But then her cousin stopped. He stopped and instead of going for Izzy, the woman she was sure he loved, he turned and faced Vateria and . . . and whatever that was that had hold of the bitch.
Brannie had no idea what was going on, but she’d be damned if she’d let Izzy die because her cousin didn’t have his gods-damn priorities straight.
“In here!” she called out to the humans following her. “Hurry!” They could help with all this. She’d help with . . . with . . .
“Izzy?”
Izzy was no longer flying but walking with purpose back across the floor toward what Brannie was guessing were the zealots Iz had told her about. And even though those zealots didn’t have eyes, one of them still cocked his head like he could see. Like he was looking right at Izzy.
“You?” the zealot said in a raspy whisper. “You still live. How is that possible?”
“Kill her, Vincent! Kill her now!”
The zealot lifted both claws and unleashed a flash of powerful Magick that even Brannie with her non-Magickal existence could easily see.
And that Magick rammed right into Izzy, but this time, she didn’t fly anywhere. She just stopped, shook her head, cracked her neck, and moved forward.
“Combine our powers!” Another zealot screamed. “Now!”
“No! Use something else. Kill her!”
While they were busy arguing, debating, Izzy kept moving forward. She swiped up a dragon’s short sword that lay on the floor. One of the soldier dragons ran at her, but she dodged his weapon and him, then dragged the blade she held against his back leg, severing the tendon. The dragon dropped to the ground with a scream and Izzy kept going.
Someone else threw more Magick at her. And this time Izzy didn’t even pause. Instead, she suddenly sped forward and right at the first zealot. When he saw her, he panicked and swiped at her with his claw. Izzy caught hold of it and went with it when the zealot’s arm swung up. Iz pulled back the dragon sword she held and rammed it forward, slamming it into the side of the zealot’s neck, bypassing his hard scale and tearing open a main artery. Izzy flipped her body up onto the zealot’s head, yanked out the blade, and charged across, leaping to the dragon beside him, seconds before the first zealot crashed to the ground, dead before his head hit the floor.
“Oh, that’s right,” Brannie said, laughing a little. “Iz doesn’t need my help.”
But, she realized, looking down at the humans Izzy was descended from, who threw themselves into the battle with a gusto any Cadwaladr would appreciate, Izzy’s kin did need her help. And with great pride, she gave it.
Using the hammer he was beginning to appreciate more and more, Éibhear battered at the tentacles that had hold of Vateria.
“Éibhear!” he heard Aidan bellow.
“Get Vateria!” he ordered. “Pull her out!”
A tentacle slapped across his snout, acid from it leeching past scale and into flesh. Snarling—because he knew that would scar—Éibhear battered the tentacle away.
“Éibhear! Axe!”
Éibhear lifted his claw and caught the axe Uther threw at him. He brought it down, cutting off three tentacles at once, but another three slithered out from . . . well, he didn’t want to think about where they slithered from.
“We’ve got Vateria!” Caswyn yelled.
“Get her out of here! Now!”
Knowing Caswyn would take care of Vateria, Éibhear moved forward. He needed to cut off something more important than a tentacle. But before he could get close enough to anything important, tentacles slipped around his throat and arms, pulling him away. Holding him tight while what he assumed was a really vile-looking tongue slithered out from what he was guessing was a mouth, across the floor, and headed right for him.
Éibhear struggled against the tentacles. But as soon as he yanked one forearm or leg free, another tentacle caught hold again, holding him in place. The tongue neared him, slithering across the floor, blood, slime, and shit spreading from it as it did.
Gods, the smell alone made him want to vomit.
Éibhear opened his mouth to unleash flame but the tentacle around his throat tightened, choked him. Still, he didn’t stop fighting. Uther dropped onto the thing’s back, raised his second axe above its head, and began hacking away, but still it didn’t release Éibhear. Aidan came at it from the side, using a broadsword to stab it through its thick skin. And still, nothing.
But Éibhear didn’t care. He only fought harder. As did his comrades. He knew they wouldn’t stop until they all took their last breath . . . which they might be very close to doing.
That tongue was close now, nearly under him. This Éibhear wasn’t looking forward to. Especially when the tip of the tongue slowly began to lift up, too close to the important parts of him. Blood, shit, and death dripping off it and onto the floor, the smell making Éibhear gag. But still he fought. Still he—
A bare foot rammed down on that tongue, holding it in place on the floor, and a sword lifted up and plunged into it, pinning it to the ground with one hit.
The thing screamed out and released Éibhear so that it could attack the new threat.
Éibhear hit the ground, his sword still in his front claw. He looked down at the one who’d pinned that disgusting tongue—and smiled.
“See how I have to protect you?” he demanded with a smirk. “What if I wasn’t here? To . . . you know . . . protect you?”
