Rune shot back, but only squeezed off a handful of rounds before his magazine emptied. He threw the rifle down and swung the backup into his hands to continue shooting at the dozen men now advancing into the great hall with his father.

“Give it up, boyo. You’re rats in a trap.” Riordan’s voice boomed over the staccato spurts of gunfire. “What’s it gonna be? You want us to shoot you like vermin, or take you alive and then lay waste to your woman while you watch?”

Rune glanced at Carys, neither of them acknowledging the threat. Their gazes locked in determination. They had their plan of escape. They had each other. All the rest was simply noise and obstacles to overcome.

“Flush them out of there,” Riordan commanded his men. “We can have just as much fun if we take them captive in pieces.”

The guards opened fire again, moving into new positions around the great hall.

“They’re going to corner us,” Rune whispered. “We need to get across the room if we can. The exit to the kitchens is that door to the left of the fireplace.”

Carys glanced that way, then gave him a nod. Rune knew she wouldn’t do it without him, even though her speed could take her there twice as fast than if she waited for him. So, he had no choice but to lay down heavy gunfire and try to take out as many guards as possible if they were both going to make it across.

Carys held her weapon at the ready too. No fear in her eyes, only a steely determination that galvanized his own.

There was a lull in the barrage. Rune gave her a signal. “Go.”

They ducked out from behind the wall. Both of them spraying rounds, they hustled across the wide room as swiftly as they could. A number of guards cried out as they were hit, several going down for good.

The return fire came at them hard now. Rune felt a bullet rip into his thigh. He stumbled, nearly brought down by the crippling impact.

He refused to let it slow them down—not when Carys’s life was on the line.

With rounds still zinging at them, they made it into the mouth of the room’s central hearth. The ancient fireplace, with its heavy walls made of massive stones, was tall enough for them to stand upright in it and deep enough to hold a dozen men. But there was less cover here than where they just been. Though now they were just steps away from where they needed to be.

Carys looked down at his fresh wound in horror. “Oh, shit, Rune.”

The hole in his thigh was gushing blood. Not good. On top of all of his other injuries, it was catastrophic. Her blood was still a vibrant force inside him, but it wouldn’t stop him from bleeding out.

And as the feeling started to fade from his leg, he knew he wouldn’t be able to run now. Hell, at this rate, he’d be lucky if he managed a slow hobble.

Damn it, no!

“I can smell your blood, Aedan.” His father’s gleeful voice rang out over the straggling shots. “You may not know it yet, but you’re dead, son. Gonna be a shame you won’t live long enough to see me and all of my men rape your Breed bitch until she’s begging for us to kill her too.”

Rune gently lifted her chin and held her gaze. “That’s not going to happen,” he told her firmly. “I’m not going to let them touch you. Not ever. We’re going to get out of this.”

“I know.” She nodded, but he could see the flicker of fear in her eyes now.

Her doubt nearly killed him. Far more than any bullet could.

Even he had to acknowledge that things didn’t look good for them. More guards poured into the great hall now. His father’s personal army was closing in, diminishing their chances of escape with each second that ticked by.

“We have to make a break for it,” he told her.

She shook her head. “You’ll never make it.”

“But you might.” When she parted her lips to protest, he cut her off with a kiss. “Please, Carys. I love you. Do this for me.”

Misery swam in her gaze. “No. No, I won’t! Rune, we’re staying togeth—”

Her words cut off as a sudden explosion rocked the fortress.

Dust fell from the heavy rafters of the hall. Outside the room, a sudden, frantic commotion kicked up.

Fineas Riordan shouted to his men, “What the fuck was that?”

A panicked voice answered. “The main gate, sir. Holy shit, they’ve taken it out!”

Carys swung a wide-eyed glance at Rune. “The Order. Rune, they’re here!”

In the middle of the great hall, Riordan was barking commands to his guards. “Get out there and push them back! All of you, look alive—hold this keep! Whoever’s at our gates, blow them away! And kill these two right fucking now!”

Chaos and gunfire erupted.

But apparently, his father had no intention of sticking around to lend his own blood and sweat to the battle. Rune saw him grab a weapon from one of his men, then he flashed across the great hall to an archway leading to the east tower of the castle.

Carys saw it too. “He’s getting away!”

When her body tensed with purpose, Rune felt her fury emanate through his bond to her. She was pissed as hell and ready to kill.

“Don’t even think it, love.” Rune grabbed her arms and ground out a curse. “Forget about him.”

But his woman was Breed, and her power coursed through her as ferociously as it did him. As it did in any other of their kind. Her blue eyes burned bright amber in an instant. She tossed her head in defiance, fangs bared. “I can’t forget about him until I know he’s dead.”