Chapter Forty
Joy
My arms shook, and my power was drained. I dropped my arms and fell to my knees, my shadows drifting away like smoke. Ari—that bastard—had slipped out the broken rose window and gotten away, abandoning what was left of his men to die.
Coward.
Three Dark Demons turned toward me, swords raised high. Where was Enzo?
A bat swooped down beside me—Enzo. He transformed back into his human shape mid-dive and positioned himself between me and the threat.
A Dark Demon lunged for us. Gunnar intercepted him, his hand clamping around the demon's throat. The demon's scream cut off as Gunnar's death touch took hold—his skin turning gray, then black, then crumbling to ash.
The other two Dark Demons froze. Their swords clattered to the floor as they raised their hands above their heads in surrender.
Hades pawed desperately at the broken altar, his whines growing more frantic. Someone was trapped beneath the rubble.
I had to help. Even though I had nothing left.
"Joy, no!” Enzo shouted, but it was already too late.
I raised my shaking arms and arched my back, calling on reserves I didn't have.
Shadows, help him.
My shadows surged forward one last time, wrapping around the broken altar. With a sound like grinding stone, they lifted the massive structure and hurled it across the cathedral.
The effort cost me everything. Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision.
Enzo gripped my shoulders. "Joy, are you all right?"
"I'm okay." I blinked hard, my vision slowly clearing. Exhaustion pulled at me, making my limbs shaky. “What happened? What about Zoe?”
“She’s okay. Angelo broke her chains. With Marsha dead, they were no longer enchanted. Don’t worry about her. Serenity will heal her.”
"Ebony!" Gunnar's broken cry made me turn. He was lifting a white-haired woman from the hole beneath the altar—a space that had been sealed, hidden. She lay completely still in his arms, her skin ghostly pale.
He gathered her against his chest, one hand cupping her face. “Come back to me," he whispered desperately. "Please come back."
Guilt clogged my throat. We were too late. We should have gotten here sooner.
"I can heal her," Serenity offered, stepping forward.
Enzo stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. "Wait. Watch Gunnar."
A warm golden aura bloomed around them both, pulsing with life. Ebony's eyes fluttered open, finding Gunnar's face. "Gunnar?"
"Yeah, babe." He kissed her. "I'm here. You're safe now."
Tears pricked my eyes. Like a fairy tale come to life—Sleeping Beauty awakened by true love’s kiss.
My legs gave out. Enzo swept me up before I hit the ground. "You're completely drained, Joy. We need to get you home to Crescent Manor."
Crescent Manor? Seriously? I wanted to be there, wanted to see my brother, wanted to be in Enzo’s room, but so much had happened…
I leaned my head against his chest. “But what about Angelo?”
Serenity smiled. “Don’t worry about him.”
