Crimes of Cupidity (Heart Hassle Book 3)

Somehow, the genfins have infiltrated the portal that Chaucel left open. It’s not just trained rebels, either. These are everyday genfins, male and female, young and old, warriors and shopkeepers. I even see the genfin elders flying in, screaming with a battle cry. None of them are holding back. They’re crashing in to Prince Elphar’s forces with vicious retribution for the attack that was launched on their own island.

They’re using the element of surprise to their advantage and attacking from the sky. Swords, bows, spears, magic, they’re cutting through the confused and empty soldiers on the ground with brutal abandon.

The prince begins shouting orders, making his soldiers scramble into formation, but without being able to hear his direct orders, many of them are just standing there blankly while the genfins attack them.

Part of me is like, Hell yeah! Get those mothersucker prince soldiers! But the other part is like, Oh no, they’re being mind-controlled, it’s not their fault!

Ronak is at my back in an instant, already having knocked out the two guards who were standing sentry over him. Pride surges through him as he watches his people attack, fighting to get retribution for when the prince attacked their island.

“I need to go help,” he says.

At the sound of his voice, Okot turns. When he notices Ronak is up, he immediately goes on the offensive. Ronak managed to rip the shackles off the wall, but they’re still attached to his wrists, so he’s at a disadvantage. Not to mention, I can tell his strength is waning from the iron contact, and whoever hit him over the head left a nasty wound that is caked with blood that’s easily visible through his closely shaved hair.

Okot swings an arm at him, and Ronak uses his chains to wrap it around his arm and twist. That’s all I’m able to keep track of, because after that, they’re a mess of thrown punches, elbows, knees, hands, and headbutts. Butt heads? Whatever. The point is, they’re fighting the eff out of each other.

“Stop!”

My heart is tearing in two at watching my two mates go at it. Ronak’s claws are out, Okot is charging at him like a bull, and I don’t know what the fuck to do.

“Ronak, don’t hurt him!” I yell, then wince as he gets thrown across the room and into the wall. “But don’t let yourself get hurt, either!” I reprimand.

He curses something before dodging another blow and then kicking Okot’s massive legs out from under him, making him fall.

“We need to break the mind-control.”

“Well, duh! But I don’t freaking know how! the Love Arrows don’t work!”

Ronak throws his fist into Okot’s gut, making a whoosh of air escape him, and he clutches his middle with a grimace.

“Well, you’d better figure something out! I can’t keep evading him!”

Ronak uses his wings to fly above the bull man in question, which only seems to infuriate Okot more.

Figure something out. Right.

Determination settles in my bones. It’s like someone suddenly pours a full cup of the stuff directly into my head and doesn’t stop until I’m full-up.

I march forward, determined to face-off with Okot on my own. “I got this,” I say confidently to Ronak.

Okot’s head swings in my direction. He narrows his murderous gaze on me, and then he charges.

Oh, shit.

“I don’t got this!” I squeal.

With an annoyed huff, Ronak flies down, wraps a strong arm around my middle and hauls me up. Okot can’t stop in time, so he goes barreling into the wall, busting a hole right through it. Ronak and I fly out after him.

The outside is a mess of battles taking place, and so loud I nearly want to close my ears. Battle cries, agonized shouts, magic being hurtled every which way, and swords clashing sound in the air.

Ronak drops me on my feet and distracts Okot again. He continues to take punches and evade the lamassu, but he’s getting tired, and I know he can’t just keep fending Okot off forever.

“We need a plan!” I yell at Ronak, who is once again grappling with my lamassu mate. “He’s like a machine! He might as well be freaking sleepwalking!”

I stop, my own words sinking into me like a lightning bolt of inspiration, leaving me slightly jolted. “Oh my freaking gods, that’s it!”

Ronak doesn’t reply, because, you know, he’s too busy fighting off the three-hundred-pound lamassu.

“Don’t worry! I got this!” I shout over to Ronak.

“That’s what you said before!”

Gods, he just doesn’t let anything go.

“Yeah, but for reals this time!”

“Whatever you’re going to do, fucking do it!” he says.

“Don’t take that tone with me, Not-First!”

He takes a huge blow to the face and goes flying backward. Ouch. Did I just karma him?

He gets up, shaking his head to clear the confusion from the blow. “Can you do whatever it is you said you were going to do?” he asks with exasperation.

Right. I’d better get to it.

I jump up into the air and fly towards Okot. Right when I’m directly above him, I drop onto his back and wrap my limbs around him. Startled, he wobbles backward until straightening himself up, and then the poor guy starts spinning and flailing around, trying to get to me.

With my elbows locked against his neck for leverage, I bring my hands together and rub. “Please let this work.”

Dust gathers on my palms, and I waste no time. I shove my hands against Okot’s face. The second it makes contact and he breathes the dust in, his eyes roll to the back of his head and his knees buckle.

He crashes to the ground, kicking up dust, and I stay on top of him, my chest heaving with hurried breath. I wait to see if he’ll wake, but if the snoring is any indication, he’s out hard.

Ronak comes over, and I quickly bury my hands in the folds of my dress so that I don’t inadvertently knock him out, too.

I don’t even get to relax for a moment, though, because the battle happening all around us has only intensified, and the genfins no longer have the upper hand.

Genfins are being shot out of the sky where they fly, cut down on the ground, and being burnt, suffocated, drowned, and hit with different forms of magic. It’s a bloodbath.

I can see in his face that watching his people die is killing Ronak inside. I don’t even stop him when he shoves me back inside the ruined building to hide before he flies toward the fight. That’s just who he is. He’ll always fight.

But me? I’m going to make sure that this time, we don’t lose.