She hugged him, envisioning her flames engulfing him and burning away whatever harmful elixir Lemmuns used on him. She pictured Thierry’s collar melting to the ground like liquid as hers had done.
The large stone statue twitched under her embrace. It heated and loosened and softened.
And Thierry’s warm arms shot around her, holding her close to him as he dug his face into her hair and the crook of her neck and kissed whatever he could reach of her. “Nix.” He held her so tightly, yet, she finally felt she could breathe again.
Her other mates stumbled over to her and wrapped their arms around her as well.
The group hugged and caught their breaths and held onto each other until every flinched, pained expression turned to one of hope. One of blessed freedom.
A loud, clattering, metallic sound interrupted their moment of reunion.
Nix pulled herself from the warm embraces of her mates and watched as Lemmuns staggered and gripped a metal table for balance after he had pulled the metal drill from his bleeding chest.
“Not…possible,” he murmured.
“You…” Nix began. “I already killed you once. It was very cathartic. You burned until you were ash.”
Lemmuns pressed a hand to his chest wound. “H-How…”
“But I realize now, burning you—it was too fast.”
Lemmuns inched away, stumbling back as he tried to exit.
Nix’s mates circled around him, like wolves waiting for their alpha to howl permission to pounce.
Because Nix was their alpha. Her mates were some of the most powerful winged shifters to exist…and they bent the knee toher.
“First, I need you to do something. Text Kellan. Now. Tell him to summon the council at the academy. You’ve had a scientific breakthrough that they must all know about immediately.”
Lemmuns shivered with fear. “I do this and…you won’t hurt me?”
“I won’t hurt you,” Nix promised, even though shefeltthe loud disapproval from her hulking alpha mates.
Lemmuns trembled as he fished out his phone from his pocket and typed the message. Once it was sent, he showed her the screen and exhaled in relief when she nodded.
“Bael,” Nix said.
“Yes, my queen?” her incubus mate asked, ready to fulfill any wish she had—no matter how sick, twisted, or violent.
“I want Lemmuns in Hell, living out his own torturous experiments. Perpetually. Forever.”
Lemmuns faltered. “Wait, but—”
Bael grinned, rubbed his hands together excitedly, and transported the man to Hell.
Ryker’s throat was already healing thanks to Nix. Her red flames, so different from the others that came from her skin in the past, had burned away any trace of Evernell in Ryker’s system. He still could not speak, but he projected his every thought from his gaze, boring into hers.
I love you.
You are perfect.
My savior. My mate.
As they exited the mysterious medical room, Nix led them left, and they all followed down the dimly lit hallway.
“Where the hell is this place?” Bael muttered under his breath.
“It must be somewhere on campus,” Thierry assumed. “They would have had trouble transporting us much distance from the academy.”
