and nothing else as the field around them was flattened by the discharge of her energy. The pulse she’d let loose was deafening, though Aern wasn’t certain he’d actually heard it. The only sound above the silence was the pattering of tiny chunks of dirt and rock landing on the bodies of downed men. So many men.
Brianna still clinging to him, Aern stared at the figures on the lawn, searching for some sign of what the blast had done. Emily had apparently been knocked on her backside, and sat up, wiping the back of her hand across a mud-stained face. She seemed fine, aside from the adrenaline of the fight and some minor nicks and bumps, but she was a shadow, and Aern didn’t breathe until the others moved. He finally saw Logan unharmed as well, pushing himself up from the body of a shadow with no more than a slight limp and a few deep cuts. Brianna gasped, pulling herself free of Aern’s embrace to stare at the field around them. A shadow moved and Daniels dug a knife into his side, three other men jumping in to help restrain him, and then Emily was on her feet, demanding they free his armor so she could end the power inside.
“Wesley,” Brianna croaked, falling back into Aern with a heaviness that meant she wouldn’t be standing if on her own, and he motioned to his men, sending them for the walls near the second gatehouse to check.
He glanced down at Brianna, a question in his gaze, and she nodded. They’d done it. They would be okay. “Take care of the others,” she whispered, and he felt her weight pull away. He wouldn’t have let her, but there were so few left standing. He had to do as she wished. Because he knew she’d seen it.
Two more injured shadows rose, and though their healing was not as fast as the Seven, it appeared they weren’t exactly easy to take out. Logan was on the first, fighting despite his wounded hip, and Aern ran for the other. He wrapped a raw, blistered hand around the shadow’s neck, gripping tight regardless of the surge of electricity that was forced through his body, and thrust the impulse to sleep into the shadow. It was incredibly difficult, despite the fact that he’d been able to sway a room full of Seven when Brianna had first given him the ability, but eventually the man gave, falling onto the ground to wait for Emily. Aern turned, finding Logan locked in a fiery hold with the other shadow, and ran to help. Logan roared, heaving the man from the ground to slam him full out on the earth behind them with unreal strength, and both men were on top of him as Emily leapt over Eric and Seth’s spent forms to reach him.
It was minutes later when the last threat of the shadows was removed, when Wesley and Ellin had rejoined the group with new scars of their own, the men on the lawn being helped inside, injur ies tended, when Logan stood, glancing around the field as if he’d just come out of a daze, and said, “Where’s Brianna?”
Chapter Twenty-two
Brianna
Brianna stared at the figure in the shadows. She had known it was him, had felt the pull and seen the way the entire field of men had been oblivious to her departure. Aern had a gift, the strongest any of the Seven had seen, but the dark-haired man possessed an entirely different level of skill. He was a shadow. He had kept the whole of them from even looking. She was dead on her feet, in no way capable of defending herself from this man, but she had come regardless. She had come to keep him away from the others, to keep them safe. Because she knew the dark-haired man was stronger than the seven shadows they’d sent to find her.
Her words had not been a lie; she didn’t trust him at all. But he had warned her.
There was another reason Brianna had come, if she was being honest, a reason great enough to make it worth the risk. Because something had happened on the muddy, blood-slicked ground of the lawn. Something had changed in her, for one brief flash of an instant, and she’d felt
Brianna still clinging to him, Aern stared at the figures on the lawn, searching for some sign of what the blast had done. Emily had apparently been knocked on her backside, and sat up, wiping the back of her hand across a mud-stained face. She seemed fine, aside from the adrenaline of the fight and some minor nicks and bumps, but she was a shadow, and Aern didn’t breathe until the others moved. He finally saw Logan unharmed as well, pushing himself up from the body of a shadow with no more than a slight limp and a few deep cuts. Brianna gasped, pulling herself free of Aern’s embrace to stare at the field around them. A shadow moved and Daniels dug a knife into his side, three other men jumping in to help restrain him, and then Emily was on her feet, demanding they free his armor so she could end the power inside.
“Wesley,” Brianna croaked, falling back into Aern with a heaviness that meant she wouldn’t be standing if on her own, and he motioned to his men, sending them for the walls near the second gatehouse to check.
He glanced down at Brianna, a question in his gaze, and she nodded. They’d done it. They would be okay. “Take care of the others,” she whispered, and he felt her weight pull away. He wouldn’t have let her, but there were so few left standing. He had to do as she wished. Because he knew she’d seen it.
Two more injured shadows rose, and though their healing was not as fast as the Seven, it appeared they weren’t exactly easy to take out. Logan was on the first, fighting despite his wounded hip, and Aern ran for the other. He wrapped a raw, blistered hand around the shadow’s neck, gripping tight regardless of the surge of electricity that was forced through his body, and thrust the impulse to sleep into the shadow. It was incredibly difficult, despite the fact that he’d been able to sway a room full of Seven when Brianna had first given him the ability, but eventually the man gave, falling onto the ground to wait for Emily. Aern turned, finding Logan locked in a fiery hold with the other shadow, and ran to help. Logan roared, heaving the man from the ground to slam him full out on the earth behind them with unreal strength, and both men were on top of him as Emily leapt over Eric and Seth’s spent forms to reach him.
It was minutes later when the last threat of the shadows was removed, when Wesley and Ellin had rejoined the group with new scars of their own, the men on the lawn being helped inside, injur ies tended, when Logan stood, glancing around the field as if he’d just come out of a daze, and said, “Where’s Brianna?”
Chapter Twenty-two
Brianna
Brianna stared at the figure in the shadows. She had known it was him, had felt the pull and seen the way the entire field of men had been oblivious to her departure. Aern had a gift, the strongest any of the Seven had seen, but the dark-haired man possessed an entirely different level of skill. He was a shadow. He had kept the whole of them from even looking. She was dead on her feet, in no way capable of defending herself from this man, but she had come regardless. She had come to keep him away from the others, to keep them safe. Because she knew the dark-haired man was stronger than the seven shadows they’d sent to find her.
Her words had not been a lie; she didn’t trust him at all. But he had warned her.
There was another reason Brianna had come, if she was being honest, a reason great enough to make it worth the risk. Because something had happened on the muddy, blood-slicked ground of the lawn. Something had changed in her, for one brief flash of an instant, and she’d felt
Similar Books
