Bjørn had seamlessly recovered. He was freshly showered and wearing only a pair of pants and boots to give him room to transform freely into his other self. No traces of blood marred his skin or hair anymore, and I silently prayed to the Goddess that it remained that way.
I couldn’t lose anyone today.
“Hold hands,” he instructed, and we formed three different groups.
Me and my mates on one. Vanessa, Isis, Gustav, and Alyce on the other. The Iron King, Zeline, Garion, and Luane in the last one.
Grabbing the king’s and Zeline’s arms to close the circle, Bjørnblinkedout of the room, taking them first to secure the area before we got there.
My body tensed, muscles coiling in anticipation. Taking a measured breath, I prepared myself for what would come.
A few seconds later, Bjørn reappeared, urgency carving his features as he rushed to our side. Holding on to Dante and Hannes to close the circle, heblinkedus to Cairo with him.
32
Chaos exploded before us the second we arrived, standing at the edge of the battle.
The sun beamed powerfully in the clear sky, instantly making my skin feel like it was burning, and forcing our eyes to adjust to the glaring brightness.
The one day I don’t wear sunscreen…
On the bright side, the blue flecks that swam inside André’s hazel irises sparked to life, glowing almost as strongly as the source of his power.
The king and his Iron knights stood before us, forming a protective wall while my mates and I looked all around us, trying to get our bearings just as Bjørnblinkedout again.
The earth was soft beneath my feet, unstable, and we quickly realized we were in the middle of the Sahara desert. To one end, in the far distance, colossal pyramids stood tall, sphinxes anchoring the remnants of an ancient civilization they thought gone. To the other, a city of stone temples and glass rose, a mixture of past and future.
Far behind us, a large makeshift cult fortress had been erected, and I could see the blocking towers surrounding it in the distance. That was where my dad had been when he called. Ialmost asked what we were doing all the way here, but the trail of drained Hunters and other Vampiri scattered all the way from there to where we stood said it all.
Facing the raging battle again, I noticed the multileveled dune desert that extended beyond it. It was barely visible given how vast the desert was, but on the other side, a group of rock formations stood tall and wide, creating a natural fortress—one of them closely resembling a mountain.
Something told me that was my destination. The cave where they had my mom trapped was there. Of course, just as Hannes had deduced, we had to go through the raging battle to get there.
Pulse racing, my focus pulled back to the fight developing on the massive barren lands before us, feeling the last of our group materialize behind us.
Vampiri fought against Vampiri.
Shifters fought against Vampiri. And as some moved faster than the human eye could see, blood, guts, and limbs flying everywhere, it was hard to tell which ones were the Dracul Army.
Wait. Where were the crawlers?
“We are here for one purpose only.” King Will’s voice thundered in my direction, and I found his eyes focusing on me. “You will want to help our allies, you will want to save them, but this isnotour fight. We are here to save your mother.”
Screeches, deathly hisses, and powerful growls pierced the air as people crashed against each other several feet before us, but I nodded.
“Not my circus, not my monkeys. Got it.”
With a pleased nod, the king focused on Hannes. “Do not shift unless absolutely necessary. The Beast is your ultimate power, use it wisely.” When his gaze focused on André, the determined light in his eyes increased. “If they surround her or you get stuck use your wings to get her out.” He glanced at metoo. “Use your wings and get out. Don’t worry about anyone else, your mates will catch up to you. Just get out.”
Sighing he turned towards Dante.
“If their wings can’t help them, you get Natasha into your shadows and to the other side.”
“Understood,” Dante, André, and Hannes answered in unison.
Settling between me and Isis, Bjørn transformed—his eyes turning red, darkness rushing over every inch of his skin until it was fully black, and twisted claws protruding from his fingertips. My gaze briefly went to his broken horn, the only evidence remaining of his encounter with theDark One.
His slate grey hair was swept back by the breeze when he turned to face us all. “If you see the demon, theDark One,get as far away from him as fast you can. He can’t travel throughthe Ether like I do, but he’s as strong as I am and very enraged. We don’t yet know what bloody powers he has, which makes him more dangerous,” he warned. “Leave him to me.”
