Leon isn’t letting up on his assault, and if I stop defending, my friends might die.
He continues to toy with me, and I ignore his amused grin as I spot something behind him.
The Fae Queen is facing off against a massive silver wolf – Ragna. And while the Queen looks untouched, Ragna’s coat is slashed and slick with blood. Still, she doesn’t back down.
But that isn’t what caught my attention. Two pink-haired fairies stand behind the Queen – Lilanthara and Rosie. Both look like they’re in terrible shape, and the only way I can tell them apart is from Lilanthara’s three-inch nails.
The sisters have stopped fighting, and Lilanthara holds something out to Rosie. Rosie glances over to where Sin and Irena are fighting, before turning back to her sister and taking the item.
It’s a dagger. And from the color, I’m guessing it’s iron.
“Do it!” Lilanthara mouths at Rosie.
Just as Rosie lifts the dagger, Leon lets out an irritated growl and apparates in front of me.
At the same time, more fissures erupt over the battlefield, only now, there are hundreds, splintering through the ground like broken glass.
My heart skips a beat when I spot Varian swoop down and shove Magnus away from a fissure. He doesn’t slow as he takes to the skies once more, only to be swarmed by angels.
“You know, you really are pathetically bad at this,” Leon notes with a condescending tone.
Heat licks at my heels as he says the words, and I glance over my shoulder just in time to see a river of lava edging closer. I jump, only barely managing to avoid being burned.
“I’m not even trying, and look at you, you’re scrambling. It’s almost funny, making you dance,” Leon continues, looking self-satisfied.
Instead of responding, I run forward, even if it means getting closer to him. Every minute I keep him busy is a minute that Hades and Sin can find a way to stop Irena. My steps waver, though, when the earth below my feet starts to shift.
I stumble.
Leon’s grin widens, and he advances on me, now only a few feet away. “I wonder, how quickly do you think Sin will die, when he’s distracted by the sound of your screams?” He adjusts himself as he asks it, his steps growing faster.
But before he can take another step, his smug expression is swallowed by thick shadows that stuff themselves down his throat.
“Don’t you touch her!” Arianna yells as she apparates only a few dozen feet away.
Her attack only lasts a few seconds, though, when Leon’s powers glow brighter, negating her shadows.
“Whore,” he growls, looking in her direction.
I see my window. Before I’ve even fully stood back up, electricity crackles over my skin, and I send a bolt firing at Leon.
At the same time, Arianna sends more shadows his way, only to let out a scream when Rydon apparates directly before her.
His fist collides with her face, and a surge of rage washes over me as he tries to shove something onto her hands – black cuffs.
“No!” I scream.
But before I have a chance to help, Hades apparates beside Arianna. Shadows and murder radiate from him in waves as he slams a dagger into the guard’s neck.
I let out a breath, only to realize I’ve forgotten to keep an eye on Leon.
His hand grips my throat before I even have a chance to face him. There’s another pulse from his tattoos, and the ground behind me falls away.
My feet dangle over the precipice, and I lash out with more of my power, even as my gasp is lodged inside my throat.
His grip is punishingly tight, and his power sears against mine, nullifying it.
“Do you remember, Vivian, what I told you the first time I held your life in my hands?” His fingers dig into my flesh, his nails piercing my skin. “I told you that I own your very breath, and I meant it. You’ll breathe for me, or you won’t breathe at all.”
