Even Dante buckles, driven to his knees.
My eyes fall to Jess. No new blood. My hands stay on her neck, fingers shaking. The magic is still pouring from me. I can’t stop it, but it doesn’t touch her.
Zarreth’s blade flashes, arcing for Dante’s throat.
“Kill me, and everyone sired to me dies.” Dante’s voice crackles through the air. “Including the redhead.”
Zarreth snarls, halting mid-swing, fire scorching around him. His fingers tighten around the hilt, chest heaving with every breath. “Fuck!” He grits out, finally lowering his sword.
“Zarreth!” Macen shouts. He’s on his knees, eyes wet with crimson when he reaches out his hand, a pair of binding cuffs between his fingers.
Zarreth seizes them, moving in a blur while he snaps them onto Dante’s wrist. Metal clicks and bastard screams.
Macen falls completely over, his body convulsing on the ground, blood now pouring from his mouth. I need to stop this!. Please, God, Buddha…Theia! Help me! The necklace thrums when I mention the Goddess of Light, so I say her name out loud. “Theia! Help me, Theia!”
My stone scorches against my skin. Heat sears my throat, sharp enough to pull a cry from me, as the shadows slam back into my veins. A storm swirls inside the light stone, slowly fading to white.Thank you!
The moment my magic retreats, Nate and Dante’s horde of shifters disappear. Everyone else begins moving again, wiping blood from their faces. A mixture of relief and anger hangs heavy in the air.
“Macen!” Zarreth shouts. The cuffs are around Dante’s wrists, but they only bind his magic. Even with Zarreth’s fire and brute strength, he struggles to keep the demon-shifter down. Macen recovers, moving quickly to help contain him.
Jess cries. It’s painful, but it sings to my soul because it’s loud, stronger than before.
Graven’s by my side in a heartbeat. “Stupid fucking human!“ He places his hand on her cheek as color slowly returns to her face. She stops trembling, her cries quiet down as she drifts to sleep.
“What did you do?” I panic. “Why isn’t she moving.”
He clenches his jaw, speaking through gritted teeth. “I took her pain…” He inhales sharply. “She’s alive.”
She’s alive. Thank God, she’s alive.
Grabbing the front of my shirt, he tears away a strip of fabric. He quickly winds it around her neck and returns his hand to her shoulder.Please work.
Dante laughs as Zarreth and Macen jerk him forward, shoving him into the grip of two massive warriors. The sound rattles through the air, taunting, like he’s in on a joke none of us get. Macen’s voice cuts hard. “Take him to the Hole, now!”
Dante grins, blood streaking his teeth. “It doesn’t matter where you take me. I won’t be there long.”
“What about her?” Sable steps forward, blood staining her blonde hair. “She should be thrown in the Hole along with them.”
“Shut your fucking mouth.” Zarreth stands in front of me, blocking her from my view.
“Why? She brought this on us!” She opens her arms wide. “Look around. Some of us lost loved ones tonight, children were injured.”
Bodies litter the ground, demons crumpled, a few shifters torn open. I glance at a young demon with blood-stained tears dried to his cheek. It’s the one who needed extra help when I taught them how to throw knives. He cowers when I look at him.Idid this to him.
“I heard him call her the Realm Eater,” a voice lifts from the crowd of demons surrounding us now. “She nearly killed us. She’s just as bad as the shifters.”
“Get her out of here.” A rock comes flying and hits me in the shoulder, followed by another.
I lean over Jess, blocking her from the rocks as much as possible. “Stop it! You're hurting her!”
“She deserves…” Her words are cut off as Zarreth’s fingers tighten around her throat. She kicks, the tips of her boots barely reaching the ground as she claws at his hand.
“You fear my mate? The one holding back?” His eyes scan the crowd, flames dancing on the tips of his fingers, searing Sable’s flesh. “That’s a big mistake. I’ll kill every single one of you.” His grip tightens, completely cutting off her airflow. “Starting with you.”
Macen slowly moves toward Zarreth like he’s afraid Sable’s head will be lying on the ground with the rest of the carnage if he moves too suddenly. “Zarreth, let her go.”
His nostrils flare for a moment, flames flickering in his eyes, but he finally releases her. Sable collapses to the ground, fury carved across her face. “Things were fine before they got here,” she spits.
