He groaned. Rolled. Moaned.
She grinned. “Petrina sends her love.”
Behind her, slightly muffled within the din, a familiar voice shouted her name.
Augustus had called Selene’s name three times before she heard.
She turned—blood streaking her face, triumph in her eyes.
The air filled his chest like it hadn’t in weeks.
“Have you finished playing with the children, love?” he asked, and immediately lost the battle to rein in his grin.
She sauntered to the edge of the roof, hands on her hips. “Did you have something else in mind?”
“Come play with me for a bit. I might need you to protect me from any monsters we might encounter.”
“I know I shouldn’t feel insulted,” Blaze said mid-parry, “but I am.”
Selene grinned and opened her mouth to respond. Her gaze lifted to somewhere behind him, and her eyes widened.
The street exploded with motion. The last of Thorne’s men surged like a dam breaking.
Augustus pushed through them, sword flashing with every step. He was fucking done with this fight. It was time to take the head off the snake.
“Find Thorne,” he told his friends.
Blaze and Lili fought at his back, covering flanks, driving hard. There were too many to kill one by one, so he didn’t try. He wounded, disarmed, kicked, and shoved.
Soon, they were joined by Selene and Oskar. And then they were like a wave gaining force, gathering as they went. Roman and his warriors. Omar and Eliza. Felix and Pavle. Hector and Victoria. Luc, Roslyn, and Xavier. Leda and Kelly.
And so many more. They were an unbreakable wall of fury with one goal and enough strength left for one man.
Thorne.
And there he was.
The man who tried to steal his future. Who ripped Selene from her home. Who took Mettius’s leg. Who whispered lies and poison through every port in the world for the last seventeen years.
Augustus shoved past the last man in his path, chest heaving.
Thorne stood alone in what must have been Olish’s town square, blood dripping from his blade.
Half the surrounding buildings were on fire. Ash swirled in the air like snowfall, and smoke coiled around his legs.
Selene stopped at Augustus’s side, wiping her bloodied mouth, knives sheathed.
Augustus gave her hand a squeeze before focusing fully on his enemy.
“I have to admit,” Thorne began, finger-combing his hair away from his forehead, “I didn’t think you’d fight this hard.”
“Aren’t you the ‘know thy enemy’ guy?” Augustus asked. He motioned to the men and women behind him. “You understand what a family is—maybe better than anyone. Isn’t that why we’re here? Granted, you’reactually insane…”
Wingbeats flapped through the air moments before a familiar weight alighted on Augustus’s shoulder. Little Gus’s neck curled forward, and a growl ripped past his throat. His tail hugged behind Augustus’s neck to the other side.
Thorne’s gaze flicked from Gus to Turos, who was now perched on Selene’s shoulder. Unlike Gus, Turos’s mouth glowed with building fire.
Selene scratched beneath Turos’s chin. “Tell your people to back off.”
