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The vampire snarled, baring his fangs as he lunged at Hunter, but Hunter was faster. He dodged the attack, spinning to the side and driving his dagger into the vampire’s chest with brutal force. The creature let out a blood-curdling scream as the silver burned through its flesh, its body convulsing before disintegrating into ash.
Hunter didn’t stop to catch his breath. He felt something sizzle around him, and as he looked down, he realized he was clothed. One glance at Adriana confirmed she had used a bitof her magic to give him some protection. There was no time for anything else. Another vampire was already charging at him, eyes glowing with hunger. Hunter sidestepped the attack, slashing his dagger across the vampire’s neck in one swift motion, decapitating it in an instant. The creature’s eyes flashed in shock before it, too, crumbled into dust.
All around him, the battle raged on. Magic flared in bursts of light as Adriana fought alongside Colby’s men, her spells casting shields and sending bolts of energy toward the vampires. But Hunter could see the strain on her face. She was powerful, but the witch was draining her—draining all of them.
His gaze flicked to the witch, still standing at the far end of the courtyard, her lips moving faster now as she summoned even more dark energy. The air around her shimmered with raw power, distorting the space as her magic twisted and warped the battlefield. She was preparing for something big, something devastating, and Hunter knew they couldn’t afford to let her finish the spell.
But before he could move, his eyes landed on Mercy.
She was near Adriana, her face pale but determined, her eyes locked on the witch. Hunter’s heart clenched as he watched her, a strange sense of dread settling in his chest. There was something about her, something different. He had seen Mercy fight before, had witnessed her strength and her resolve, but this was different. There was a power within her now, something raw and untapped, and it was coming to the surface.
As if sensing his gaze, Mercy glanced up at him, their eyes meeting for a brief moment before she turned her attention back to the witch. Hunter’s breath caught in his throat as he watched her raise her hands, the air around her humming with energy. A faint glow surrounded her, pulsing with power as she prepared to strike.
“Mercy…” Hunter whispered; his voice lost in the cacophony of battle.
Elyria moved beside Mercy, her own power crackling in the air as she extended her hand toward the witch. Together, the three women—Elyria, Adriana, and Mercy—formed a line of power, their magic intertwining and swirling as they faced the witch head-on. The ground beneath them trembled, the air around them charged with energy as their combined forces prepared to strike.
Hunter could only continue to fight those around him—a surge of cold adrenaline coursing through his veins as he took in the chaos unfolding around him. The magic between the two sides built to a crescendo. This was it—the turning point.
But then something changed.
The witch’s eyes flicked to Mercy, narrowing in sudden recognition. A cruel smile twisted her lips, and her dark eyes gleamed with malicious intent. She said something to Mercy he couldn’t hear and while Mercy’s body language registered shock, she didn’t falter. She held her ground, her magic growing stronger as it flowed from her fingertips, the glow around her intensifying.
Before anyone could react, the witch’s magic surged forward, a bolt of dark energy so fast and so vicious that Hunter barely had time to process what was happening. The dark magic hit Mercy with the force of a hurricane, the energy slamming into her chest and sending her flying backward.
“Mercy!” Hunter’s voice ripped from his throat as he watched her crumple to the ground, her body limp and motionless.
A roar of fury tore through him, and without thinking, he sprinted across the courtyard, adrenaline spurring him forward. He charged the witch, determined to kill her and end her evil once and for all.
“Hey!” he roared, taking her attention away from Mercy to focus on him. “Over here, you twisted bitch!”
The witch turned towards him, her eyes narrowing. Her hand still crackled with magic, but that momentary loss of focus was going to cost her everything. Hunter reached her in a blazing rush of motion, his blade raised high, coming down to pierce the witch’s heart with deadly accuracy. She barely had time for the speed of his attack to register.
The cold, honed steel found its mark, sending the witch stumbling back away from him, her hands grasping at the blood from the mortal wound he had inflicted. Her dark magic flickered and sputtered as her body jerked violently. The light was fading from her eyes, when Hunter struck again, the blade driving even more deeply.
“You don’t touch her,” he snarled.
The witch’s body convulsed, her magic unraveling around her in a chaotic burst of energy. With a final, gasping breath, she crumpled to the ground, her lifeless form collapsing into a heap of dust and ash at Hunter’s feet.
The battle raged on around him, but all he could see—all he could focus on—was Mercy lying on the cold, hard ground, the witch’s dark magic still crackling around her.
He reached her side in seconds, dropping to his knees beside her, his hands trembling as he lifted her into his arms. Her skin was pale, her breathing shallow, and the wound on her chest—where the witch’s magic had struck—glowed with a sickly, pulsing light. The dark energy was still there, burrowing into her flesh, poisoning her from the inside out.
“No,” Hunter whispered, his voice thick with emotion. “No, no, no. Stay with me, Mercy.”
Her eyes fluttered open, just barely, her gaze hazy and unfocused. “Hunter…” she whispered; her voice so faint it was barely audible.
“Shh,” he murmured, an unbearable weight settling in his chest as he saw the pain etched across her face. “I’ve got you. You’re going to be okay.”
But even as he said the words, a part of him knew it might be too late. The witch’s magic was too strong, too dark, and it was spreading through Mercy’s body like a virus.
Behind him, the battle raged on, but Hunter barely noticed. His entire world had narrowed to the woman in his arms—the woman whose life was slipping away with every passing second.
“Please, Mercy,” Hunter whispered, his voice thick with desperation. “Please, stay with me.”
He had never begged for anything in his life—never believed in something greater than himself from which he could ask for assistance, but he did so now. He couldn’t lose her. He couldn’t.
But Mercy’s eyes were already closing, her breathing growing fainter with each passing moment.
