle filling the town and bouncing off the buildings around them.
He took a step toward her, but she held up a hand to ward him off. They couldn’t stop now; they couldn’t let Sabine get away, or the fighting and fear would never end. Sabine had to die tonight. Grasping the arrow, Aria bit her lip and braced herself before tearing it from her shoulder. She casually tossed it aside to show him how fine she was.