“Crone!” I shout. “Is this how much your peoples’ lives are worth to you?”
In front of me, my demon wolves slowly release the four soldiers they immobilized, while Malia and Taniya also take my cue and release the soldiers they’re pinning down.
I’m filled with gratitude for the trust my sisters give me. Right now, their instincts would be telling them to keep fighting—to end these demons the same way we ended low-level demons Earthside. But my sisters back away, regrouping beside me.
Tyrus strides toward the other soldiers as he orders them to step to the side of the bridge, but his command is drowned out by a shout from within the royals.
Arga storms toward Malia’s magical barrier, shocking me when he breaks right through it and the power in the shield disintegrates and vanishes.
“Enough!” he shouts as he grabs the nearest soldier and knocks him down. “Useless pieces of shit. I’ll kill the lesser beings myself.”
Tyrus darts out in front of him—a demon protecting his men is not a sight I expected to see—but I’m faster, grabbing Tyrus and pushing him behind me. I don’t miss Tyrus’s sharp breath when I shove him, although I’m not sure if he’s offended or startled by my action. Either way, he hurries to pull the fallen soldier to his feet and back away from Arga.
“Not without going through me,” I snarl, my wolf taking dominance.
Arga snorts and attempts to force his way around me, but I step into his path and get in his face, a desperate move. A cold dread has risen up inside me and I can’t stop it. Fighting the soldiers was dangerous—fighting Arga could be deadly. When I first arrived, Esta whispered that I had my father’s violet hair and that meant I had his power. Each of my siblings has a different color hair and I can only assume that means they each have a different power. I don’t know what Arga’s could be, but standing this close to him…
My skin is tingling, my instincts are screaming, and there’s a bite to the air around him that tells me getting this close is a truly dangerous move.
I can’t let him anywhere near my sisters.
“Or are you afraid of me?” I ask, deliberately goading him so I can maintain his attention and give my pack time to regroup behind me.
If there’s anything I know about arrogance, it’s that it makes someone want to win at all costs. Arga won’t like that I’m challenging him—and he definitely won’t like being treated as if he’s weak.
My demon power rises again, but this time, it’s burning cold, a rush that I can’t… quite… control. A response to the bite of his power. But more than that, it’s a response to the fear that swirls within my heart.
There’s no way off this bridge. My sisters can’t escape.
I need a way out and I need time to find it, and the only way I can think to buy time right now… is to fight this asshole demon.
“Little sister,” Arga says, towering over me. “You’re an unwanted surprise, but you won’t be around for long—”
“Yes, I’ve already been told I’m going to die soon, thanks,” I say, cutting him off.
His high cheekbones accentuate his angry flush, the expression in his blue eyes growing darker while blood-red swirls of magic begin to twine around his torso.
I rise up on my tiptoes so that I’m eye level with Arga and whisper, “Why don’t we find out if that’s true?”
He freezes, his eyes widening, and I suppose I shocked him by seeming indifferent to death. Far from it, but I’m desperate.
“We’re supposed to end each other eventually, aren’t we?” I ask. “Why wait?”
CHAPTERFOUR
Arga clenches his fists, and the burgundy glow that was gathering around his broad chest swirls down his arm and plays around his right fist.
Just as his lips twist and I sense he’s about to strike, Crone’s voice breaks across us.
“Arga!” Her shout is a deep vibration through the crystal beneath our feet. “You must not!”
Arga’s attention snaps to her where she rushes toward us, but I continue to goad him, demanding that he return his attention to me. I can’t let Crone take control of this situation again. “You do exactly what Crone says, don’t you?” I ask.
Arga’s jaw clenches. “You’re playing on my last nerve, little sister—”
“Nova!” I snap. “My name is Nova. Start using it.”
As my demon power rises even more within me—and Arga’s power flickers around his face—we edge closer toward each other. Arga’s expression darkens dangerously and his fist rises—