Izzy rolled her eyes. “Oh, yeah, you’re right. Don’t know what I’d do without ya.” She motioned to the thing with a tilt of her head. “Look, you lot kill . . whatever that is. Me and Bran will take care of the rest. And then I’ll see you after.”
“Aye,” Éibhear promised her. “You will.”
They smiled at each other, knew the truth in those smiles. And, with love in their hearts . . . they proceeded to kill absolutely everything in the chamber that wasn’t a loyal friend, kin, or Imperial Guard.
Chapter 42
“So I’m a prat?”
“No,” Eirianwen corrected her mate while she stepped over the bodies from the recent battle in Sefu’s sewers in search of souls she could use. “I said you were a bit of a prat. A bit.”
“It’s all about semantics with you, isn’t it?”
“Semantics, my darling mate, is what makes war gods’ lives full and wonderful. Destruction of entire territories has been based on semantics.”
Rhydderch Hael leaned against a wall. He was in his human form today. She didn’t mind. She loved seeing him in any form he chose. “You interfered again, Eir.”
“I didn’t go near Izzy. Not once.”
“You know what I mean.”
She faced him, waved her forefinger at him, only to realize she’d lost it at some point to someone’s battle axe. In fact, she’d lost half her hand.
It didn’t help when her mate chuckled.
Quickly lowering her hand, Eir said, “Éibhear is mine, Rhy. Mine. We agreed. The Mì-runach come to me upon their deaths. To me. So stop acting like I stepped over some boundaries only you can see.”
“First Annwyl,” he reminded her.
“You’d already given her up to the Minotaur. She was mine to take.”
“Then Talaith.”
“She wasn’t yours in the first place and her human gods had deserted her long ago.”
“Now Éibhear . . .”
“Also not yours. But Izzy . . . she’s all yours. I haven’t touched her.” Although Eir liked the human female and the clan she came from. A warrior breed Eir had begun before she’d been tossed from the human pantheon of gods. “She’ll serve you well.”
“Well, she’s clearly so open to that,” he said with great sarcasm.
“What do you expect when you’re a bit of a prat? She’s loyal and you keep f**king with those she’s loyal to.”
“Whatever.”
Seeing that her mate was about to fly off in a pouty dragon rage, Eir walked toward Rhydderch Hael, crushing a few skulls beneath her feet. Using her unmarred hand, she pressed her palm to his cheek. “Don’t ever think for a moment, my love, that the games we play change how I feel for you. How I’ll always feel. I love you with all of my hardened warrior heart.”
“You’d best. My feelings for you, Eirianwen, have not and never will change. If I thought any of this truly angered you, that I might lose you—”
She pressed her body against his, kissed his chin. “Never. Haven’t you realized that yet? Besides, what we do now dictates what happens with Chramnesind later.”
“I’ve noticed he hasn’t been around.”
“He starts things, then flitters away,” she said off-handedly. “His lack of vision has always bored me.”
Rhy gazed down at her, one eyebrow raised in that oh-so-handsome face—and Eir gasped. “No, no! I mean his lack of creative vision and how it affects the universes we rule. Not his lack of actual . . . vision. I don’t mean that! I’d never say that!”
Rhy laughed. Not a chuckle or a mocking laugh, but a true laugh, from his gut. It was so very good to hear because he did it so rarely. And although horrified at what she’d just said, Eir joined in, hugging her mate tightly while she laughed into his neck.
Éibhear glanced up at the ceiling. “Thunder?” he asked Aidan.
“I don’t know. Do they have thunder here? Do they have rain?” He looked at Maskini. “Do you lot get rain?”
“We have a rainy season. It makes the rivers overflow.”
“Oh. That’s unfortunate.”
Éibhear stepped around his friend, watching Izzy mount Brannie’s back, his cousin taking to the air.
“Oy!” he called after them. “Where are you two off to?”
“We’ll be back in a bit,” Izzy promised.
“Is it me or does Izzy always sound like she’s up to something no good when it involves your cousin?” Aidan said.
“No,” Éibhear admitted. “It’s not just you.”
Vateria tore across the Desert Lands, ignoring the growing heat from the suns above her head. She wanted to put as much distance between her and this cursed territory as she could manage.
Gods! Could no one be trusted these days? Damn zealots and their damn gods!
But this setback wouldn’t stop Vateria. She would get her birthright back if she had to destroy the damn world to do it! Nothing would stop her. Not Southlanders. Not zealots. Not gods. No one.
Vateria heard the flap of wings behind her and she sped up, trying to get away. She’d slipped away from that dragon who’d freed her from that . . . that thing back in the sewers but he’d been a big bastard. No way he’d be faster than she in open skies like this.
Yet no matter how much faster Vateria went, she couldn’t seem to outpace the dragon following her. She didn’t stop, though. She kept moving, kept dodging. Even when the dragon was over her.
Vateria was about to dive again, hoping to get the dragon to smash face first into the hard ground, but before she did, something light landed on her back.