The ground underneath his feet shook, and without even thinking, he stomped his foot deep into the ground. The first line of enemies, the smirking Antoine and fangy Gretchen, along with a dozen of their pals, fell down as the earth shattered beneath them. He'd created a ravine, just like that.

Luke and Ruby were both wise enough to let go then. And he started running.

He only stopped to see Cat's brother swing the sword at his side, beheading the woman who'd threatened her.

Then he breathed and kept going, because nothing would be right until he was beside her.

Bash's steps punched the ground, making it tremble and crumble under all those who dared approach him, until they were smart enough to run. He reached the two vampires surrounded by a storm, and took one more step. Finally, she was there. Bash wrapped his arms around her shoulder.

"Never again, you hear? Next time, I fucking come with you."

She let him hold her until the guy behind her cleared his throat.

"That's my sister. This is way too much physical contact for my taste."

"Shut it, Seth," Catherine said. "And in case you haven't noticed, we still have a problem here."

Beyond the brother's storm, the ancients were zeroing in. Levi, Luke, and Ruby were being kept busy by the hundreds of others crawling out of Bash's pit.

"I can take one Beaufort," Cat said. "Maybe. Or keep him busy, at least."

"Point me to whoever I should bash. Let's see if I can live up to my name."

"Wonderful, a savage. You have excellent taste, sister. Try to keep the thin one busy. He packs a punch. I have to take out Julia before she destroys your borders. If she does, your little haven is doomed."

Bash didn't doubt that. The shields around Oldcrest were the only reason why the queen and her ferals, and whoever else wanted to get rid of Chloe, hadn't managed to complete their task yet.

Bash nodded, turning to Catherine one last time.

"Stay by my side."

She smirked. "Well, someone ought to watch your six, I suppose."

Spells and Shields

Seth's storm cleared to allow them to pass, and Cat's heart beat at a thousand miles an hour, robbed of all safety. She'd learned how to fight. Her family had seen to that. But she'd always sparred. Facing someone actually intent on killing her was terrifying.

And she lunged all the same.

Before Oldcrest, she wouldn't have. She would have yielded, bent her head, fallen in line. Because she was no one. A shell of a person, built by others, stripped of wants, desires, feelings. Now she had all of that in spades. It was hers, and she'd rather be killed today than return to the shadows.

The Beauforts were well known for their skills as fighters, but their family wasn't blessed with magic. As an average fighter with a little magic, she would have been well matched against a normal Beaufort. The ancient was well beyond her skills, but she rushed at Credence anyway. The asshole smirked, knowing she was outmatched. She was going to have to make it hurt. For as long as she could.

Cat feinted, pretending to aim for the head, but dropped to the ground at the last second, attempting to trip him. And he moved in time, drawing his feet back to kick her in the face.

She ducked her head just fast enough to avoid the hit, grabbed at his foot, and pulled.

It wasn't enough. Even on one foot, his balance was perfect. Damn him. This time, she knew she wouldn't avoid the kick as he dropped his heel down to her face.

Shit, it hurt.

She'd known worse, though. Cat bounced back to her feet and yelled, swinging her sword.

Credence stopped the blade with his arm, then drew back his fist to hit her. It stopped right before meeting her face, hitting an intangible wall.

Feeling energy passing right in front of her, she turned in that direction to see Blair on the other side of Bash's ravine, both hands extended toward her, holding on to an immaterial thread.

The rest of Oldcrest had come out of the barriers. The huntsmen were rushing down the ravine as the vamps, mostly managed by Seth right now, tried to reach them to help with the ancients. But the witches remained in line, right before the borders.

Cat knew enough of magic to realize that holding a powerful creature like Credence was unbelievably taxing. She wouldn't last long.

And she wasn't going to miss that chance. She plunged her sword right into Credence's heart.

It wasn't a fatal wound—not to any vampire, and certainly not to one as old as Credence—but he'd be out of commission for long enough.

Levi’s waters had flooded the ravine, preventing any storm mage from using their magic—they would have just ended up electrocuting anyone. Thinking fast, Cat kicked Credence down the ravine and pushed one jolt of lightning right through him, before moving on to the next ancient.

Alone, she would have had no chance. But the witches—Blair, Greer, Gwen, or any of the others—slowed them down, hindering her adversaries’ progress. More importantly, they shielded her so that she only faced one of them at a time.

