𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐨𝐧

Twenty

Liana used her ability to boost her steps, channelling her power into her legs. She bounded ahead of the boys, racing towards Jerik's pearly tent. She pulled aside the tent flaps, nearly shouting, "They're here! SEAM is here! They want Blackthorne!"

Jerik was sitting, chatting with Taylor and another Foreseer boy, when he shot up.

"What?" Taylor reached for his bow. "Where?" His dark brows furrowed as he scoured Liana up and down, and she knew he was searching to see if she was hurt.

She ignored the fluttering in her stomach and looked at Jerik, icy words forming on her lips. "They're here."

"Sound the alarm, Nolan, just like we practiced," Jerik ordered, drawing what used to be Xina's metal sword. "I want you guys to find Iris and Charlotte and have them come with us."

Kian raced away to find the rest of their group, and Liana shook nervously. "They were in the south woods, near the beach."

"We're going there as soon as Blackthorne is well guarded. How big was the party?"

"At least three dozen."

"You think you can take them?" Jerik asked, cocking a brow. Liana sucked in a breath- she was surprised that he trusted her since last time, when she almost lost control.

"Some of them. If there's an Echo there to mess with their head," she hinted, since Taylor and Travis were still there, "and distract them enough, I could..." she trailed off, choosing her next words carefully, "Defeat them."

"No killing," Taylor interjected, looking pale. "Just knock them out. We need the information they can give us in case they take Blackthorne."

Jerik glanced over at Taylor, who squirmed under his gaze after realizing he had contradicted his leader, but then he nodded. "Fine. Go for the shooting arm. No killing."

Charlie, Iris, Kian, and Allie arrived with a band of at least four dozen more Bluebloods, all armed. Charlie and Allie flickered out of sight for a moment, and Liana realized they were Light Shifters.

"We can lead a sneak attack with the other Shifters," Charlie suggested, flicking back with a blinding flash.

"Good idea. Remember, no killing. Disarm them."

Charlie hesitated. "They killed seventeen of our people."

"And we won't stoop to their level," Jerik ordered sternly. "Let's go. Have the second wave hide in the bushes."

"Our snipers are already there," Taylor informed him as they walked out.

Liana's hands shook, afraid she would do something stupid. They all crept along the treeline, glancing out to the men on the beach. Than Jerik raised his inked hand into the air in a fist. "For Xina!" he shouted, and they charged into battle.

Liana's knives flew in quick flashes, colliding with guns, but from behind her a hand grabbed her wrist and she was twisted, her side smashed into the sand. A boot slammed into the back of her head, and her face grounded into the beach.

"Vermin," the man spat. She felt the weight of a gun on the back of her head. She closed her eyes, concentrating on the object she could not see.

A satisfying thunk! told her the gun had smashed the man in the nose, and he staggered back, blood running from his nostril. His eyes narrowed, trying to grab the gun as she lifted it over his head. "Who's the vermin now?" she taunted as she spun, kicking him in the ribs with her steel- toed boot. His eyes rolled sideways as he stumbled into the water, falling in with a splash.

Liana grabbed the gun from the air, surveying the battlefield. The Light Shifters, led by Charlie and Travis, were launching an attack on a dozen SEAM officers, blinking in and out of sight, obscuring their vision with blinding flashes of light. Iris was battling back one officer, driving him towards the sea with her powerful wind attacks. Taylor and Kian were holding their own against three officers, and Jerik clashed with another. Suddenly he his eyes widened, and she knew he was listening to his opponent's thoughts. "It's a distraction! Go guard Blackthorne!"

It took Liana a few seconds to realize what that meant. SEAM had known exactly what they would do. It didn't make sense that such a small party would try to invade a large army, unless it wasn't their plan to attack full- force. SEAM was smarter than that.

Which meant they had someone on the inside.

A sharp pain in her forearm forced her to stagger back, and she called on her knives, twirling on her attacker as blood dripped down her arm. The pain told her it was a bullet wound, but her face fell as she realized who had shot her.

Allie.