Page 235 of Commanding Blood And Bonds

Five. Four. Three.

“Get down!” Jax bellowed from the archway.

Two. Hot saliva splattered my neck.

One. Jax stepped aside.

Freya turned—but I was faster. I dove, wrapping her in my arms, twisting to take the impact. Something massive and snarling lunged. A flash of teeth. An inhuman scream.

The marble floor cracked my ribs but I rolled, covering her, pressing hands over her ears. Our faces inches apart. Green eyes heavy with something unreadable.

Breathing. She was breathing.

I jolted upright. Jax fought the first beast, but a second was barreling through.

In a snap decision, I unleashed the shadows—wrapped them around the great stone coffin lid. With a groan, it slid back, revealing gold and ruby gleaming inside.

I lunged, yanking the sword free as bones disintegrated.

Whirling, I swung the blade, cleaving through the second beast in one blow.

Jax staggered back as the gate slammed shut. The rest crashed into it from the far side in a series of thuds and screeches. Shadows recoiled and retreated—into Freya where she stood by my side.

She exhaled. “Jesus Christ.” Her eyes met mine. A frantic laugh escaped her lips.

I blinked, then snorted, unable to suffocate my disbelief. That did it—she doubled over laughing, shoulders shaking with pure, unfiltered relief. It was contagious. I slid down the tomb wall and let the laughter come, the black blood-slick blade of Umbrabàs across my lap.

Jax surveyed us like we’d lost our minds. “I will not pretend to understand what you two just survived. Judging by that thing, I don’t want to. But let’s get the fuck out of here. This place gives me the creeps.”

All I could do was throw my head back and laugh harder.

Freya

“Sunlight hasn’t felt this good since I escaped prison in my fourth life.”

“Jesus,” Ajax muttered as Cyrus burst out laughing again. Neither of us could do much except collapse into hysterics as we climbed the endless staircase and finally emerged from the church.

“Could that grand adventure have gone more terribly?”

“Probably,” Cyrus replied, dragging that damn sword behind him. Fuck you, Koa, you genocidal psychopath. That sword never looked that good on you.

“I sure as shit don’t want to see how that would go,” I muttered as we passed Carrson, who looked at us like we’d both grown second heads. I felt about as insane. What. The fuck. Was that?

“Nice try with the stones,” Cyrus said, casually hiking the enormous sword across his shoulders like he’d been born with the damn thing. “Pretty fuckin' clever, but we’ll need another system before you come back.”

“We?!” I asked at the same time Carrson did.

“Tell me you don’t want help outsmarting that shit,” he said. “Please.”

“You sure you’re not the one that hit your head?”

“Somebody shut the fuck up and tell me what’s going on,” Carrson demanded.

“Oxymoron,” I sing-songed, resisting the urge to skip—barely. And only because my ribs wouldn’t survive it.

There were many highs I’d chased in my lives, but surviving by the skin of your teeth? That euphoria was hard to duplicate.

“What did you call me?” Carrson balked as we crossed the grassy plain. I burst into another round of giggles.