“I grew stronger after drinking from Barbie when she was in my house,” Louis said, flexing his fingers. “And then my power leveled up again after we swore the blood vow. Man, I feel invincible.”
“That’s great news, brothers,” Cade called. “If our bond shares power, we should be able to channel Killian’s portal ability?—”
“Then let’s summon our army,” Silas cut in, always the one rushing into action.
“Slow down,” Louis called. “Let’s test it first instead of making fools of ourselves in front of the entire army if this portal shit doesn’t work.”
“It’ll work,” Rowan said confidently. “Have the generals get our best warriors ready in Trailblazer Courtyard.”
“We have no time to lose,” Cade said. “Looking like fools is the least of our concerns.”
We strode toward the courtyard where the army was assembling.
At the front of the gathering, the heirs and I joined hands.
The first attempt singed Silas’s eyebrows. He leapt back, breaking the connection, and glared at everyone. “Why am I always the one being targeted?”
I suddenly remembered the frozen dick incident and fought not to laugh. “Well, maybe you’re just too lovable, wolf king?”
Louis chortled.
The second try opened a portal to what looked like Antarctica; we caught a glimpse of massive ice sheets and a flock of penguins.
“Concentrate!” Cade barked. “Intent matters. Close your eyes if you have to and think of our mage Barbie. Think of where she would be.”
Our hands clasped tighter, with me at the center. We squeezed our eyes shut and focused, bendingthe very air into submission.
Silence. Then the air began to boil and hiss, the sound shifting into the grinding of stone on stone. The air grew so hot, our eyes snapped open in alarm.
Before us, a shimmering portal opened into a land of nightmares. Beneath a bleeding sky, an army of Shriekersstood massed. Behind them, rising from blackened earth, was a grotesque tower built from fused bone and despair.
“That’s Ruin’s lair!” I cried. “The palace of horror Barbie and I escaped a decade ago!”
“Shit, it worked!” Silas breathed.
And the portal had conveniently opened at the rear of the enemy forces, their attention focused elsewhere. It was a perfect chance to strike them from behind.
We widened the portal with our combined will and powers, stretching the shimmering edges until a full squad could pass through at once. The last of our combined army from all five kingdoms settled into formation, waiting. Generals from the different Houses took their positions at the front, their warriors armed with blood blades and blood shields—Bea’s newest innovation.
The flags of each house snapped in the wind.
The heirs scanned their army. Not a massive one, but quality over quantity.
“Today, we make it count!” Cade roared, raising his blood blade high.
“Let’s go get our girl,” Silas growled, the promise of violence thick in his voice.
As one, the heirs and I led the charge, diving headfirst into the portal’s rippling surface.
We had barely oriented ourselves on the other side, the acrid stench of the place filling our lungs, when an enormous figure stepped forward from the demon ranks. He stood eight feet tall, his crimson eyes burning like embers. Horns curved back from his skull, and his skin looked like cooled lava. The stripes on his armor said he was at least a captain. The demonic power rolling off him felt ancient. An archdemon.
The heirs raised their blood blades in unison, and my creation magic uncoiled within me, ready to make him a part of the landscape.
It would be fun.
“Wait!” the archdemon called, and bowed.
I narrowed my eyes. Demons didn’t bow to other species, and no way would an archdemon bow to us.
