Bychkov growled, demon low. “Then she hasn’t told you, Enforcer.” A tickle, one of pain and death, vibrated through the air toward Daire’s frontal lobe.
Daire smiled and threw up a mental shield. His expertise for the last three centuries had been in learning to shield against demon mind attacks, because the Coven Nine had always expected war with the demon nation. “That all you got?”
Bychkov’s eyes turned beady. “No. But it’s more than she’s got.”
Daire kept any reaction from showing. Was Cee Cee incapable of demon mind attacks? Was that even possible? “Regardless, you asked for the lady’s hand, she apparently said no, and it’s over. Tuck your tail between your legs and go home.”
Bychkov shook his head, his face contorting. Emotion, deep and dark, charged the atmosphere. “We have a contract, struck by families, and she’s mine. The Coven Nine will not interfere in such matters, and you know it. You go home, Dunne.”
True. The Coven Nine wouldn’t even think of interfering in another nation’s matters, including betrothals and all that crap. “I guess I’ll just have to interfere on my own, then.” He kept the mental shield in place, although even he wasn’t delusional enough to think he could protect his brain from the attacks of all four soldiers. They weren’t going anywhere, and the matter was about to escalate, so it was time for action. He molded the fire still burning across his hands into smaller projectiles.
“Wait a second,” Cee Cee said. “Give me just a few more minutes, I think.”
“For what?” Daire asked.
She lifted her head. “I like the enforcer. I owe him and have brought enough trouble to his doorstep. You have one chance here, Ivan. Forget the contract and walk away. I’ll do the same.”
Bychkov studied her, the heavy wind blowing his hair around his classic face. “No.”
She exhaled, her breath misting in the cold air. “I’m glad you said that. To be honest, I’m not sure I could’ve walked away.”
He took an involuntary step toward her and then stopped. “I didn’t think so. You’ve wondered about us.”
“No.” She shook her head.
“Yes, you have. I was your first kiss.” Triumph lifted his pale lips.
She wrinkled her nose. “That was decades upon decades ago, and I have to tell you, there was way too much teeth.”
Daire bit back a grin at the sarcasm, even as his muscles tensed for the fight. The crumbling building shielded the soldiers from the gentling storm, and they’d make a move soon.
The ground pitched. Air paused, and the atmosphere held its breath. A rumble echoed, the entire tundra rocked, and an explosion rippled through the storm. The icy ground cracked. Fire billowed into the air, even through the storm, shooting sparks and debris into the air a couple of miles away.
One of the soldiers slipped and fell on his face.
“What did you do?” Bychkov yelled, spittle flying from his mouth.
Daire bunched and threw both fire balls, impacting the crumbling building at its stress points. Sheet metal flew out, sharp and jagged. The building toppled. The soldiers ran in different directions, sliding on the unsteady ground, trying to avoid the piercing metal.
“Run.” Daire grabbed Cee Cee’s arm and yanked her into the schoolhouse, releasing her to run through the building and out the front. “Follow me.” He zigged across the street and behind another row of buildings, leading her through an escape route he’d planned the other night while hunting, just in case. The pressure of the chase descended upon his neck, and he angled quietly, moving between buildings and sometimes through them, until they reached the old gas station at the end of the small town.
Cee Cee kept on his heels, as quiet as any predator, staying close.
He eyed the icy tundra. “We need to go east, keep to the shoreline, and reach the helicopter hangar,” he said, breathing out heavily.
“They’re not behind us any longer,” she panted out.