Alira charged onto the narrow forest path. Kai and Rusk hadn’t caught up when the arrows started flying. Most mundanes thought Marked were superhuman. They weren’t. One good shot would put most in the ground. Unless they had the right Gift.

  Saints were superhuman. Marked and Darkbound were more than human, but just as vulnerable. Alira knew that. So did Kai.

  Six arrows converged on Alira. Kai extended the space around her, redirecting the arrows into the dirt. Did she trust her Curse or assume Kai would bail her out?

  Reckless.

  His suit had limited reserves. He had to monitor his essence usage or drown himself in blood. His spatial sense tracked six Ashvale soldiers in the forest. Standard pincer setup. Three on each side.

  Six volunteers lined up to feed his suit. The symbiotic entity would drink its fill.

  Alira laughed and raised her icy sword. “Hiding like rats. Aren’t you embarrassed? Too scared to face me?”

  He’d rather let her overconfidence catch up to her, but he needed her alive.

  Kai looked at Rusk and kept his voice low. “Sweep right, then left. Don’t hit the reckless noble.” No time for complex traps, and Rusk couldn’t slice through everything without hitting Alira. This fight would’ve been over in seconds if she hadn’t rushed ahead.

  Annoying.

  Rusk nodded.

  Kai slid off Butcher and left the horse with Rusk. Shadow padded beside him. Kai shook his head. “No, boy. Too many unknowns. Stay here.” Shadow whined but obeyed, standing beside Rusk.

  Rusk’s shirt unravelled. A horizontal thread levitated at waist height.

  Kai rotated his neck in circles, then unsheathed his malevolent blade. The surrounding area dimmed. “Can you set up traps for runners?”

  Rusk smiled. “Of course! Nobody will escape.”

  Voices echoed through the valley.

  “We’re no cowards,” one said.

  “We’ll show you, Nivisara scum,” another shouted.

  Kai nodded at Rusk.

  “Ashvale soldiers are the strongest and th—” the last voice choked, blood bubbling from his lips. His upper body hit the ground in a pool of blood. His lower body followed after. Another soldier, another bisection. Several trees toppled, thundering into the dirt. The third soldier dropped flat in a heartbeat. He’d rolled clear of both the thread and falling trees.

  Impressive reflexes.

  Alira took that as her cue to dive headfirst into danger. She swung off her mount. Blade held high, she barrelled into the trees on the left, blocking Rusk’s next strike.

  Kai sighed.

  Time to clean up her mess.

  Projectiles hovered around the prone soldier. Kai tore through space, emerging before the soldier for an instant. He vanished, leaving an echo before the soldier could react, and reappeared behind his target.

  The prone soldier shot metal shards into the echo’s gut and eyes.

  The echo taunted the soldier before dropping to its knees. “You think killing me is enough to kill me?”

  Metal controllers were powerful, dangerous, and annoying. Hard to cut someone who’d control your blade the moment it touched their skin. Too bad Kai’s dark blade wasn’t metal.

  The idiot thought he’d won already.

  “That’s what you get when you mess with Ash—”

  Kai didn’t risk discovery. Space ripped. He appeared above the soldier. His blade punched through the back of the prone man’s head. The blade tore through the soldier’s skull, ripped through his eye, and struck the dirt. The soldier’s head slid down the black blade before kissing soil.

  Blood dripped down the sword before leaping into the air and swirling toward the bloodthirsty suit. The corpse held more blood. But Alira was fighting three soldiers. One of them aimed bullet-like projectiles at her. He sighed again and slipped through space.

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  He materialised behind a kneeling soldier clutching dirt. The soldier’s ammunition hung in the air - hardened dirt shaped like bullets. Up front, Alira traded blows with a second soldier. Kai drove his hungry blade at the dirt controller’s exposed neck. The bullets launched toward Alira an instant before the black blade bit into the unaware Marked. A torrent of blood streamed from the soldier’s neck and disappeared into the suit.

  The dirt bullets slammed into Alira. She stumbled back, but her plate armour repelled the dirt. Her opponent rushed forward to press his advantage. His boot met a sheet of ice. He slipped, losing grip on his sword. Alira steadied herself and rammed her chilling blade through the soldier’s chest.

  Kai clicked his tongue. Blood fled into his suit. They could’ve interrogated the bastard for information.

  The last soldier hid behind a tree. Sticks in his hand. The sticks launched as the soldier ran away. The wooden mini-spears cut through the air toward them. Space stretched at Kai’s command. The projectiles impaled the dirt flanking them.

  “If you run,” Kai shouted, “you’ll die!”

  The soldier kept running. Then he screamed.

  His legs separated first. Armour thudded into the dirt. Flesh squelched as pieces of him tumbled into each other. His midsection separated into dozens of sections. Blood hung in the air. The screams were short-lived. The suit pulled the floating blood in, drinking deep.

  Rusk laughed and clapped at his handiwork. “Watch where you step!”

