“Aye,” Olet and Rapp responded, their expressions grim yet determined. They knew as well as I did we were vastly outnumbered. Even with the influx of females, they still only had a few weeks of training.

I had to hope it was enough to save them.

“It will take more of my magic to make your clothes too,” Assyria said, using her thumb to fiddle with the ring on her finger. “Do you have a second set of armor lying around somewhere?”

My jaw clenched again. This was my only set, and yet I didn’t want Assyria to be unprotected or burn through her power faster. Not with how long this battle could go on. “I don’t. Like I told Rapp, don’t push yourself past your limits. The moment either of you start closing in on the point of exhaustion, return to the academy.”

“We will. Now let’s go. I’m ready to kill some fucking Angels,” she declared, rolling out her shoulders.

I captured her waist and removed her helmet. Without hesitation or regard for others in the room, I crushed my lips to hers in a bruising kiss. “Fuck, I love your darkness Assyria. I should have pulled this side out of you from the beginning. My vicious little imposter.”

“You should have,” she shot back. Breaking away, she flashed me those devious burgundy eyes I craved so deeply. Then, she snatched her helmet and settled it over her brow again. Kiira held out her arms, and my mate sank into them. They exchanged a few hushed words, both touching their tattoos.

Then, Assyria released her and strode to an open spot in the middle of the room. On her next inhale, her chest expanded and shadows whipped in a frenzy around her.

A heartbeat later, I stared at myself.

“Let’s go,” she bit out in my gravelly tone, then broke out into a mischievous grin.

Rapp snorted a laugh. “She’s got you figured out, doesn’t she?”

I rolled my eyes and pulled on my mask, securing the strap under my chin. Kiira approached, wrapping her arms around me. “Stay safe out there. Please.”

I returned her embrace, hoping the tight way I squeezed her conveyed what my words could not. “I will.”

A shaky breath brushed against my armor. Though Kiira had always known I was fighting a war beyond Uzhhorod, it had always been always a distant, abstract thing. This would be her first exposure to a battle. To the pain and death it wrought.

She went to Rapp next, and they lingered for longer than she had with me.

I offered a harsh reminder. “We need to get moving.”

“Aye,” Rapp replied, calling darkness to his bare arms. The wisps circled them like protective sleeves. “Let’s show these fucking Angels they’re nothing compared to us.”

And with that, we swept from the room, preparing to defend the academy and spill our blood.

The number of souls the Reaper would claim remained to be seen.

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40

Rapp, Olet, Rokath, and I went to the main courtyard and found a sea of soldiers preparing to fight. A sharp whistle from Rokath silenced them all. Whipping around, some even blinking at the sight of their Halálhívó in duplicate, we gained their undivided attention.

Excited shouts of Szélhámos rang out among the former priestesses, and some of the males beat their chests wildly. A collective roar rose from the battle-ready, emboldened by the power exuding from the four of us.

Rokath had to hush them again, but satisfaction curled down our bond. Then, he shouted out instructions based on his quick plans. With practiced precision, the groups rearranged themselves, Olet peeling off to meet with the archers he’d take to the skies, while Rapp and I went to the Deathveiled, gathered near an alcove by the siege doors.

Izzenna bared her teeth in bloodthirsty defiance as she saluted us. Vokkia puffed up her chest. Pride bloomed in mine as I surveyed them and the others, not cowering in fear, but ready to wield their magic and blades for the Demon cause.

“While I may appear as the Halálhívó, I am your Szélhámos. My magic is fucking powerful, and we are going to use that to our advantage. While I cannot call upon the dead, we can make these Angels believe that I can. Protect me, and we will crush them,” I snarled, the rousing speech pouring out of me, raw and so damn right.

“Yes, Szélhámos!” Their voices rang with fierce determination.

Rapp injected himself and relayed further instruction. “We will attack from the left, and we need to move now. Conjure your wings and we will fly into position.”

The group took a few healthy steps apart and did just that. Not wanting to waste any more magic or energy than I had to, I returned to my Assyria form and dragged mine into existence.

“On my mark,” Rapp cautioned. We waited for him to give the order, and then we leaped into the sky. The Hadvezér’s stoic expression twisted into one of pain as we glided over the battlements. I drifted closer, opening my mouth to tell him we could run to position, but he shot me a sharp look.

I snapped my mouth shut.

Soaring toward the front towers, we banked left and swept around them. The stone behind us, we swooped low, the grass close enough to reach out and run my fingers over. I did just that as I gazed ahead, searching for the Százados who had departed under Rokath’s earlier command. They’d managed to arrange themselves among the tall yellow fronds, lying flat on their bellies to wait for the approaching Angels.

Into the darkness I peered, like my vision could slice through the void and determine our survival. Air lodged in my throat when my focus landed on a horde of white and grey spreading like rolling smoke over the hillside. Beneath the moon, they snuck through the vegetation on silent feet. Whomever had spotted them had keen eyes indeed.

We landed among the other Demons, and I yanked a sword out of its sheath before reforming Rokath’s body over mine.

“How long do we wait?” I whispered to Rapp.

“Until the horn,” he mouthed back.

Blowing out a long breath, I nodded and returned my attention forward. The thick straw provided cover, but it shielded my view of our approaching attackers. My heart galloped against my ribs, and ice shattered through my veins.

Every moment of training had prepared me for this moment. Yet I couldn’t help the sick feeling rising in my stomach. All of that had been mere practice, like a parent coddling their youngling as they neared to navigate the world. This was real. One wrong move wouldn’t result in a pause in instruction and correction.

It would result in death.

I tried to breathe deep into my belly, but it was no use.

Rokath appeared in my mind, and I’d never been more relieved to hear from him. “Nerves are normal before your first battle. But you are strong, brave, smart. Devious. Use all of that to your advantage, like I know you can, and we’ll celebrate by fucking in their blood once we’ve slaughtered every last one of them.”

The violent promise in his words heated my core. His belief in me renewed my focus.

“I love you. See you on the other side,” I sent back, along with a pulse of endless love.

“Fall back if you need to. You matter to me more than anything, Assyria. None of this will be worth it without you.”

“I promise I will.”

The horn blasted through the night.

As one, we rose, a collective cry ripping from our throats. A few hundred yards away, the Angels faltered their advance. The stars and moon cast eerie glows over the silver blades they drew as we raced to meet them. Ahead of me, the first wave thrust their polearms into the formation, pulling anguished cries from their lips. As they yanked their blades back, the second wave slipped around them and sliced down whomever remained standing at the front.