The sound cracked through the night like a gunshot. Nyx’s sword tumbled from his useless fingers and clattered to the ground far below, the metal ringing against stone like a gong.
His broken scream of pain and rage made my vision blur red. Fury consumed me—white hot and all-consuming. I started to shift—then something sharp sank into my back. Another Dark Demon trying to keep me grounded.
Wrong fucking move.
I whirled around, fury blazing through every nerve, whatever was embedded in my back sending bolts of pain down my spine. The Dark Demon had backed up several feet, still holding a bloodied blade in his hand, his dark eyes darting around frantically as if he couldn’t believe I was still standing. Smart bastard—he should be afraid.
“My turn,” I snarled, blood still coating my lips from the last kill.
I grabbed him before he could even think about running, my hands locking around his throat like a vise. His hands scraped uselessly against my arms as I hauled him close and sank my fangs deep into his neck, draining every drop. Hot, bitter demon blood flooded my mouth—wrong, foul, but it would fuel me through this fight.
A gurgled scream echoed through the night air, high above us. Not the demon dying in my hands.
Nyx.
I dropped the Dark Demon’s corpse and looked up, my heart stopping. Gunnar’s fingernails had lengthened into razor-sharp talons like Ari’s, gleaming wet in the lightning. He dug them deep into Nyx’s skull, blood oozing down between his fingers in dark rivulets.
Nyx’s eyes rolled back in his head, showing only white. His body went completely limp, hanging like a broken doll in Gunnar’s grip.
"No!" I fell to my knees, fists slamming against the ground in helpless fury.
Gunnar released his grip with cold dismissal. Nyx plummeted through the air, a broken bird falling toward earth. I rushed forward, my enhanced speed finally serving me, catching him in my arms just before he hit the unforgiving ground.
Blood oozed from his broken body, warm and sticky against my hands. Too much blood. Far too much.
“Serenity, help!” My voice cracked as I screamed her name, desperation ripping through me. The words were swallowed by the chaos erupting around us—the wet sounds of tearing flesh, the inhuman shrieks of demons, and the thunderous roar of battle that made my ears ring.
I wasn’t sure she could hear me above the deafening cacophony of violence.
Dimitri moved with inhuman speed, his hands becoming deadly weapons as he grabbed a Dark Demon by the throat and lifted it effortlessly off the ground. His fangs sank deep into its neck, draining it until it crumpled to ash. Angelo fought with brutal efficiency, his supernatural strength allowing him to tear through demon after demon with his bare hands, black ichor coating his fingers as he ripped them apart.
Lorcan was the only one wielding a blade, his sword singing through the air as he carved through the endless wave of creatures pouring toward us.
The metallic taste of fear coated my tongue as I watched Tinker Bell approach Marsha with deliberate, measured steps. Her small frame seemed impossibly fragile against the backdrop of carnage, but her jaw was set with grim determination. Each footfall echoed like a death knell across the blood-slicked stones.
Behind Angelo’s protective stance, Serenity was between two large oak trees covered in Spanish moss. Angelo pivoted and dodged, his powerful frame creating a barrier between her and the snapping jaws of a particularly large demon whose eyes burned like coals in the darkness.
She was Nyx’s only hope—I couldn’t let him die, not after he sacrificed himself for me. But Serenity was trapped, just as helpless as the rest of us.
If I tried to get him to her, I’d be attacked, and Nyx wouldn’t survive that. Fuck.
“You’ve got to hang on, Nyx. Serenity will get here.” I gently lowered him onto the ground, my hands shaking as I pressed them against the wound on his leg, trying to stem the flow of blood. Crimson seeped between my fingers, warm and relentless. "Stay with me, Nyx. Just stay with me." I tore at my shirt, wadding the fabric against the bite, but the blood kept coming. The venom was already working through his system—I could see it in the darkening veins spreading from the wound.Nothing I did would be enough. I couldn't undo this. Couldn't fix it. But I had to try.
I forced myself to meet his eyes, my voice rough. “Why did you do that?”
He looked up at me with eyes that were already growing distant, blood rolling down his lips in crimson streams. “I had to…” Each word was a struggle. “For Joy.”
“Joy?”
“She’s my sister. Dad and I have watched her. Tried to protect her. But failed.” He held up his hand, trembling and weak, and I clutched it desperately, as if I could anchor him to life through sheer will. “Protect her.”
The words were fading, and so was he. This stranger—no, Joy’s brother—had died for me. And I hadn’t even known.
Desperation made my hands shake, my breath short. Joy might kill me for this—first Steve, now attempting to turn Nyx—but I didn’t have a choice. My hands shook as I lifted my wrist to my mouth, the metallic taste of my own blood sharp on my tongue as I ripped it open with my fangs. Slick crimson welled up immediately, the scent of copper filling the air between us.
I wasn’t sure what my blood would do to an Unseelie. I’d never tried to turn one before—hell, I didn’t even know if it was possible. But I had to try something.
“Drink,” I commanded as I pressed my bloodied wrist against his pale lips. “Come on, Nyx. Fight.”
