Reed’s magic kept them trapped in their nightmares as I did it.
My power slinked back into me.
Hunter reached me first, grabbing my shoulders and physically moving his hands over my body to check for injuries. A breath of relief left him as he pulled me against his chest and inhaled my scent. “Thank Fates you weren’t hurt.”
Reed and Skel grabbed Bram and Dex from the bridge, and their wounds were already healing as they made it to us.
“I’m okay,” I promised. “I stripped both Shadowheart and Hemlock of their magic. They’re practically human now.”
“They’repowerless?” Dex uttered.
“Yes,” I confirmed.
Dex and Bram shared a murderous glance.
“Wake them up,” Bram told Reed as he went to stand over his father’s body.
Dex did the same. “We’re ready to face them.”
Reed nodded, gesturing to the two of them, and they woke up.
“Fuck!” Rod shouted, confusion furrowing his brows as he crawled toward me, but his eyes widened as he realized he couldn’t access any of his magical essence. “My magic, where is it?”
“Both of you have no more magical essence,” I answered as Hunter wrapped me tighter in his embrace and Reed stepped in front of us so he couldn’t see me.
“Impossible!” Harry snarled, jumping to his feet and swaying, jabbing a finger at Bram. “You! You piece of shit! You’re fucking worthless! You can’t evendieright!”
“You were supposed to be mine!” Rod screamed at me.
Dex lost it, and his shadows exploded, wrapping around Rod’s throat, tightening with each second, slicing through skin and tendon with ease. “She’smine.Not yours!”
Rod cackled. “But I’ve seen her come, you know, that makes her mine, too, doesn’t it?”
Dex’s horns expanded, and his tail swished dangerously behind him. “Thanks for reminding me, you fucking sperm donor.”
Dex’s shadows pushed into Rod’s eye sockets, popping each eye out and tearing the tendon as he yanked them out.
Rod let out an ear-splitting scream that made me feel like my ears were going to start bleeding. “Stop it! I’m your father! You will respect me!”
“I’ve never respected scum like you.” Dex grabbed his eyes in his palm before prying Rod’s mouth open and stuffing both eyeballs into his mouth, closing Rod’s mouth forcefully. “Now, accept your punishment for seeing something you shouldn’t have. That’s what you always told me, isn’t it?”
Rod’s protests were muffled as Dex made his father eat his own eyes.
Once he swallowed both, he gasped, whimpering in pain as he jerked away from Dex’s shadows, but his attempts were useless. “You are not worthy of me!”
“It’s you that’s not fucking worthy of me or my sister!” Dex screamed in his face. “I sever ties with the Shadowhearts for myself and my sister, Selene!”
Rod’s neck buckled under the shadow magic that tightened one last time, and his head popped off, rolling to Dex’s feet.
“Fuck you, Rod Shadowheart.” Dex’s bare foot came down on his father’s head until it splintered, crushing it. An awful squelching noise resounded as he stomped on Rod’s head over and over again.
“You ruined my fucking life!” Harry spluttered at Bram, shoving his finger into Bram’s chest again. “Melinda never would’ve known about Janet ifyouhadn’t been born! You piece of shit demon!”
“You’rethe piece of shit!” Bram screamed as his magic roared to life. Chaos leapt out and growled at Harry. The spectral wolf was just as eager to kill him as Bram was. “You’reworthless. You were always the problem, never me! You’re fucked up, Hemlock. Way more fucked up than I ever was.”
He laughed like the lunatic he was. “What are you going to do? Your fucking dumb ass puppy going to bite me? Get real, son. You’ll never be able to win against me.”
“Chaos is going to do worse than bite,” Bram revealed, his red eyes glowing as his demon form took over. “Don’t forget, I’m not your son. I severed ties with the Hemlock family.”
