I had just returned to their side. But now, that same terrible weight was pressing down on me again—like some invisible force was curling its fingers around my fate, reminding me I had a different path.
My gaze darted between the two directions. The pressure only worsened.
Then—
An ungodly shriek tore through the air, splitting my ears.
I screamed and dropped to one knee, cupping my ears as agony lanced through my skull. Beside me, Maureen crumpled too, her face contorted in pain as Jackal hunched over her, claws flying at a werewolf lunging from the smoke.
“Banshee!” I screamed.
“Fucking kill her,” Maureen hissed through gritted teeth. “We won’t be able to hear a damn thing if she keeps at it.”
Ignoring the ringing pain in my ears, I stood and scanned the battlefield. A pale woman with beady sapphire eyes and bright pink hair was easy to spot within the horde of demons and abominations. Her gaping mouth stretched down to her ribcage, several rows of jagged teeth on display.
“Shut the hell up,” I muttered, heaving my sword at her.
In a second, my blade pierced through her open mouth, flinging her body backward. The pain in my head vanished instantly, though the ringing still roared in my ears. I could only hope we hadn’t taken too much damage to our hearing.
“You three, take the west side,” August ordered.
My gaze darted to Nova, still clinging to his side. She was barely upright, blood trailing from her ears.
“Is Nova okay?” I asked, slicing down a demon that lunged at me while Maureen dispatched another.
“Yes,” Isabella said, leaning on Sebastian as the two of them made their way toward us. “I think witches are more sensitive to a banshee’s scream. Even more so for a proxy like Nova…”
“I’m fine.” Nova lifted her chin, but her voice wavered. “Let’s go.”
“I’ll go with Kitty,” Barron said, cutting between the couples to reach me.
“Good idea,” August agreed. “Even if she’s the Devil’s marked mate, we still don’t understand why he kidnapped her. Nothing about what he did makes sense.”
My heart felt like someone had taken a knife and carved out the insides. Funny how the pain in my head was nothing compared to the ache of thinking about my mate.
There was no time to get teary-eyed. I gave Sebastian and August a slow nod before Barron shoved me in the opposite direction. Jackal yanked my weapon out of the banshee’s mouth as we ran past her. I couldn’t hear anything beyond the approaching enemy. As soon as he tossed me the blade, I grabbed it midair and slashed through the first abomination in our path. Together, we cut a path forward, pushing as fast as we could.
It didn’t take as long as I thought to find the portal’s source.
Creatures were spilling out, a flood of them. And just to the left—barking orders I still couldn’t hear—wasHarvest.
Flames danced high on his head, his pale skin glowing like bone in the shadows of the woods. Red leaves fell all around us, bathing the area in an eerie crimson tinge.
“He’s mortal, right?” Barron asked, stepping forward with a dangerous glint in his eyes.
As if he’d sensed us, Harvest turned—and smiled.
“Ah. So glad you guys came,” he said, voice somehow audible and sharp despite the chaos. “You’re still needed, after all.”
I frowned.
Maureen glanced around us. “What does he mean by that?” When no one answered, she repeated it, voice sharper.“What does he mean?”
He wasn’t looking at any of them.
He was looking straight atme.
I didn’t think he meant my siblings. Not with that gaze. He had been after me ever since he discovered who I was to Luke.
