Chapter 176 The Heart

• Hollis
• At the same moment as I reach the wide ring of defenders and ranged fighters encircling the heart of the battle, Candace limps to a stop at my side. Blood stains her gray coat in a dozen places, and my heart leaps into my throat. I meet her huge, dark eyes. She melts into a human before me. Her left arm dangles, boneless. Mottled black-and-purple bruises cover her bare torso. A myriad of small cuts spit tiny tributaries of blood, and a few massive gashes split her back.
• My blood boils. I whip to the men I assigned to her. “You were supposed to—”