  No survivors. No intel.

  At least the bloodshed served a purpose. His essence reserves hadn’t changed. His suit maintained its supply as long as he kept killing.

  Alira examined the carnage before her - flesh, metal, death. Satisfied, she led her horse toward Rusk. “We make a good team, don’t we?”

  Kai stepped beside her. “We could. But you’re too reckless. I’d expect that kinda behaviour from Rusk.”

  “What? Why you coming at me?” Rusk said. His shirt wove back into existence around his skin. “I did my job right, didn’t I?”

  Kai raised a hand. “Yes, you did,” he said. “But your Curse makes you fearless. I’d understand if you rushed into danger.”

  Alira shrugged. “Look around you. I’d say the plan worked.”

  “Plan?” Kai said, his voice rising. “What plan? You rushed in and we cleaned up your mess.”

  “Exactly,” Alira said. “I baited the enemy, and you two wiped them out.”

  Kai gritted his teeth. Arguing with her was a lost cause.

  “What now?” he asked.

  Alira pointed to the narrow path. “We follow the tracks back to their camp and wipe them out.”

  She pulled herself onto her horse. “Shouldn’t be too far from here.”

  Kai nodded. “Got it.”

  “Rusk,” Alira said.

  Rusk perked up. “Finally! You want fashion advice!”

  Alira’s chilling glare cut through his enthusiasm.

  “Or not,” he said, shrugging.

  Alira sighed as she reached into her satchel. She pulled out several fabric squares. Rusk guided his horse beside hers.

  “Here,” she said, offering him the pile of squares. “Use this and keep your clothes on.”

  Rusk nodded eagerly. “My dignity thanks you.” His mouth grew into a wide smile.

  Kai stepped alongside them, leading Butcher by the reins.

  Alira walked her horse forward, eyes on the tracks. Kai didn’t follow. Neither did Rusk.

  Alira stopped and looked back. “What are you doing?”

  Kai scoffed. “Ever raided a camp before?”

  Her gaze dropped. “No, but—”

  “What happens when they spot us riding toward them on three Dark Horses?”

  “We’ll fight?” She asked, unsure.

  “And why would we want that?”

  Kai stroked Butcher’s neck.

  “Wait for us here, boy.” The Dark Horse neighed softly.

  Kai shook his head. “Leave the horses here. Scout the camp first, see what we’re up against before they spot us. Even better—” He clasped his hands together. “If we can kill every bastard before they know what hit ‘em.”

  Alira nodded and dismounted. Rusk joined them on foot.

  “I knew I brought you for a reason,” Alira said.

  Kai’s brow creased. “Without me, your recklessness would’ve killed you twice over.”

  Her lack of combat experience, paired with confidence in her Curse, made for a deadly combination.

  Overconfidence kills.

  Information and preparation were key to a good ambush.

  He gestured at the now bite-sized soldier who’d tried to run. Shadow sniffed at the bloody chunks.

  “If he knew Rusk’s Gift…” He kicked a piece of what was probably an arm. “He wouldn’t have run like a fool and become mincemeat. Ignorance and recklessness.”

  Alira smiled. “That’s why we make such a good team. You make the plans, Rusk lays the traps, and I’ll cut down anything that gets past.”

  Kai sighed. She was right - they made a good team when they listened. But that didn’t mean he enjoyed wrangling these wild powerhouses and saving them from themselves.

  He rubbed his temples. “Just be more careful. If anyone should be bait…” He took a deep breath, knowing his next words were unpleasant but necessary. “It should be me - I can get away.”

  He turned to Alira. “You must’ve realised I gained an ability that makes people think I’m an easy target.”

  Alira laughed. “That’s why you seem even weaker than before. What kind of ability is that?”

  Her mocking smile bruised Kai’s ego. He cleared his throat. “That’s not the point. The point is, don’t rush off. We discuss things first, make a plan, then we execute it. Got it?”

  She shrugged. “Got it.” Her words came with less enthusiasm than Kai would’ve liked.

  Kai’s gaze fell on Rusk.

  Rusk admired the fabric squares before he noticed Kai’s gaze. “What are you looking at me for? When have I messed up a plan?”

  Kai had to give him that. Rusk followed his plans to the T, set up the best traps, and never ran off on a reckless charge despite having no fear.

  He nodded. “You’re right. Couldn’t ask for a better teammate.” He slapped Rusk’s back.

  “Now,” he said, gesturing to the tracks. “Let’s see what they’ve got waiting for us in this camp.” He glanced at Alira. “Preferably without letting them see us coming.”

  A few minutes of tracking brought them near the Ashvale camp.

  Five smaller tents ringed a command tent marked with two flame-emblazoned flags. A large man stood beside the central tent. Red armour covered him everywhere but his head. His hair was red, his face serious as he listened to a report from one of his soldiers.

  The Ashvale brother they’d come to assassinate.

  Ten Marked occupied the camp. Eliminating them in one fell swoop was no easy task.

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