The plateau outside the town was wide and barren, the wind sweeping over the grass in low, restless waves. The sky was cloudless, the sun glaring down as if to witness the carnage about to unfold.
Yelena, Katie, and Drum huddled together briefly, their voices sharp whispers, their golden, pink, and emerald eyes flicking back and forth toward Hadrick, Serena, and Liliana.
When they pulled away, Drum stepped forward, her wings unfurling with a sharp snap. "I'll take the cleric."
Liliana sneered, her staff glowing with holy light. "You think a bird can beat me? You're nothing but feathers."
Drum only smiled, her feathers rippling in the wind as she rose into the air. "We'll see."
The fight was brutal from the start.
Liliana's light magic seared through the air, blasting rays that clipped Drum's feathers, forcing her to bank hard. Her healing spells mended every shallow cut Drum managed to score with her claws. It was a war of attrition, and Liliana was winning.
"Pathetic," Liliana spat, raising her staff high. "Your kind was made to be caged, to be used, not to defy me. I'll clip your wings for good."
For a moment, I felt panic grip me. Drum was cornered, her movements sluggish under the constant bombardment of light.
Then I saw it.
That smile.
Slow. Wicked. Sadistic.
My heart sank even before Liliana froze mid-step.
Liliana gasped, her staff clattering from her hands. "W-what…? I… I can't move!"
Drum's emerald eyes glowed, her feathers whipping around her like blades as the air thickened.
"You can heal wounds. You can mend bones. But you can't heal if you can't breathe."
The air shimmered. Liliana clawed at her throat, her lips parting as she struggled, choking, her eyes wide with terror.
Drum tilted her head, her smile widening. "Yes… struggle for me."
Her wings beat once, sending a gust that knocked the cleric flat. Liliana wheezed, her hands glowing faintly with magic, but no healing came. Without air, her mana sputtered and died.
Drum landed gracefully, straddling Liliana's chest. Her talons flexed.
And then she began to peel her apart.
Her claws slashed across Liliana's face, tearing her nose away in a spray of blood. Another rake ripped her ears free. Flesh tore from bone as Drum carved cruelly, methodically, ignoring the cleric's muffled screams.
"Ugly," Drum hissed. "You called my Master ugly? You don't deserve a face at all."
Her talons slashed down, severing both of Liliana's legs in one fluid, vicious strike.
Blood fountained, soaking the grass.
Liliana's screams choked into silence as Drum's wings flared wide. She clutched the cleric's broken body in her talons, beating her wings furiously as she soared hundreds of feet into the air.
"Master," she called down sweetly, "this is for you."
And then she dropped her.
Liliana's body plummeted, smashing into the plateau with a sickening explosion of gore. When the dust cleared, there was nothing left but a crater and a splattered stain of red.
Hadrick and Serena stood frozen, their faces pale, their bodies trembling with shock and fury.
"You… you monster!" Hadrick roared, drawing his blade.
"You filthy beast!" Serena shrieked, blood still streaming from her ruined eye.
Drum descended gracefully, her emerald eyes wild, her smile radiant as she landed before me. She tackled me against the grass, her wings cocooning us both.
"Did you see, Master?" she whispered, her breath hot against my lips. "Did you see what I did for you? I killed for you. I'll always kill for you."
Her breasts pressed hard into my chest, soft and suffocating, her body grinding against mine as her butt rubbed firmly against my crotch. She kissed me hungrily, her tongue pressing into my mouth as she moaned.
"I love you. I love you so much. More than anything. More than anyone. Let me keep killing for you. Let me prove I'm the only one who deserves you."
My heart thundered, torn between shock, fear, and something darker I couldn't deny.
But the fight wasn't over.
Yelena and Katie were already stepping forward, their eyes locked on Hadrick and Serena with murderous intent.
The plateau was only just beginning to taste blood.