Blood War (Book 1, the Halfblood Chronicles)

31.2 | A Grave Revelation

"I don't care how horny you are, now is not the time for this shit."

Groaning, Ren tore his lips away and eased Nika down. Her face burned as she smoothed a hand over her hair and watched the ashy-haired keeper approach.

"And to think I was worried that you'd been killed or something," he grumbled.

Though part of Nika was in distress at what he'd just witnessed—and his lack of surprise—she also noted that he wasn't paying attention to where he walked.

"You might want to—"

"Seriously, this is a war zone. People are in danger." His gray-green eyes were wide as he looked up from his feet. "And you thought it was a good time to suck each other's faces?"

"Misha," Ren warned.

But one more step had him colliding with the ward. Head first. As he staggered back, clutching his brow and swearing profusely, Nika winced. Ren stifled a laugh.

Blinking, Misha scanned the shimmering wall and muttered under his breath, "I fucking hate magic."

As Nika explained how they'd been trapped, he studied the markings on the trees. By now, three other keepers, who she didn't recognize, had come onto the scene. A weight lifted off her chest. Backup must have arrived, but in mere minutes—maybe less—the curse would break, and her pulse quickened at the thought.

Misha flicked out a pocket knife. "Let me try something."

Ren's eyes bulged. "You don't know what will hap—"

But Misha didn't seem to care as he plunged the blade into a tree trunk and carved off a chunk of bark.

A heartbeat of silence.

Nika held her breath.

Then the ward fell with a hiss, and at the same time, the last of day's light disappeared, casting a pall of moonshadow over the world. The Hekatolith ring's blue magic shuddered, glowing brighter, and Nika could have sworn the earth rumbled underfoot.

Then came the howling, the roaring, the snaps and rips and shatters of shapeshifting.

Nika found Ren's gaze and said, "Go."

He stepped out of the ward, halting just on the other side. All the while, Misha and the other keepers had begun to grow anxious.

"Let's get out of here," Misha said, shoving a handgun at Ren.

Ren took it, fitted it inside his waistband. Then he picked up the piece of chalk that Tatiana had discarded and drew on the tree that Misha had carved, connecting whatever lines in the markings that had been broken.

The ward rebuilt itself, sealing Nika inside.

She took a shaky breath as Misha exclaimed, "What the hell are you doing?"

"I'll explain later," Ren said without tearing his eyes from Nika. "Go save Lu." After a beat of hesitation, he growled, "Now."

The other keepers took off running, but Misha backed away with a wary look. "Open eyes," he said quietly.

At that, Ren turned toward his friend and nodded. "Head wise."

As Misha weaved through an ocean of pines and magic, Nika smiled. "Open eyes, head wise," she echoed. "Like an owl." Or more importantly, the Vigil's symbol.

Ren's swallow was audible. "How do you feel?"

Nika tried to ignore the animal screams of pain that shattered the sky. She assessed herself, inwardly and outwardly, and shook her head.