The Frozen Prince (The Beast Charmer #2) - Maxym M. Martineau Page 0,86

didn’t have time to toy with him. Not in a city full of threats and far too much light.

Rushing past the fountain, I charged toward an open pathway just as a radiant beam detonated above and scorched my shadows from existence. Suffocating brightness pinned me, and I came to an abrupt halt.

“Stop.” A Sentinel crashed to the ground before me. The earth thundered from his weight, and he stood slowly while extracting a polished sword from the sheath at his waist. His helm was made of the same gleaming metal, leaving only the slits of his green eyes visible. No mercy. No room for arguments.

I tensed, and my gaze shot over the stilled crowd. Four more Sentinels had fallen to the ground around us, each one a blazing shrine of light that made it impossible to call forth my shadows. A rivulet of blood slipped down my finger and beaded at the tip of my nail. Zane’s blood. The black snake in my mind uncoiled and flared its hood wide. And then the droplet fell. When it splattered against the marble stones, an earthquake reverberated through my bones. This was my city. Zane’s city. Our blood wouldn’t be stopped.

With a quick swipe, I copied the wound Darrien had given me on my other arm. Blood swelled to the surface, and I reshaped it, forming long blades that coated my forearms and extended well past my fingers. “Give Varek my condolences.”

I thrust my arm forward and the blade sank clean through one of the few chinks in the Sentinel’s armor. One I’d learned about, thanks to years of training with them in the barracks at my father’s orders. The man groaned and doubled over, clapping both hands over his side.

Kill.

A familiar red sheen tinged my vision and stoked the fire Zane’s blood had started. The surrounding Sentinels surged forward, pushing past onlookers and encircling me with ease. Steady hands raised gleaming swords, each tip expertly poised at my chest. One wrong step, and I’d be skewered.

Bloodlust stirred low in my core and sped toward my fingers. An uncontrollable grin stole upon my expression, and I crouched low into my heels. Bulky armor clinked at the Sentinels’ joints. They were fast, but I was faster.

Let the blood flow. A throaty laugh pushed through my lips. Dropping to the ground to avoid the swords, I lunged and swept the feet out from under the first Sentinel. Before he could react, I lodged my blade between a sliver of exposed space on the back of his calf. Blood spurted, and he howled as he blindly arced his sword through the air. His weapon connected with the soldier on his right, and I sprung forward. One quick swipe and his injury mirrored the first kidney shot I’d delivered earlier.

Their blood trickled down my forearm.

Swords came flying then, and I parried while backstepping toward the now-open getaway path. The tang of iron flooded my nostrils, and the red tendrils blurring my vision sharpened. Escape was possible. The path was open and within reach. All I had to do was break the next blow and bolt. The city’s layout hadn’t changed. I knew where to hide. Where to seek refuge when I didn’t want to be found. I just needed to—

Kill.

My hand thrust in a deadly uppercut, and the Sentinel crashed into a nearby stall in an immobile heap. I didn’t have to run. I could let this wondrous heat guide my hands. A rampant hunger worked its way through me. But their blood wasn’t good enough. There was something else. Someone else I needed to eradicate.

A blistering mirage of competing reds took shape beside me. Bowen. He raised one brow and gave a flippant flick of his head toward the looming Sentinels. “Killing them won’t satisfy you.”

A resounding growl bellowed from somewhere deep inside of me just as another Sentinel sliced open the lower part of my cheek. Sticky heat coated my face. I reacted before I knew what had happened, kicking the soldier square the chest so he stumbled back. And with that opening, I brought my blade down on the soft space where neck and shoulder met.

His body crumpled before me, and Bowen sighed. Waving his hand over his shoulder, he stalked down the mouth of the alley. “Better put a move on, love. There are more where that one came from.”

Spires of raging light skewered the sky. More Sentinels. Darrien waited on the outskirts of it all, snarling and fighting against the command