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“Release her,” Lavinia said. The second the demon loosened his grip, Maisie flew at Adam. I squeezed my eyes shut as bile and tears choked me. It was bad enough to hear what was happening, to hear Maisie’s greedy sucking and Adam’s agonized groans. But Lavinia was determined to milk every possible ounce of pain from this moment. She pried my lids open, holding my head captive with her arms. Forced me to watch my twin bent over the neck of the male I loved.
“Look at what you’ve done to them,” Lavinia whispered. I jerked my head, desperate to block out the sight of Maisie’s red-and-black head bobbing against his chest. So much blood. Too much. A grimace of pain contorted his pale, dear face.
Her fingernails dug into the soft skin around my eyes, drawing blood. But I was too crazed with guilt and horror to register the pain. If anything, the red blurring my vision was a blessing. “Oh, no, you must watch and understand. Your existence brings pain to all unfortunate enough to meet you. Witness how you destroyed them. Just as you killed my beloved Phoebe.”
I stilled. I’d always known I served as a painful reminder to Lavinia of my mother’s death. But I never understood until that moment the depth of her depraved hatred. The unfairness of laying blame at my door. My mother’s choices had been her own. My birth was neither my choice nor my fault. Her death was not my doing, but her own.
The simple truth hit me like a bolt of electric clarity.
I remembered Adam’s accusations earlier about me having a death wish. And I realized he’d been right. Just like Lavinia, on some level, I, too, had blamed myself for the horrible circumstances and ensuing drama of my birth. Believed I didn’t deserve to be alive because of my shameful heritage. Didn’t deserve love or understanding, affection or empathy.
Lavinia orchestrated these horrors. She’d kindled the self-hatred for decades. Manipulated me from the start. And I’d bought into all of it because I didn’t know another way to live. But I knew better now. I knew because of the mage who offered his love, the sister who’d taught me about family, and the loyal demon who showed me the meaning of friendship. They’d stood beside me despite my protestations that I didn’t need anyone. I’d been a godsdamned fool to allow Lavinia’s poison to cloud my judgment. She was the worthless one. The selfish one. The one who allowed hatred and vengeance to fuel her actions. Not me. Not anymore.
But even as these realizations dawned, so did the knowledge it was too late. My eyes burned as I watched Adam grow paler by the second. Already the fight had fled his muscles and he slumped into Maisie’s eager grasp.
Then, like someone flipped a switch, his entire body stiffened. The whites of his eyes overwhelmed his pupils. A final gasp signaled his surrender. And then the mage I loved slumped to the floor.
Dead.
The scream that rose in my throat came not from my vocal cords but from the very root of my soul. My body filled with a rage so strong it could crumble mountains.
Maisie stumbled back, her limbs trembling as she stared down at Adam’s bloodied body. The infusion had restored some of her awareness and the realization of what she’d just done. With wide, haunted eyes, she threw back her head. “No!” Her haunted scream echoed off the dome.
Lavinia released me and went to go inspect his body. I slammed my stinging eyes shut and gathered my strength for another primal scream. Only instead of air rushing from my lungs, something shifted. The raw emotions gave way to power building in my diaphragm. This time the rage and love combined, twisting together like DNA to create a force more powerful than any I’d called upon before. I embraced the burning ache of it. Stoked the fire. Called out to Hekate and Lilith to aid me.
Lilith, Great Dark Mother and Goddess of the Night. Hekate, Goddess of the Crossroads and Bringer of Light, hear my pleas. Lend me your great and terrible power to balance the scales. Break my bonds and fill me with your dark energy. Help me avenge this blasphemy.
A loud crack echoed through the chamber. A tidal wave of dark power washed over me. I threw back my head as it slammed into me. Filled me. The force of this primal magic jerked my body upright. Sent a shock wave of power through the room.
The dome overhead shattered. The colorful glass fractured into a million fragments and rained down on the rotunda. Shouts and cries filled the room as humans and Caste members ducked and ran for cover.
All around, the walls cracked like eggshells. Falling plaster and stone joined the glass. The building creaked and moaned with the promise of collapse.
Black and red auras danced on the edges of my vision. I blinked and realized my chains had shattered along with the glass. The release of energy and the sharp shards had sent several of my enemy to the ground. But my focus zeroed in on the bitch in red. She sat on the ground near Adam’s body, looking dazed.
My burning gaze locked on Lavinia like a heat-seeking missile. With deliberate movements, I removed the gag and tossed it to the floor.
“Lavinia Kane.” My voice was different. Deeper, echoed, as if I spoke with three voices now: mine, Lilith’s, and Hekate’s.
Lavinia’s eyes flared. She rose quickly, backing away before stumbling over Adam’s body, kicking at Brothers and Caste members who got in her way. I rose slowly. There was no fear now. Only power and purpose.
My senses buzzed, taking in every sound, shape, and smell in the room and beyond. The air vibrated against my skin. My tongue tasted her fear and confusion. And it pleased me.
Eurynome stepped between the Domina and me. I tilted my head to look up at him. Sounds in the distance registered in my expanded consciousness. A smile spread across my lips. The demon’s black eyes flickered to a chunk of plaster that fell just to my right, barely missing my shoulder. I didn’t flinch.
The air shimmered, signaling the demon’s intent to deliver another of his signature pain spells. The aura around him flared up a split second before the doors to the temple burst open. Eurynome’s spell shot toward me like flame. The spell licked up and over the cone of Chthonic power the goddesses wrapped around me. The demon’s black lips fell open in shock as cavalry rushed in the door.
“Eurynome!” a familiar voice shouted.
His head swiveled to the right to see a flash of green rushing toward him like a freight train. Giguhl tackled Eurynome, and the two demons slid across the stone floor before slamming into the wall.
I didn’t have time to watch Giguhl finally get his chance to finish the Avenger once and for all. Nor did I stop to see who else my minion had brought to the party. I could feel each of them— Rhea, Pussy Willow, Mac, Georgia, and about twenty other mage, werewolf, vampire, and fae allies both inside and outside the building.
