animals. Both were bleeding.
Fine with Donna. She needed to get Rico free of the restraints. She went back to him, grabbed the blade out of the wall and used it to pry off the shackles binding his wrists. Raw, oozing skin covered every inch the silver had touched. She worked on the ones around his ankles next, finally freeing him.
He moaned. She took it as a good sign. The time to get him out was now. Ishalan and Dredward were not her concern. “Can you walk?”
He nodded. At least she thought that’s what he did. She pulled him to his feet, got his arm around her shoulders and hers around his waist, and started him out the door.
He felt lighter than she’d expected. Had he lost weight? “Temo, Charlie, I’ve got Rico, and I’m on my way down.”
A garbled mess of battle sounds, snarls, swords clanging, and shouting answered her. If Temo’s response was an actual word, it didn’t come through.
She got them to the steps and carefully began their descent. She prayed they didn’t run into any guards, because Rico would be an easy target. She’d have no choice but to kill them, and she’d already realized that ending a life was a pretty traumatic experience for her.
What that said about her as a vampire, she wasn’t sure. Of course, this was war. And she’d do whatever was necessary to protect herself and her friends.
They made the first landing without incident and kept going. The sounds outside grew louder as the battle raged on. Could the citizens of Manhattan hear any of that? The fae magic had to work as a sound barrier as well.
Rico turned his face into her neck. “Thank you,” he whispered. His voice was raspy and dry.
“You’re welcome.”
“I take it you didn’t trade the dhamfir?”
“No.”
A hoarse bark of laughter wheezed out of him. “I knew you wouldn’t.”
“Save your energy. We still have a long way to go.” The great hall lay ahead of them. She paused at the stairs’ exit to make sure the space was empty. A guard slumped near the hearth, purple blood covering him.
She listened hard, but there was so much other noise that detecting a heartbeat seemed impossible. Had he retreated to safety only to die by the fire? If he was still alive, he didn’t seem like much of a threat.
“We need to go.” She shifted Rico to the other side so that if the guard did come around and decide to attack, she’d take the brunt of it. The last thing Rico needed was more wounds. With more speed than care, they crossed the great hall.
About halfway and her earpiece came to life with Temo’s voice. “Boss. The queen just showed up. Not sure if that’s good or bad.”
She tapped the button. “The queen?”
“Yep. Artemis.”
Chapter Nineteen
Artemis? Donna didn’t have the time or mental energy to process that. Not right now. Plus, Arty was a big girl. She could look after herself. She’d said as much.
Donna held on to Rico a little tighter and picked up her pace toward the exit. They still had to cross the bridge with that gaping chasm below it. If she lost her grip on him, or he suddenly shifted… “Rico, how are you doing?”
A moment passed before he responded. “Okay.”
He didn’t sound okay. He actually sounded worse.
She could pick him up and carry him, but what if she got attacked? She couldn’t risk dropping him.
Something creaked, followed by a small whistling noise. Pain erupted in Donna’s thigh. She sucked in a breath as she glanced down to see a freakin’ knife protruding from her leg. She looked up. The guard by the fire was glaring at her, but even as she watched him, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he listed to one side.
A second later, he collapsed all the way.
She glared right back. “You’d better be dead, or I will come over there and make sure of it.”
She braced herself to support Rico so she could free one hand to yank the blade out. Pain radiated from the spot, a deep, throbbing ache that made her think the blade had been laced with something. The fae did seem to like their poisons. Blood oozed from the wound, a sure sign it wasn’t healing with the kind of speed she’d grown accustomed to.
Good thing Dr. Fox was waiting for her.
She hauled Rico closer to the bridge, each step sending a jolt of pain through her. She eased him to the floor and