Raven blinked away the spots swimming in her vision from the quick change in illumination. A groan came from her right. She pulled her wand from her sleeve and ignited the tip, casting light across the cavern. She pointed it at the nearest torch.“Fotiá.”Flames ignited within.
“Fuck me,” Clarissa said, rubbing the back of her head. “That hurt like hell.”
She reached over to shake Avery by the shoulder. She roused and groaned.
“Leena? Charlie?”
Leena stepped out from under the remains of the stairs. “We’re fine. I sheltered in the crevice there when I felt the pressure build.” She handed Charlie to Raven. The babe was awake now, and Leena gave her a kiss on her platinum curls before letting go.
“Gabriel?” Raven approached the cradle with Charlie in her arms. The area had become a giant mass of oddly piled dragons. They were all stacked on top of one another, bent over the grooves and mounds of the cave floor in various states of consciousness. Raven shifted Charlie to her hip to help Colin up, followed by Sylas. Nathaniel shoved Xavier off him after getting an unintentional look up his kilt, then stood and smoothed a hand through his hair. Leena helped Alexander, who removed his leather jacket and beat it with his hand before putting it on again.
Rowan grunted and dusted off her dress. There was a tear at the hem. “Damn it! This was couture!”
Tobias and Gabriel helped each other up, and Gabriel was at her side in a heartbeat. Raven kissed and embraced him.
“We did it,” Gabriel said.
She nodded, but her eyes were drawn back to the cradle, where one more body lay. A body where no body should be. With ghost-white hair, his naked, pale skin carved with symbols, the man wore a ring with a central diamond.
“Gabriel?” Raven’s throat tightened.
Gabriel followed her line of sight, as did the other siblings. The cavern went eerily quiet.
“Who is that?” Alexander asked, and Gabriel gave him a wild look. “It can’t be. He had black hair, and where did the tattoos come from?”
Clarissa gasped. “We did a resurrection spell.”
They all crept forward, surrounding the dragon whose white wings were splayed awkwardly across the stone. Raven thought he matched his ring, a diamond brought to life, a ghost, a wraith, an animated corpse.
The dragon opened his eyes, and there was a collective inhale at his silver irises. Gabriel softened beside her, collecting himself.
“Marius,” he said. “Welcome back, brother.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Colin moved to Leena’s side, his body seeking hers out even as his eyes were locked on to Marius. She slid her hand into his and squeezed.
“Breathe, Colin.”
“I watched him die,” he whispered.
She stroked her fingers along the side of his arm, a simple touch to let him know she was there. “I know.”
Gabriel sat Marius up and shook him by the shoulders. “Marius? Brother?”
The dragon’s strange silver eyes roved to Gabriel’s, but he said nothing. He seemed aware to Colin but unable to respond.
“He’s in shock,” Tobias said. “I’ve got to believe being dead for three hundred years or so and then being yanked back among the living will do that to you.”
Thunder came from above, and stone rained down around them. Raven’s shielding spell shimmered as it buckled at the edges. Colin’s wings shot out protectively over Leena.
“I can’t hold it,” Raven said. “We’ve got to get out of here—now.”
Sylas pointed to a tunnel behind him. “That one leads to the garden… if it’s not flooded with lava.”
Raven shook her head. “Too late. The volcano is erupting. I’ve been holding it back. That passage is toast.”
“Why isn’t it working? I thought the spell was supposed to wake Aitna and that she’d take care of the rest?” Avery asked. She was bleeding from the side of her head and hung on to Xavier as if he were the only thing holding her up.
