Sabine briefly loosened her hold on Aria as she swung around, her arm flying out to smack all of those behind her. William bellowed when Tempest was flung backward, the staff knocked from her hand as she sprawled on the ground. Maeve bounced across the earth and landed near Daniel’s body. Like a cat, she bounded back to her feet, but Max remained unmoving in the middle of the road.
More of Sabine’s vampires surged forward, looking to protect their leader. Over Sabine’s shoulder, Aria spotted Braith battling his way through the dozen or so vampires between them. Blood splattered his face and his clothes were soaked in it. She scented his blood on the air, but most of the blood covering him came from those he ruthlessly carved out of his way.
Sabine’s fingers wrapped around her throat, lifting her off the ground. Aria’s feet kicked against the woman. She beat at the hand holding her throat and digging into her skin, but it was like pitting a lamb against a lion.
William punched Sabine in the stomach; she never flinched. Lifting her hand, Sabine swung it out to smack it against the back of William’s skull. He didn’t have a chance to get his hands out to break his fall before he slammed face first into the dirt road.
“I’m going to kill you!” Sabine spat at Aria and drew back her hand in preparation to tear her heart out.
Aria’s eyes widened. Her feet kicked against Sabine’s stomach and her fingers tore at the iron hold on her throat to no avail. She was going to die and there was nothing she could do to stop it as Sabine’s fist shot forward so fast she barely saw it move.
A hard punch crashed into her chest, cracking bone just as another hand shot out and encircled Sabine’s wrist before she could tear into Aria’s chest. Braith’s red eyes loomed over Sabine’s shoulder, his massive size dwarfing her slender frame. The power of them both rippled over Aria’s skin, causing the hair on her body to stand on end and her mouth to go dry. There was no denying they were the most powerful creatures on this earth, and they were going to destroy each other.
Pulling his other hand back, Braith drove his fist straight into Sabine’s face. As Sabine howled, her grip on Aria’s throat constricted and she staggered back a few steps. More blood burst from Sabine’s nose and now split lips.
Braith didn’t hesitate before unleashing a series of brutal punches on her that pushed her further and further backward. Aria’s fingers tore at the hand encircling her throat as Sabine’s fingers tore deeper into her flesh to spill more of her blood. Sabine’s grip didn’t ease as she pulled Aria along with her. Braith jerked the arm he was holding back, snapping bone at the elbow before he grabbed the hand encasing Aria’s throat and squeezed the wrist with enough force to shatter it.
Sabine wailed as her grip on Aria finally released and she fell to the road. Aria’s hand flew to her brutalized neck as blood continued to spill free. Seizing Sabine by the throat, Braith lifted her up and propelled her off the road and into the woods before smashing her into a tree. The tree shook from the impact but held firm, even as a jagged crack raced up the center of it toward the canopy.
Aria pushed herself back to her feet and took an unsteady step to the side as Braith lowered himself so he was eye level with Sabine. Aria’s gaze went to where Daniel remained unmoving against another tree, fifty feet away. Max already knelt at her brother’s side with Maeve, while William, Tempest, and Xavier, who had regained consciousness, sought to keep back the remaining vampires. They would all take care of Daniel and get him through this, but first she had to help make sure Sabine was destroyed.
“How?” Braith growled at Sabine when Aria approached them through the woods with Keegan at her heels. “How is it possible we can come back?”
Sabine wiggled in his grasp, her feet kicking against his shins, but with both of her arms useless, she could do little to fend him off. Sabine’s eyes narrowed on him. She didn’t respond as her gaze flicked between him and Aria.
“Did my father know about this?” Braith demanded.
“No,” Sabine finally replied. “I was killed before I could tell him.” Sabine’s gaze remained on Aria as she stopped behind Braith. “You pollute our blood with this creation,” she sneered at him.
Braith pulled Sabine off the tree then slammed her back into it. The crack in it grew, and the tree swayed ominously, but continued to hold. “Do not talk about my wife, your queen, that way.”
Sabine shook her head as if to clear it before she focused on Braith and fairly spit with fury. “Never would such a pollution of our line be my queen.”
“That’s why you’re doing this,” Aria said, causing Braith to glance back at her. “It’s not because Atticus was killed and you sought revenge for your eldest son’s death. It’s not because you want to rule. It’s because you see me as an abomination who will taint your line if we have children.”
“You have already tainted it!” Sabine spat. “Just by having our blood in your veins you have weakened us. Your children would be abominations of our pure blood.”