I make one last push of strength to get to her and yell out in despair when it’s futile. The shadows binding me are impossible to break.
She’s going to die and I’m going to be helpless to do anything.
“Ava!” I cry.
Just as I think my world is about to come crashing down, a flood of light just like in the tunnels before spills out of her and blinds us all.
CHAPTER 60
AVA
Pain.
All-consuming pain is what I feel as Damien slowly crushes my organs. The shadows get tighter as I strain to break free, to run to Valen.
This isn’t over. We still have so much we need to experience together. I refuse to let Damien win.
With an agonized cry that rivals the one Valen lets loose, I pull again on the well of power in my chest and feel it respond. Light pours from me like it did before and slices through the black fog. Not only does it disappear from me, but from the other three too.
My magic is a shaky, unstable thing, but it seems to always come through for me when I need it most.
Damien curses and seems to be overwhelmed by my magic as he backs away from the light that continues to filter out of me as if it’s shining from every pore. I run to Valen and urge himto stand. He seems unharmed by the burst of magic. Zav and Celine hold each other, free of their confines now.
“We have to go!” I shout and they scramble after me.
I’d be a fool to not acknowledge that we’re far from free. I’ve temporarily stunned Damien, but he’ll be close behind. He’s an incredibly powerful being.
Zav and Valen pick each of us girls up and sprint down the hall at a speed no human could ever hope to compete with. We’re met by a vampire barrier at the end and promptly stop.
Despite knowing this wouldn’t be easy, it’s a tad disappointing to only make it such a short way.
The boys examine them, looking for weakness in their line. It appears to be feral vampires again, just like in the tunnels before. Ones that seem closer to zombies than the vampires I’m used to. I’m feeling drained from my draw on magic back in the other room and curse at the feeling of needing to recharge before I can fight again. The light coming out of me is fading, threatening to disappear altogether.
“Your escape attempts are futile. Give it up,” one of the ferals snarls. “You can’t escape us all.” He gestures his arms wide, and I’m a bit scared of what he means byall, because I have a strong feeling he’s referring to more than the vampires in front of us.
Zav and Valen exchange a determined look, prepared to fight. Setting us down, they push us to stand behind them, but I gasp at what I see down the other length of the hall. Damien walks toward us with a smirk, hands shoved casually into his perfectly pressed pants pockets. He’s unfazed by all of this, like he has all the time in the world. Maybe he does.
I feel a surge of satisfaction at a stray curl of hair that hangs out of place. For the short time I’ve been in his ugly presence, I’ve seen how perfectly coifed he strives to be.
“How frustrating it must be to be so close yet so far fromescape. This is inevitable, Valen,” Damien calls out to him with his arms wide open like he’s trying to welcome an unruly son home and not the man he kidnapped and tortured for centuries—even thousands of years for all I know. “Don’t be a fool and come with me. You know what I’m capable of more than anyone. You cannot win this.”
Without glancing his way, Valen tenses and shakes his head. “I would rather die than end up with you again.”
A slow, terrifying smirk ticks up the corners of Damien’s lips. “You’re far too valuable for that, but your friends are not. This will serve as some much-needed entertainment for me.” After yelling a word in a language I don’t understand, the ferals charge at Valen and Zav.
It’s disconcerting to have Damien at our backs, so Celine and I take turns watching him and glancing at our guys to see how they’re faring. I can practically feel my best friend’s horror and annoyance at not being able to help. As a human, there’s not much she can do in this supernatural fight. I might not be human anymore, but I’m equally at a disadvantage with so little control over my powers.
Even though it feels like I’m pulling from a well of nothing, I scrape and pull at my magic to give meanythingto help against the ferals. It’s a struggle, but I take deep breaths and manage to summon a few strikes, almost like lightning, that dart out and kill ferals instantly. Valen sends a grateful look my way before diving back in.
Zav and Valen work as a savage team to tear through the other vampires. To some it might be terrifying to see the person they love in this light, but not me. I’m happy to see him strong enough to fight for himself. Once we get out of here, and we will, I’m laying the biggest kiss on his lips and not letting him leave our bedroom for a week, maybe even a month.
It seems like they have the upper hand, but Idon’t dare allow myself to hope yet. Feeling a slight breeze, I turn to see Damien suddenly standing right beside me. I jump away and drag Celine with me.
“Stay back,” I warn and hold a hand out, feigning more magic than I have.
Sometimes with men, it’s better to have more bravado than you feel.
Damien holds his up in mock surrender, but I don’t let my guard down. I hear the boys winding down behind us. One of them must spot Damien close by us because I hear a savage snarl.
