The Grey God

She was losing blood fast, her movements growing heavy.

"Bianca!" she barked. She strained to keep her hold on the guardsman, even as the other one left the cell and snatched a sword to finish her off.

Fire blazed through her as Bianca snatched her leg. Jenn rolled away, blocking the standing guardsman's shot of her. She gripped the blade of the dagger the man on top of her tried to shove through her throat. Smashing her forehead against his nose, Jenn wrenched the knife free and drove it through him.

She struggled out from under his body as the last of her opponents slashed at her. Kicks made him keep his distance and bought her time. His sword slashed downward at her. Jenn rolled, ran into the wall, and cried out as he split her back. She didn't wait for him to step back but kicked his knee as hard as she could. He staggered, and she snatched his wrist, hauling herself up. With the last of her energy, she stabbed him through the eye.

The man dropped. Jenn fell with him, bloodied and in pain.

"Bianca," she called again.

The glowing woman emerged, trailed by Sofi. The two looked around, visibly unsettled by the damage Jenn had done. The walls and floor of the hallway were splattered with blood, the bodies of the newly killed still kicking. Even cool Sofi appeared upset.

Jenn didn't remember a time when she would've looked twice at a dead man. She couldn't help pitying the women who had been thrust into a bloody war when they met their Guardian mates. It wasn't an easy life, though if anyone could adjust and thrive, it was the women Damian, Dusty, and Jule chose.

"Anytime," she murmured, feeling herself sinking into the darkness.

Bianca dropped to her knees beside her, and her cold healing fire tore through Jenn. Jenn gritted her teeth against it as her body mended itself. The Healer released her. Jenn rose unsteadily and looked down at herself.

She was a train wreck. She stripped off the shredded T-shirt and tossed it. Returning to the cell, she used the long-sleeved shirt to wipe the blood off her body quickly and then to clean the blades of the weapons she snatched off the ground. She shoved one blade into her belt and stripped the knives off the dead men, putting them in her cargo pockets. She kept two out and joined Sofi and Bianca in the hallway, handing one to each.

They stared at her. Jenn wasn't sure what to say after the battle. Both women took the knives, handling them with awkwardness borne of a lack of familiarity with handling deadly weapons.