“Get the fuck back here.” Macen’s panicked voice booms over the noise, and it pulls my attention away from Dante.
I whip around in time to see Jess bolt out of the shield, sprinting toward Ronin’s sister. Lucy doesn’t see the shifter bearing down on her. “Run!!” Jess shouts, but she’s too late. Claws rake Lucy’s stomach, blood spraying against the firelight.
Ronin’s roar rips through the chaos. It’s so raw, so filled with pain. He’s on the shifter before I can blink, invisible one second, solid the next. His hands twist and the shifter’s head tears free with a crack. The sound that follows isn’t victory—it’s pure sorrow, torn straight from his soul. Then he’s gone, tracing away with Lucy in his arms before the body hits the ground.
His scream is still ripping through me. This can’t be happening! For a split-second everything stops while my grief tries to swallow me whole. It hurts, but I shove it aside and force my voice out. “Jess, get to Graven. Run!”
She takes a few steps back, colliding with one of the Recreants. The demon snarls, shifting his attention to Jess long enough for the hellhuman he’s fighting to sink its jaws into his neck.
“Get the fuck out of the way, human.” Sable appears, standing over the injured demon, and stabs the hellhuman in the chest. “You’re fucking worthless,” she spits at Jess.
“God’s damn it, Jess. Do as you’re fucking told and get back here.” Graven runs in her direction, his shield stretching. He slices the head off a hellhuman, but he doesn’t reach her in time.
No! My heart sinks as Dante grabs her by the neck and holds her in the air, his claws clicking against one another because she’s so small.
“Let her go!” I jerk forward, but wings slam down in front of me before I take a step. Zarreth stands between us, fire flowing off him in waves.
“Oooh,” Dante purrs, eyes raking over him. “Look at you. Furious. Glorious. Always so noble.” His gaze slides to me, claws flexing against Jess’ throat. “But nobility won’t keep your precious little friend alive, Frances. Only you can do that. Surrender, and I’ll let her go.”
I take a step forward. It’s Jess.MyJess. The instinct to give myself up for her burns so deep, it nearly drags me out of Zarreth’s shadow.
“No!” Jess chokes out, thrashing in Dante’s grip. Her eyes lock on mine, wide and desperate. “Don’t you dare, Frankie!”
Zarreth’s hot grip sears through my arm when he pulls me back. His wings flare as his voice lashes out. “Touch her, and I’ll tear you apart piece by fucking piece.”
I want to so badly. I’d trade my life for hers in a heartbeat, but I know they’re right. If I go to him, it’s over—Jess, Zarreth, the realms. My hands curl into fists. “No,” I rasp.
Dante chuckles, but it’s soon cut off when his gaze lands on my chest. For the first time, his grin falters. Suspicion narrows his eyes, and his words lose all charm. “Where did you get that?”
My hand flies up to the pendant. “I don’t know,” I rasp.
He sighs, tightening his grip on Jess’ throat until she coughs. “Please don’t make me do the whole back-and-forth-threatening thing. It’s a waste of time when everyone knows I’ll kill her the second you don’t cooperate.”
“I’m telling the truth. I swear. Please don’t hurt her!”
He loosens his grip. “Fine!” His mouth curls into something cruel. “I won’t hurt her.” His chin lifts, voice ringing out through the chaos. “Beast!”
The cloaked figure steps forward and lifts his hood.
“It can’t be…it’s impossible.”
CHAPTER 22
Frankie
The creature before me isn’t human. Not anymore. His jaw sits lower than it should. Patches of dark fur shadow the edges of his cheeks. And those eyes…I can’t bear to look at them. I know them the way I know my own. It’s wrong. They don’t belong to that face.
He steps forward, claws scraping the ground. My body jerks back as something inside me cracks. I prayed for this moment. I bled for it. I curled up in his room on nights I couldn’t breathe and held the flannel he left behind. And now he stands here, beside my worst enemy. How is this possible?
“Nate?” I barely recognize my voice. He doesn’t look at me, doesn’t even flinch. He just stands there, a weapon sheathed at Dante’s side.
“Talk to me, Nate!” I plead. “Say something!”
Dante squeals, like a kid on Christmas morning. “Ohh, look at that face. Frances, darling, you look devastated! What’s wrong? Shocked your sweet brother isn’t tripping over himself to save the Realm Eater?”
Jess twists in his hold, fingernails scraping at his wrists, but Dante’s eyes stay locked on me. “You left him to rot, remember? You chose yourmate, forgetting all about your brother. Why would he come crawling back to you now when he stands next to me of his own free will?”
Fire lashes the ground beside me, Zarreth’s voice a low snarl. “You call that free will? You didn’t free him, you made him into a monster.”
