Chapter Six
"What the fuck is wrong with you?"
Ero's head snapped back as Pyra grabbed him by the back of the shirt and yanked him backwards so that he and the other men could surround him. The three much larger men glared at him, their jaws twitching angrily and bright orange eyes searing into him almost painfully. Ero didn't know what to say to them. His stomach was twisted in knots and he felt like he was going to shatter at any second. What had he done?
"How could you say something like that about her?" Gyyx demanded, stepping up close enough to Ero that he felt like he needed to step back, only to find himself within inches of Ciyrs's chest.
Though Ciyrs was a healer and not a warrior, he was still powerful and larger than Ero.
"I don't know," Ero said honestly, "I don't know what the hell is going on in my head. Ever since the Klimnu attack on Leia, I've been out of my mind. I can't think straight, I'm angry all the time. It only got worse when Zuri showed up."
The three other men looked at each other knowingly and some of the anger exuding off of them eased. Pyra stepped forward and clapped him on the back, then wrapped a massive hand comfortingly around the back of his neck.
"You've always been the scrawny one of the group, so I guess it makes sense that you haven't figured out yet that all of this has absolutely nothing to do with the Klimnu attack and everything to do with Zuri."
"What are you talking about? And don't call me scrawny. I'm so sick of everyone making fun of me and treating me differently because of my size."
Suddenly realization hit him and it felt like a rock fell into his gut.
"Holy shit, that's exactly the same thing that I've been doing to Zuri, isn't it? I've spent my whole life pissed off because the people around me bullied me for being smaller than what they thought I should be and the second I meet a woman – an adorable woman, by the way – who just happens to be bigger than I would think she was going to be, I treat her in the exact same way. That's just great. I just don't get why I'm suddenly so aggressive and angry."
He looked up into Pyra's eyes, then at Gyyx's, then at Ciyrs's. He let out a long, ragged breath.
"Yeah, you just figured it all out, didn't you?" Pyra asked.
Ero nodded, covering his eyes with one hand.
Before he could open his mouth to reply, he heard a scream. All four men turned toward the sound and another scream tore through the air. Without speaking, they all ran in the direction of the sound, pulling weapons from the sheaths on their waistbands as they went. Within moments they saw the source of the screaming.
Klimnu swarmed the center of the compound, standing off against the other warriors who had come out of the meeting hall. The scream was pouring from Elianna as she fought against the tight hold that one of the men had around her waist, trying to keep her from running into the cluster of slimy, skeletal creatures. She had an incredible gift, given to her by Cirys after she became his mate, that would allow her to kill any of the creatures who she touched. Running into such a large group of them, however, would mean almost certain death. She was tiny and could only kill two creatures at a time, opening her to the threat of death by the others surrounding her.
"Get in the meeting hall!" Pyra shouted, his voice so loud that it made even Ero shake with intimidation.
Pyra's mate, Eden, looked up at the sound of his voice and Ero saw her hands protectively covering the slight swell of her pregnant belly. She had fear in her eyes, but she didn't move.
"Go!" Pyra shouted again, and finally Eden complied.
She grabbed Leia's hand beside her and yanked her back into the hall, slamming the door to the building just as one of the Klimnu broke free of the rest of the group and started toward the hall, wanting to get inside to the small human women. They had both been injured by the Klimnu before, and this was a species that did not respond kindly to their efforts being thwarted. When they went after someone, they went after them with the pure and unadulterated intent to kill, which meant that when someone escaped that fate, especially a fragile human woman, it only infuriated them more intensely and fueled their hatred toward the Denynso who protected them.
The four men surged forward and Ero immediately felt himself pulling ahead of the others and running into the group of Klimnu so fast that they didn't even have time to react. He balled his fists and spread his arms to the sides, tightening his muscles so that he caught the creatures by their necks as he passed, bringing them to the ground. The chaos that ensued shattered the control and organization that the Klimnu had had, and suddenly the compound filled with the sounds of battle.
Out of the corner of his eye, Ero saw the warrior release Elianna. She ran forward toward one of the Klimnu that Ero had brought down and reached toward him to grab him around the neck before he was able to stand all the way again. His strangled cries filled the air along with the acrid smell of burning flesh as she reduced the creature to ash. He saw Ciyrs look at her with affection and desire in his eyes, and pull her against him for an intense, almost violent kiss before they parted and went after more of the Klimnu. Larger warriors followed behind them to guard their backs as they burned as many creatures as they could get their hands on, the warriors slashing with lethally pointed daggers at any of the other creatures who attempted to intervene.
Pyra grabbed one of the creatures and lifted him into the air, taking him by his head and his waist and snapping him in half in one sharp movement. Ero heard the breaking bones and saw the life leave the Klimnu's eyes before Pyra dropped his limp body to the ground and moved on toward another of the creatures. Knowing he was not large or strong enough to do anything like that, and didn't have the burning gift that Ciyrs and Elianna shared, Ero used his own skills to contribute to the battle. He ran around the edge of the fray, taking down creatures that were getting the upper hand on warriors using his incredible speed and the fighting skills he had taught himself when he was younger by watching the other warriors train. Suddenly his ability to run so fast felt like more than just something he could use to escape.
The clash continued on for several long minutes, and then Ero noticed Pyra stepping out of the middle of the battle, dragging a man behind him. Ero looked closer and realized that it was Ullie, the Denynso warrior who had betrayed his people by giving up the secrets of the warriors and the ability to infiltrate the compound to the Klimnu. He had escaped the last battle between the species, but now he was at the mercy of the larger, stronger warrior who had him by his long white hair and was pulling him up onto the stone steps of the meeting hall.
Ullie struggled hard against Pyra's grip, but blood was streaming down his body from several wounds already sustained during the battle and since he was already at a disadvantage to Pyra, there was truly nothing he could do. It was time that he met his fate.
Once at the top of the steps, Pyra tilted his head back and let out a battle cry that trembled through the compound and brought stillness to the battle as everyone, both Denynso and Klimnu, turned in his direction. Without hesitation, Pyra forced Ullie to his knees, used his hair to pull his head back, and stared directly into his eyes as he drew his dagger across the traitor's throat. There was a strange gurgling sound and then Pyra dropped Ullie, allowing his body to crumple to the steps and slide down toward the men.
Pyra looked out over the cluster of opposing species, his hand still wrapped around the dripping dagger.
"This ends now," he growled, then kicked Ullie's body so that it fell the rest of the way to the dirt, "Take him with you."
The Klimnu complied, moving as quickly as they could to gather their dead and wounded and leave the compound, the battle having been lost without a single Denynso warrior death.
Panting, Ero watched as some of the other warriors followed the Klimnu away from the meeting hall to ensure they left the compound. Suddenly panic gripped him. They still hadn't found Zuri. He ran toward Pyra.
"I have to find Zuri," he said.
Pyra looked down at him and nodded.
"She's yours. Go get her."
Ero didn't respond, but took off running, pushing himself harder and faster than he had ever run before, allowing the tight feeling in his chest and the quiet voice in his mind, the voice that sounded like Zuri, guide him toward her.