Page 161 of Prince of the Phantom Sky

His eyes sparked with satisfaction, his stumpy fingers digging through her leathers into her skin. This couldn’t be happening. He’d been exiled into the desert. How had he ended up in Barron’s army?

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.” Callan pulled her close, the stench of him causing her eyes to stream, mixing with the raindrops on her face. Salt battered her senses, as ocean spray washed the deck, sensing her fear.

No other Talmon soldiers neared, keeping a wide berth around them. Kora’s head snapped to the side as Callan shook her violently with a growl, muttering about his shrunken phallus.

But her attention snagged on the chaos around them.

Pirates were failing, their swords shattering upon the empire’s mysterious impenetrable armour. Hector still fought Garvan, but his limp was worsening, blood streaming from various cuts on his arms and head.

“Fucking listen to me, escort.” Callan lifted her up, and Kora cried out as her legs swung in the air. His hands tightened, crushing into her chest, the mangled flesh probing for weak spots. The ocean raged, rocking the ship violently. Gangplanks plummeted into its murky depths, as Fallen Angel was absorbed by shadows acting with a mind of their own.

“Go to hell, Callan.” Kora spat onto his helmet with a grimace. His presence choked her, his stench causing fear to snake up her spine as the desert flashed through her mind. Her heart relentlessly pounded as her neck burned with a phantom pain of him choking her.

“Raiden,” she begged. “Please, hear me. Please open the bond!”

“Hell has already arrived. And you will submit to it—to me.” Callan’s grip shifted, one hand snaking around Kora’s throat, whilst the other groped her breast. She flailed, clawing at him, but her nails broke as they slid across the armour, coating her fingers in slimy residue. Darkness encroached her vision as Callan’s grip tightened, his dark eyes flashing within the slit.

Laughter rippled through him, and he cocked his head. “Just a worthless bitch.” As his armour shifted with the movement, the tiniest piece of tawny skin appeared, with a vein running through it. Kora’s hand moved before she thought, jamming her dagger between the folds of armour. Blood spurted, spraying high into the sky, splattering the main mast behind Callan.

She tumbled to the sodden deck, as Callan grabbed onto her dagger, ripping it out with a snarl. Her power pulsed, erratic as Callan remained standing despite slicing a core artery. He laughed again, as the bleeding slowed, the stench of the armour increasing.

“It will always protect its host,” he sneered. “Become one with the darkness, and you will always prevail.”

Horror washed over Kora. They were unstoppable. Neither killable by magic nor steel. Galen was doomed.

Callan approached, flipping her precious midnight dagger in his hands. He didn’t deserve to touch it, to be graced by its pearls and Galenite steel. He grabbed Kora by her wet hair, pulling her onto her knees and placing her dagger across her throat.

She was going to die.

Kora pounded at the bond, desperate to reach Raiden. To tell him how she felt. How much his presence was the air she longed to breathe. He was her anchor. He was her home.

And he wasn’t here.

A tear trickled down her face, and Callan’s dark laugh sickened her before he sighed.

“I knew this would always end with you knelt before me.” He thrust his hips lightly, brushing the back of her head. “I’m sure Master won’t mind if I end you now and—”

A wet gurgle cut him off, and Kora’s blade clattered to the deck as Callan released her. She swiped it, spinning around to face whatever fresh horror awaited her.

Callan choked, clasping at his neck, clawing at his helmet until his stubby fingers bled. He screamed, crashing to his knees as wisps of darkness leaked from his body, writhing into the air. His skin sagged, his thick hands crumbling until they were skin on bone, connected to broken wrists. Small flashes of green entwined with the shadows, and Callan fell forward, sprawled by Kora’s feet.

Behind, a dark shadow smiled, with burning green eyes.

“My asterya, I’ve finally found you.”

The shadows exploded. Darkness leaking from Blake at an ungodly rate as he stormed the ship. Sight evaporated, and Kora swung blindly into the darkness. Cries rang out across the ship, and Garvan’s yell was distinct, ordering Blake to stop.

Leather, petrichor, bitter soil, coldness. The scents all combined into one, and they suffocated Kora as a finger brushed her throat. She raised her dagger, but Blake’s presence vanished. Her scar flared with long-forgotten agony, hints of Barron’s presence alighting it once again. She hadn’t used her salve in weeks, Galen acting as her personal painkiller. His footsteps surrounded her, and a growl ripped from her chest.

“Stop fucking around, Blake.”

His footsteps paused. A moment passed, and the shadows peeled back, revealing him. She peered against the suffocating darkness. It was thick, tinged with a sickly bitter taste that made her tongue curl in disgust and her throat close.

Blake leaned into the shadows, his green eyes blazing against it. He was so powerful, yet it haunted him. Black rimmed his eyelids; his nose stained from nosebleeds. He’d become so pale, and his black hair hung around his face, limp and lifeless.

“You look like shit,” Kora spoke smoothly, summoning strength to face him once again. She quivered as he leaned forward, his scent that once excited her, now sickening her.

“I’ll be much better with you by my side.” Blake brushed her hair from her face, and she jerked away. She didn’t want him to touch her ever again.