“Yes.”
She took a few stumbling steps, and we all froze at the sound of pounding feet on the stairs.
“The brothers are back,” Evie said. “They’ve brought reinforcements.”
Vas scooped Ilayda into his arms, and Evie and I opened the balcony doors. “Go, Vas.”
Cold fury twisted his features, and I shook my head at him. “You stay, and Ilayda could get hurt. Get her to Kyla and come back to us.”
Evie pushed at him. “Go, Vas. Now!”
He wasn’t happy about it, but he glanced down at the pregnant woman in his arms, then shot into the sky. Guards below us called out to one another, and in the distance, I spotted some kind of flying beast heading toward Vas.
“Oh god, he can’t fight them while carrying Ilayda!”
“Worry about yourself for now,” Evie said. She was already scanning the room for weapons.
I surveyed the roof. “We go up.”
She didn’t argue. “You first. I’ll guard our backs.”
I climbed up the side of the balcony and onto the roof, refusing to look down. Evie pulled herself up behind me as the door crashed open.
This was not ideal. I crawled along the roof, pausing only to wipe my slippery palms on my jeans. Evie followed me as we crossed to the other side of the house.
“Now what?”
“We jump.”
“One of us breaks an ankle, and we’re dead.”
“I have a spell I’ve been working on. It’s the one Gary helped me figure out, but I haven’t refined it, so it’s going to take a lot out of me. Can you ward our backs while we run?”
“Yes.” If Evie could get us on the ground safely, I could eke out what little power I had left.
“Okay. We need to jump.”
I glanced at her, and she gave me a look that told me to move my ass. I wiggled over to the side of the sloped roof, my legs hanging over the empty air. I trusted Evie, but—
“Go,” she hissed, and I jumped.
The ground felt like rubber when I hit it. The spell only lasted for a split second—just long enough to prevent broken bones. A moment later, Evie fell to her knees next to me, her face ashen. I took a deep breath and threw up a ward to cover both of us.
Then we ran.
“Toward the portal,” Evie said.
“They’ll know where we’re going,” I huffed. I really had to start working out.
“Vas will be sending the demons for us.”
She was right. All we had to do was stay alive until backup arrived.
A stream of power hit my ward, and I fell to my knees. Evie was instantly there, pulling me to my feet. She turned toward the fae guards chasing us and raised her hand.
“No killing, remember?” I managed to get out, grabbing her arm and hauling her away.
The look on her face said she wasn’t happy about it, but she nodded. Vas was already at war with the light fae. The last thing we needed was for them to come after Evie.
