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“KYAAAAAAAAH!” Kovit screamed in rage, but it was louder than any natural sound should be, reverberating so loudly that he stunned most of the remaining crawlers, who went rigid, their puny brains probably exploding.
My ears ached from the unending noise, and I looked down, grimacing at the sight of blood trickling from Sun’s ears. But then, I smiled, overwhelmed because Hadi had grabbed him with his web, not to eat him, but to protect our mate. Before his brain popped, Hadi coated his fingers in his thick web, and stuck them into Sun’s ears.
How smart. Even injured, bleeding, and driven mad in his quest for vengeance, Hadi was a capable tactician. Even if it was just to preserve his own life, I was happy to see us fighting side by side for once.
“Now, for your punishment,” I sneered, lifting the big bastard off the ground high enough that the weight of his body tugged against my claws.
Kovit was always a sneaky bastard, weak and wanton, in my opinion. If he couldn’t win quickly, he tended to flee. But not me. I liked to play with what I ate.
“Did it feel good beheading me, bastard? Now fortune favors me, and your bad luck is my blessing,” I said, mocking him as he flailed, helpless, my claws blinding Kovit.
“Bracken!” Sun cut through my sadistic thoughts, and I noticed most of the crawlers around us were dead, but more would surely come. It was noon already, by the position of the sun, which meant the rulers of the night would all wake up sooner rather than later.
Sun’s voice grounded me.
As much as I wanted to play, now wasn’t the time. We needed to get out of there before the whole valley rose against us.
“I guess the Goddess has blessed you some. Your death will be painful, but it shall be quick. We don’t have much time to waste on worthless traitors like you,” I spat, motioning to Hadi, who raised his bloody hand. “It’s time. You took my head, Hadi’s heart, Kiar’s tail, and my Clem’s soul. So, you, at the very least, should lose all of your limbs.”
Hadi and I laughed, but Sun shivered, thrust from Hadi’s arms onto the ground on a heap of noc corpses. Hadi’s web roped around the traitor’s throat and held, his grin manic, the thrill intoxicating no doubt.
My king pulled Kovit down as I lifted myself with my wings. Not wanting to miss out, Sun got back up and spat out blood. I cackled as my mate leaped onto Kovit’s back, stabbing him over and over again, slicing through bone and tearing through his wings! Euphoria overcame me, seeing them fall away.
Kovit, the disgraced general of the Nocturnal Kingdom, was nothing but a beating heart dying inside a butchered stump of blood and bone, flesh barely stitching him together.
A batbeast without their wings was as good as dead and worse than useless. I decided not to put him out of his misery. Instead, I had so much disdain for him I didn’t think he needed a grand send-off.
He should die dismembered, discarded, and forgotten like the piece of shit he was, left for the scavengers to feast on. He wasn’t worth being digested by Hadi and me. He didn’t deserve it. I snatched Sun off his back, as he clung to my side, and got to work.
“Now! Rip him apart!” I ordered, pleased when Hadi followed my command for once in his life.
Hadi crawled over Kovit’s fallen wings to grab his wrist with his web. Then, he shot backward, sprinting in the opposite direction.
“Ahhhh! Ahhhh!” Kovit convulsed and screamed, but the sound was weak now.
“Daa…” if he meant to threaten me with that treacherous thief’s name one last time, Kovit couldn’t get it out.
I would pay Daaku back in blood soon enough. For now, I enjoyed the fireworks. A geyser of blood flew into the air and rained down like mist from his mouth.
“Disgusting,” Sun hissed, thankfully I’d tucked him under my wing in time to avoid most of the carnage.
I screeched, victory assured and overwhelmed by the rush of pure power shooting through the tether. Now we had to retreat before reinforcements swooped in and spoiled our revenge.
“Meet us on the cliff!” I shouted to Hadi. He looked more than capable of making the journey alone, even bruised and bloody.
And by the deranged smile plastered on his bloodstained face, he was well enough to carry out my command.
I shot higher than I needed as I surveyed the valley before swooping low, carrying Sun until the trees enveloped us. Then I set him down carefully, Kiar and Clem descending on him before I could stick my landing.
Turning around, I grinned at the triumphant expressions on their faces. Squeezing Sun between them, they were a bloody, disgusting mess but triumphant, nonetheless. I ran to them, unable to hold my excitement at bay.
“The stone,” I said, having waited my entire life to see it. Sun reached into his pocket at once, pulling it out to show me without hesitation, a sign of trust I would not take for granted.
My breath caught at its simple beauty.
Like the sunstone, the moonstone was palm-sized, smooth, and held in an intricately designed metal frame. The sunstone was golden with streaks of brightness that caught the light and a matching gold frame, but the moonstone was pearlescent, and its frame was silver.
To my shock, Sun held it out for me to take.
