Kale and Heather strove side by side, their ferocity matched only by their devotion to protecting each other. The gypsy healerwielded her magic perfectly, dropping hybrids from a distance, while her mate dispatched any who drew too close.
Lizzy’s unique hybrid nature seemed to give her even more strength than a regular wolf. She slashed and spun through their ranks. Finn stayed close as he fought, his eyes constantly finding Lizzy, ready to defend his mate at a moment’s notice.
Drake and Nick battled with cold precision, their expressions unreadable as they ripped through the sadistic hybrids. Myanin and Gerick attacked ruthlessly. It was insane to Jacque that Myanin had no magic; she moved with the speed of a wolf and the agility of an elf or fae.
But no matter how many they took down, there were always more. Jacque could feel the strain on her body, and she saw tension appear on her packmates’ faces. They needed to finish this battle quickly before exhaustion allowed the hybrids to turn the tide.
“Babe,” Jacque shouted to Fane, “we need to end this.”
“I think I can help.” Thad, along with Jezebel and Dain, suddenly appeared beside them.
The djinn held out his arms, and light flowed from his hands.
“Everyone down,” Fane roared.
Jacque hit the ground fast, as did everyone else in their group. The light grew so bright that she had to close her eyes. The screams filling her ears gave Jacque chills, and then it was silent. Jacque opened her eyes slowly and lifted her head. All that was left were scattered corpses and swirling ashes.
Panting, Jacque turned to survey her weary but intact pack. They looked a little worse for wear, but they were all alive and relatively unharmed.
“Thank you,” Jacque told Thad.
“I take it you got things worked out?” Fane asked the djinn.
Thad’s eyes seemed a little lost as he looked at the surrounding carnage. “Something like that. We can talk about itwhen we’re not fighting these abominations.” His voice sounded resigned, but not defeated. Jacque took that as a good sign, although she noticed he didn’t say he’d actually gotten his power issues solved.
Her attention was grabbed by another bright light, though not as bright as Thad’s. Disir and Dain, the two high fae, were incinerating the bodies, and then a swirl of wind blew, transporting the ashes into the night sky.
“Where’d the portal go?” Zara pointed to where the swirling darkness had been seconds before.
“How was a portal even opened?” Myanin wiped her bloody blades on her pants, which fit like a second skin. Clad in all black, she looked like a badass. And she was.
Disir spoke up. “I can think of only one way a portal like that could have been opened: the dark magic contained in the Nushtonia.”
“Why is dark magic so much more powerful than light magic?” Heather leaned up against Kale, looking exhausted.
“Because we live in a world where evil has a foothold,” Fane said. “When you draw its attention, it will not only pay you heed, but it will beckon to you like a lover, and you won’t even realize you’ve gotten into bed with it until its tendrils are wrapped around your throat, suffocating you.”
There was complete silence at her mate’s words.
Heather whistled. “Damn, Alpha, that’s, umm, well, dark.”
“They suck at pep talks,” Myanin said. “I think at this point they should just do one of those things where everyone stacks their hands on each other’s and we all yell, ‘1, 2, 3, Don’t die!’”
“I like that.” Lizzy pointed at Myanin. “Short and sweet and to the point.”
“I’m still confused as to how the portal was opened.” Zara’s brow furrowed.
“As I mentioned, the book of the dead could have done it.” Disir looked around. “That means Celise was nearby. Or Cain still has fae on his payroll. As you know, it’s not unheard of for a fae to use dark magic, even blood magic.”
Heather rolled her eyes. “Yeah, we’re a little familiar with that.”
“Well, they’re certainly making things interesting,” Myanin said. “If they can open up portals wherever they want to go, that means they can be anywhere.”
“Why do you sound happy about that?” Jacque was a little worried about what the djinn’s answer would be.
“Because it means more fighting,” Myanin hopped from one foot to the other. “Fighting is life.”
“I thought cotton candy was life,” Lizzy said.
