When he didn’t answer her, Katy stepped away from him and headed for the edge of the boat. Screw being safe. She was going to move while her legs still worked. She was going to stop her reckless little shadow from getting himself killed. As she tried to put her leg over the boat, it bumped up against something solid, only there was nothing there. She tried again and was repelled by an invisible force field. “Umm, why the hell can’t I get off this boat?”
Raphael stood only a couple feet away, and had been about to jump off the boat. He stopped and looked at her, his brow drawing down over his violet eyes. He walked over to her and grabbed the wrist that had the bracelets on them. Gage was beside him in a second, growling, of course.
The demon chuckled. “The little lizard is sneaky. He put a spell on the bracelets. A boundary spell. And then he made the boat the boundary.”
“What?” Lola walked over to where they stood. She reached out her hand and tried to shove it outside the edge of the boat. It came up against an invisible wall, too. “So we’re stuck on this boat?”
“Dammit!” Katy stomped her foot. “That sneaky little scaly bastard!”
“Looks that way.” Raphael turned to the captain, who looked rather calm for the circumstances. Katy wondered what sort of glamour they’d managed to use on him. “Jack, once the three ladies and the gentleman are the only ones left on the boat, could you back it away from the shore?”
“I can do that.” He nodded as he took his hat off and scratched his head. “I’d appreciate that you do your businessquickly. The bayou, well, it ain’t right. I mean, it’s worse than usual.”
Raphael’s eyes glowed as he smiled, showing sharp teeth. “Don’t worry, we will be quick.” Then he jumped over the side of the boat in his dress shirt and slacks, somehow looking just as deadly as Callon had.
“Have I mentioned that I’m going to strangle that little bug-eyed, baggy clothes wearing lizard when I get my hands on him?” Katy attempted to untie the bracelets. Whatever magic he’d used on them, they weren’t budging. Lola, too, tried her best to remove the bracelets. She pulled at them with her teeth but had no more success than Katy.
Gage cupped her cheek, regaining her attention. He started to say something, but there was a loud crashing sound, and they all turned to see what caused it. Moonlight illuminated a clump of nearby shaking trees. Suddenly, an enormous emerald snake burst from the foliage, venom dripping from its foot-long fangs as it let out a menacing hiss. Azure had arrived, madness radiating from his reptilian eyes.
“Keep them safe, Talbot,” Gage said, and then the man was gone, and in his place was a massive wolf. He let out an ear-splitting howl as he launched himself toward Azure.
Lola’s eyes widened in shock as Azure, the massive serpent, crashed through the dense canopy of trees. The sound was deafening as branches snapped and leaves rustled in its wake. Before she could even process what was happening, her companions sprang into action with supernatural grace and agility.
Callon let out an earth-shaking roar, his muscles bulging with power as he transformed into a golden lion. He launched himself at the snake, his large paws pounding the groundwith each stride. Taras, already in his sleek, tawny lion form, joined the attack with ferocious speed and grace. Gage, with his swift movements and lightning-fast reflexes, darted forward to distract the serpent while the others attacked.
The bayou erupted into a violent battlefield. The air was filled with snarls, howls, and furious hisses as fangs and claws clashed in a deadly dance. Trees splintered, and the ground trembled underfoot as the creatures fought with savage ferocity. Lola couldn’t tear her eyes away from Callon’s form, every swipe of his powerful paws sending her heart racing.
Even Azure, with all his formidable strength and size, struggled against the relentless onslaught of attacks. For every strike he landed on his opponents, they countered with fierce determination. Sharp claws and teeth found purchase in his scaly hide until it was stained black with ichor.
In the midst of the chaos, a shrill laugh cut through the cacophony like a knife. Lola’s head snapped toward the sound just in time to see a woman, who must be Marissa, the voodoo priestess, emerge from the shadows. Her skeletal hands were already twisting in dark spells. Before Lola could even cry out a warning, the witch’s magic flew from her fingers straight toward Lyra’s unprotected back.
But Raphael was quicker than lightning, using his own impressive powers to knock the Prima out of harm’s way before turning to face off against Marissa. Nico’s chanting rose above the madness, his shamanic abilities, whatever the hell those were, adding to the chaos as he fought against the witch’s dark magic with his own light. The battle raged on, a symphony of magic and mayhem, and Lola was stuck on the boat, unable to help. The beast inside of her flexed, frustrated that she wasn’t being let out to assist their mate. But what the hell could a lion do from a boat?
She heard a gasp and turned to see Rose, the new KOV queen, covering her mouth as she watched in wide-eyed horror the bloodbath that was happening fifty yards away. However, Lola noticed the boat had moved and was still moving farther from the shore, as Raphael had asked.
“Talbot.” Rose’s voice was much stronger than Lola expected it to be. “You’ve got to go help. He’s going to kill them.”
“I won’t leave you unprotected,” Talbot told his mate. Scales covered his skin as he watched the fight. “And I spoke the truth when I told Gage this wasn’t my fight. This is not my kill.”
“Do you really think you can defeat me?” Azure’s voice came from the snake’s mouth, and it was as loud as Callon’s roar. “You pathetic, weak foolsss who don’t even know what is best for our kind.”
“Oh great.” Katy huffed. “This is the part where the evil ass gives us a monologue about why he can’t be killed. Seen it in every action movie ever. Didn’t like it the first time. Definitely won’t like it this time. Would somebody shut him up? And where the hell is the panther with my lizard?”
Rose’s eyes widened as she looked at Katy and then at Lola.
Lola winced. “Not a sentence you thought you’d ever hear in your life, right? I would say that she’s usually saner than this, but that would be a lie, and I’d rather not start our relationship off on the wrong foot.”
“I appreciate that.” Rose stood a little straighter, as if Lola’s joking made her less fearful.
Lola tried to pay attention to what was going on with Nico, the voodoo chick, her mate, and Azure all at the same time. Her eyes were bouncing back and forth like a ping-pong ball. Couldn’t they fight closer together? Would that be too much to ask? Okay, now Katy’s attitude was totally rubbing off on her.
“What’s that?” Katy pointed at Azure.
“Really?” Lola asked dryly. “Is your brain shutting down now because of this voodoo spell, Katy? That’s Azure, the bad guy in his snake form.”
“Not him, you dip,” Katy bit out. “Past him and past all the trees his massive, scaly body smashed. There’s light.” She squinted her eyes.
Lola rolled her eyes. “Use your wolf’s eyes, Katy.” She huffed. “Amateur.”
