1
XAVIER
The demon queen’s head exploded in a spray of blood, brain, and bone.
Then Roman disappeared in a cloud of glittery dust.
My two hearts hiccupped in surprise.
Where did he go?
Those two moments sent shockwaves through the awakened monarchs gathered on the snowy shore of the frozen lake in Level 666. Their war cries were silenced, all eyes on the headless queen’s obsidian blood spreading across the snow.
Us demons didn’t die like that.
Without her demonic magic to send her into convalescence, she was just a corpse, as dead as a mortal.
This is what Butterfly wanted—ending magic to even the playing field and spark a war. All for some twisted revenge over a warlock killing him many years ago. He’d played with time using his device inside Roman’s chest, and now we faced the consequences of his actions.
I’m mortal.
I can die here.
No. Death was out of the question with Roman in my life. I would find him. I would hold him. I would bask in his lovely light.
Butterfly flanked my left side, his purple hair billowing behind him. He still clutched the mason jar housing the piece of time—protected by a special coating on the glass. A small storm of translucent clouds rolled within the jar, occasional bursts of lightning flaring.
“This is unexpected,” he muttered, spiking my desire to tear him limb from limb.
The golden, magic-ending dust released from Butterfly’s device continued to fall from the sky in glittery flakes. A thick silence fell across the icy beach, only the bitter wind making a sound. A sea of white demon eyes focused on me, as if I had answers for them.
Ismael’s attention bore into me, his presence both terrifying and heartbreaking in equal measure.
You should be sleeping…
Ismael. My awakened ex, the bronze-skinned beauty with long, obsidian curls I once buried my face in. The man I believed to be my one true love until Roman came into my life.
My angel.
My future.
My hope.
“What did he do?” Ismael asked me directly, his tone soft yet dark.
Darcy, the human-turned-rat-turned-human again, shivered to my right. I steadied him as he started to collapse.
“T-Thanks…”
The three of us were naked—Butterfly, Darcy, and myself. Although my magic was dead, ending my ability to shift, I retained my strength, endurance, and natural heat. I couldwithstand this icy onslaught for a while, but Darcy was human. He wouldn’t last long in these temperatures.
I scooped Darcy into my arms, holding his shivering body as close to me as possible. “I’m getting you out of here.”
Ismael cocked an eyebrow at my move, the diamonds in his silver crown glinting. “How kind of you. You really are enraptured by humans.”
I offered no response, whispering to Darcy that I would keep him safe. Roman loved his best friend dearly, and so I would do everything in my power to protect him.
The poor human gazed up at me, teeth chattering. “T-T-Thank you.”
