"Revelatio Mortis!"
The spell hits Morgan like a sonic wave of pure light. She staggers, her concentration breaking—and Emilymoves. Her hands slam into the ground, and a shockwave of power ripples outward, shattering Morgan's undead minions.
I blur into action, fangs bared. Morgan recovers fast, hurling a bolt of necromantic energy that nearly takes my head off. But she's focusing on me—missing Emily drawing symbols in blood behind her.
"You really think you can beat me?" Morgan laughs, darkness swirling around her like a tornado. "I am death incarnate!"
"No," I bare my fangs in a savage grin. "You're just a distraction."
Emily's spell hits with the force of a nuclear bomb. Sacred magic collides with dark energy, and the explosion throws us back. Morgan shrieks—a sound of pure rage—as golden chains of light wrap around her, burning where they touch.
I snatch up Seraphina and run, Emily right behind me. Morgan's howl of fury follows us up the stairs, along with the sound of her power trying to break Emily's binding.
"It won't hold her long," Emily pants as we sprint. "We need to move.Now."
She's already pressed her phone to her ear, barking orders: "Get to the car. Plan B time."
The bond pulses weakly in my chest, Seraphina's life flickering like a dying star.
Hold on, baby girl. Just hold on.
Behind us, Morgan's power swells like a tsunami about to break, dark energy crackling through the air. The metaphorical shit isn't just about to hit the fan—it's loading into a industrial-grade cannon aimed straight at our asses.
Time to see how fast we can really run.
The ballroom's crystal chandeliers blur past as I streak through the crowd, Seraphina's blood dripping in our wake. Masked faces turn—nostrils flaring at the scent of my injured angel. A hundred pairs of predatory eyes lock onto us like heat-seeking missiles.
Move. Move. MOVE.
I wrench open the Cadillac's rear hatch, the SUV's black lines gleaming under the moonlight. With infinite care, I ease Seraphina into the cargo area, her mangled wings filling the space—white feathers, matted with her blood, scatter across the carpeted floor.
The rapid patter of running feet pulls my focus. Emily, Sable, and Brax—now in his usual scary as fuck demon getup—sprint across the parking lot, their faces painted with desperate urgency. Relief and dread twist in my gut as they close the distance.
Then all hell breaks loose.
A searing flash burns my retinas, followed by a deafeningBOOMthat feels like a sledgehammer to the chest. The shockwave slams me into the Cadillac, the rear hatch buckling under my spine. Glass shatters, metal groans, and the bitter taste of magic scorches my tongue.
What the everloving fuck?!
Ears buzzing, I force my eyes open. The parking lot swims into view, now a jagged metal and debris hellscape. Ozone and burnt flesh clog my nostrils, underscored by the cloying scent of blood.
Far too much blood.
"No... God, no..." Denial and horror claw up my throat as I stagger forward, searching for the others.
Brax is nearest, his hulking demon form shielding Emily. Emily's wild eyes find mine, desperation and dread swirling in their depths before darting to the blast's epicenter.
Fucking Christ...
Sable lies broken and bleeding at the heart of a blackened crater. Razor-edged shrapnel protrudes gruesomely from her body, glittering obscenely in the moonlight. But it's the gaping, fist-sized hole punched through her sternum that steals my breath.
I'm at her side instantly, hands hovering uselessly over the grievous wound. Her heart...fuck,I can see her shredded heart through the gore and splintered ribs. It beats weakly, each contraction expelling more vital blood.
"Sable! Shit, stay with me!" I rip into my wrist, pressing the bleeding wound to her slack lips. "Drink, goddammit! DRINK!"
But my blood merely mingles with hers, spilling past her chin in rivulets. Her injuries... they're too catastrophic. Even vampire blood can't regenerate damage this extensive.
"SABLE!" Emily's anguished howl rips through the night as she crawls to her best friend's side. Her hands tremble violently as she presses them against the carnage, trying desperately to hold Sable's life inside her broken body. Each sob carrying the weight of a thousand shattered hopes. "Sable... no...no…oh god, please.Pleasedon't leave us."