They started to look like the winning side.

For a time.

Then the sky roared again. At first, Cat was unconcerned, believing that it had come from Seth, but the call felt different. More…refined. She looked up and gasped.

Her lightning, like Seth's, was a bolt of brilliant light. Nature called upon, unleashed. This was something else altogether. A dark bolt, zigzagging in black streaks, turning day to night.

Most turned to Oldcrest, but Cat's attention was on Julia.

Seth had tried to reach her, that much was clear, but the other ancients had barred his progress, keeping him away from their best weapon while she prepared to strike.

Now it was too late. She could see it. Julia had released all of her power.

Cat closed her eyes, feeling a shift in the energy around her, an explosion.

She didn't want to look back, but she couldn’t resist.

The shields around their home were flickering away in crumbling bright speckles.

Anyone could get in now. The inhabitants of Adairford. The wolves in the wood. The younger students still in the Institute. They were all in danger now.

The enemies immediately tried to spread out, attempting to circle round their line of defense.

Shit.

"Seth!"

Julia was irrelevant now. They needed to stop the slayers from destroying everything in their territory.

Her brother nodded and rode his lightning bolt, appearing on the other side of the ravine, taking those who attempted to breach the eastern front.

But he wasn't enough.

Cat wished she could rush to help, but there were five ancients left, and only she and Bash were here to fight them. Even with the witches’ help, they were outmatched.

Block, feint, run, roll, leap, kick, miss. Again and again. Stay alive. That was all that mattered now. Taking the next breath. Cat was tired, though, her limbs becoming heavier with every second. Bash was also slowing down.

From the corner of her eye, she saw wings. White wings. Cat glanced back long enough to see their second nephilim taking the other flank. Between Jack and Seth, the enemies soon stopped attempting to pass through their side, focusing instead on the center. On their witches.

Shit. This didn't look good at all.

"Pretty girl!" Bash yelled over the chaos.

"What?"

"I think I might just love you. You know."

What the hell? She glanced at him, a mistake that earned her a kick in the shin.

Cat moved away from Denningway to avoid another hit, and held her fists up in a defensive stance. The witches were getting tired, too, but someone gave her a window. As her muscles burned, Cat called to her storm, hitting the bitch with a zap right on her head. A little hit, but it was enough to give her a moment to slit her throat.

Then she turned to Bash. "Now? Now you go all mushy?"

He was on the ground, wrestling one of the ancients she didn't recognize. The man's fangs were bared, and he was closing in on Bash's throat. As she was too far away to jump in, she threw her sword, thankfully hitting the right target. Not fatally, but Bash managed to get to his feet.

Only now, the elder had a sword.

Shit.

"It doesn't look like I'll get another chance," Bash replied, eyes on his opponent.

Cat had another ancient on her right then.

With every passing moment, their luck decreased and the likelihood of them both making it out alive dwindled. The people who could truly rival any of those ancients were concentrating on Chloe. Cat got it. Chloe was everything to Levi, and everyone else deferred to him.

But with their ancients elsewhere, and their witches weakening, she and Sebastian might actually die.

The vampires were getting close to them now. Greer had erected shields around them, but strong as she was, how long would they last?

So she said it. What did it matter, anyway?

"Yeah. I guess I might love you, too."

Nightmares

The world was ending. He knew it when he heard those words from her lips. But he didn't even care.

Bash grinned as he faced his opponent, a man as wide as him, as wild as him, but twice as strong. He didn't think he'd ever been that exhausted. It didn't matter.

"Do you have any reason for fighting?" Bash asked the stranger.

"Honor," the man replied.

Simple and to the point.

And it sounded empty as fuck.

"Well, good. I'll probably win, then."

The man lunged, fast, but he wasn’t the problem; Bash felt and saw another vampire coming from his flank.

He didn't have to wonder why. The witches who'd helped them however they could, ensured that they were fighting only one enemy at a time, weren't able to assist them anymore.

Shit. Two ancient vampires fighting him at once.

At least he'd heard Catherine say those precious words before the end.

He closed his eyes.

And opened them again.

The entire battlefield had been mayhem, brouhaha, disarray. Now there was complete and utter silence.

All eyes converged on the northern borders, so Bash looked too, frowning and not quite understanding what he saw.