The‘aumakuawhispered of victory, of her return, but the cold fear lodged in my chest said otherwise. I just wanted her to come back alive, even if we didn’t.Especiallyif we didn’t.
Lucian and Sebastian had both promised to care for her if we fell, a conversation I’d never wanted to have, but one that had been necessary. And it was a relief, to be honest, knowing she’d never be alone again if the worst happened.
Then my brothers and I shook hands with Foster, whose face was stern with professional focus.
“I’ll get her back here, even if I have to burn again to do it,” he vowed.
My brothers and I nodded our appreciation for that, then we each stroked Brummy’s head one last time before we turned and moved as one toward the door. We needed to be beyond Evermere’s protective wards to activate the teleport charm, which meant a sprint to the front gates.
“Remember, hold here until we confirm that we see Arabesque on the battlefield,” Cas reminded Seri as we paused on the threshold.
“We know the plan.” She nodded once, quick and sharp. “I love you all. Bring each other home.”
My final sight of her: Foster looming at her shoulder. One of her fists locked in Brummy’s thick fur. The other clutching the hilt of my knife. Chin raised. Eyes flooded, but fierce.
The night air was crisp against my face as we ran, and it took us mere minutes to reach the front gates where the stone gargoyles kept their silent watch from atop the pillars. I reached for Zane’s hand, and he took Casimir’s as we formed our chain. My eyes went to the bronze plaque beside the gate, the one I’d read a dozen times, but never felt as deeply as I did at this moment.
A place
beyond the hunt,
where shadows rest
and dawns endure.
“Ready?” Cas raised the charm.
“Ready,” Zane and I answered as one.
Evermere’s gargoyles spread their wings in salute, the stone scraping like funeral bells.
With a sharp snap, Casimir broke the charm. Power surged through us, wild and ancient, and the world blurred at the edges.
The second we materialized, we heard King Julian’s battle roar. Saw Angelo della Morte’s rocket launcher light up the night. Felt Kerry Harker’s blue-tinged power scorching the air. Then Cas spotted the Gravewrought among the supercharged rogues, and the world narrowed down to fight or die.
26. Enough to Stand
Seri
Foster and I listened to the battle through our earpieces. Static crackled between bursts of my husbands’ voices, alive and confident even in the thick of danger. I pressed my palm against my chest, right where I’d drawn the anti-siphoning ward, and willed my heart to steady itself.
“You’re going to smudge it,” Foster warned me as he lounged against the wall.
“Permanent marker dries fast.”
“And it should activate automatically, right? No need for blood activation or spoken words?”
“Right.” I chewed my thumbnail as my anxiety built. “Our tests could only measure so much without actual siphoning, so I’m hoping to find out if it truly works.”
“I’m hoping youwon’t,” he muttered darkly.
We were waiting for the signal, the moment when we would shadow walk to my childhood home and destroy the reliquaries while my husbands kept Arabesque occupied.
Simple.
Except nothing involving my stepmother was ever simple.
“Zane. No improvisation,” Casimir’s command voice held that edge of dominance that made my stomach flutter even in the middle of a crisis.
