But I wasn't so sure. Angelo stared at us. He looked as fierce and deadly as his reputation with blood running down his chin and his suit soaked with it.
Serenity headed over to him. "I've got some healing to do."
Dimitri sat on the blood-soaked floor, cradling his brother. He looked up at Serenity with a smirk, though it was strained with pain. "Please tell me you've got the good stuff. Because Valentin's face looks like it went through a meat grinder, and I'm pretty sure I'm holding in my own intestines. So, you know, no pressure."
Angelo glared at him but didn’t say anything. He watched the rest of the Dark Demons, now less than ten, that were huddled against the wall, almost daring them to move.
Serenity brushed past Angelo and knelt beside Dimitri.
Dimitri shook his head weakly. "Valentin first."
Rose was already at Valentin's side, her hands hovering over his battered face. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "No, no, no."
Morden, Tinker Bell and Alice entered the cathedral, all of them moving slowly, exhaustion written in every line of their bodies.
I exhaled and placed a shaking hand on my forehead. I hadn’t realized how terrified I’d been to lose them—lose Morden before I’d even gotten to know him. They must have won or the queen and her army would be in close pursuit. The battle must have been fierce.
"And?" Enzo looked at them, his jaw tight. "The portal?"
Morden sighed heavily. He didn't focus on Enzo—his eyes found mine. "Ari escaped into the Elder Dimension before we could close it. I'm sorry, daughter."
My stomach dropped. "Brynn. Darius." They were trapped there. Trapped with Ari and the queen.
Tinker Bell wiped her hands on her thighs, her voice weary. “Alice and I made sure it was sealed properly. No one will be coming through that portal for a very long time."
The words should have brought relief—the invasion was stopped, Earth was safe. But all I could think about was Brynn's face and Darius' kindness. Two people who'd helped me, who'd become friends.
And I'd left them behind in hell.
Enzo lifted an eyebrow. "Who are Brynn and Darius?"
A tear slid down my cheek. "Friends I met there. We have to get them out."
He kissed the top of my head. "We will. But not now. Not today.”
I wanted to argue, but every bone, every muscle, every shadow was tired.
Please forgive me, I said silently.I won't forget you.
"Valentin, you're alive." Rose planted kisses across Valentin's face. His eyes were open and his color had returned. I smiled. Serenity had healed him.
The sound of uneven footsteps made me look up. Keir limped into the cathedral, his arm dangling at his side, shirt soaked with blood. I tensed as I thought all of the terrible, cruel things he had done to Brynn and her family. I could barely look at him.
But what if Morden had been telling the truth? Maybe Brynn was wrong, but I wasn’t sure.
Not yet.
“Tonight has not been my night,” he said.
Another Unseelie followed close behind, his hand settling on Keir's shoulder. "The harpies are here to take us back."
Morden looked at me, devastating grief flickering across his face. "I don't know if I should leave my daughter. I’ve already lost…” He turned away, struggling to maintain composure.
His son. The half brother I’d only recently learned about and had never met. Dead. Gone. Killed protecting Enzo while I was trapped in another dimension.
Tears burned behind my eyes. Morden had just found me—his daughter—only to lose his son in the same night. The pain radiating from him was almost unbearable.
All of this—the death, the destruction, the loss—it was Ari's doing. I hoped he got what he deserved back in the Elder Dimension.
