Page 87 of Death Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Eve used smaller fire bursts, burning only when needed to break spirits that got too close. Faith fired to stagger bodies, giving hunters openings to shove.

Cal became a bulldozer of stone and wings, grabbing two undead at once and hurling them through the portal with a grunt.

One body hit the crater floor and went still, pinned by heat and distance, the spirit inside it crackling as if confused.

More followed.

Drathar watched from the edge of the shield space, amused, as if this was all a game he had expected us to play.

Dagna’s smile stayed fixed, but her eyes narrowed slightly. She had wanted panic, not problem solving. She had wanted us scattered.

Instead, we were adapting.

That did not mean we were winning. It meant we were surviving.

As the last of the immediate swarm was shoved through the portal, Faith turned, breathing hard, face streaked with soot.

She stared at the spot where Dagna and Drathar had been.

They were gone.

The undead distraction had done exactly what it was meant to do.

It bought them time.

It bought them escape.

Eve’s hands trembled, hellfire still flickering at her fingertips. She looked furious enough to melt concrete.

Tegan’s face was pale. “We did not get the relic.”

Greyson’s jaw clenched. “But we confirmed it is here. The shield is anchored to it.”

Cal stepped close to me, wings folding slightly as he checked my face. “How are you?

The bond tugged, and my vision blurred for a heartbeat. The egg needed me. The baby needed warmth. The calling was still pressing, even with the undead shoved into a crater for now.

“I am functioning,” I said.

Faith snorted. “That is not an answer.”

“It is the only one I have,” I replied.

Nishi’s gaze swept the hospital entrance. “Delia and Spencer are still inside. Victor will need an update. Aurora needs to know the hospital is stabilizing.”

Eve stared into the dark where Drathar had vanished. “They are escalating.”

“Yes,” I said softly, and the words tasted like dread.

Dagna and Drathar had not come to win the parking lot fight.

They came to prove they could make us chase them while the real threat kept spreading.

CHAPTER 12

The air distorted before Dagna and Drathar reappeared. It was an impressive glamour. One that had fooled everyone here. Dagna moved away from the hospital and Eve didn’t waste time.

She hurled her hellfire and it caught Dagna clean across the shoulder.