We shouldn’t have come here. I should have said no to this plan and insisted we leave until he had fully recuperated. What was I thinking to agree to this when he was still weakened from his ordeal in the dungeon?
I’d just wanted this over, and now it might end in the worst possible way.
Behind us, someone pushed against the door again as they tried to break free of the passage. I’d been sure it was Scarlet, but somehow, Samael managed to shove the door open enough to enter the hallway.
My gaze briefly met his as Ryker’s blood dripped onto my throat. Samael didn’t say anything, but when one of the guards lunged for him, he plunged his sword into the man’s belly.
My tornado continued to tear up the hallway. It lifted more of the soldiers out of the way and spun them around before shooting them back out. They crashed into walls and scurried to get out of the way.
But it wasn’t enough as another fighter sliced his sword across Samael’s arm. His other arm held his sword, and he thrust it into the man’s belly, but more soldiers were already shoving the wounded soldier out of the way and coming at us. They ripped Samael’s sword away with the guard.
“Traitor,” someone spat as their blade whistled toward the sheriff.
Grabbing Samael, I jerked him back and shoved him behind me. At one time, the idea of doing anything to help the sheriff would have made my skin crawl, but while I still despised the man, he’d freed Ryker and gotten us this far… even if this far resulted in our deaths.
The sword crashed into the wall next to my head, and my eyes crossed as I stared at the blade that narrowly missed me. Samael was still staggering behind me when I knelt, slapped my hand off the ground, and released a thunderbolt.
It tore across the floor, ripped it apart, and plunged our enemies into the abyss that opened beneath them. Their screams followed to what I hoped was their deaths.
The thunder zigzagged toward the end of the hall and the door separating us from the duke. I couldn’t see beyond that as everything collapsed, and more screams filled the air.
I had no idea what happened to the duke. I was still kneeling when a heavy weight shoved against me, pushing me forward.
The black hole loomed too close, and I planted my hands against the ground to keep from plunging over the edge. I twisted as Ryker pushed away from me and lifted his blade to deflect a combatant’s blow, but as his steel kissed off the other’s sword, another combatant lunged forward, plunging his weapon into Ryker’s stomach.
The sound he released echoed the agony in my heart. “NO!” I screamed.
CHAPTER SIXTY
Ellery
Samael twisted toward Ryker as another sword arced out of the crowd. I threw out some lightning that deflected the blade, but someone grabbed my arm as they yanked the sword from Ryker’s belly.
The guards had recovered from their disbelief over the chasm I’d opened, and those who hadn’t plummeted into it were determined to take us down. And they far outnumbered us as they tried to jerk me away from Ryker.
Lightning flared up my arm again, knocking away the grasping hands, but more clawed at my hair and clothes. They managed to drag me a foot away before Ryker’s bloody hand grasped my other arm. He planted his other palm into the face of a guard.
The woman’s head exploded as electricity shot from the top of her head. Her feet still twitched as Ryker released her and she plunged into the abyss.
Ryker pulled me back toward him as Samael claimed a fallen sword and sliced off the hand of a fighter reaching for Ryker. We were barely holding them back anymore.
Terror tore at my belly and clawed its way up my throat with razor-sharp nails that sliced into my soul. Screams, crashes of weapons, and the fading roar of the tornadoes filled the hallway. I’d lost control of my tornadoes and had no idea if they remained formed or had dissipated.
The stench of blood, distress, and body odor permeated those surrounding us. It filled my nose and clogged my throat.
I couldn’t lose Ryker, but if we both perished in this hellhole, I’d make sure the duke went with us too.
Drawing on the lightning pulsing within me and the power binding me to Ryker, I brought forth all my powers. They churned within me, building in intensity like a hurricane about to make landfall.
All five of my abilities became a twisting tempest as Ryker’s powers built alongside mine inside me. A roar echoed in my head, but when the soldiers fell back a little and started looking around, I realized they heard it too.
Particles of air coalesced in front of me, dancing in the air and reflecting the colors of the rainbow. The swirling particles were a beautiful, enchanting spectacle, but no one else noticed them as the guards, recovering from their shock, surged forward again.
The air swirled around our enemies, but instead of dissipating, the power of the particles grew. Those colorful specks were swiftly becoming something more… something I could feed from.
And feed I did on the energy encompassing the air. I’d never experienced such a sensation before, but I’d also never allowed myself to gather this much power within me.
It was as frightening as it was wonderful. I shouldn’t let myself do this, I shouldn’t take so much, but if I didn’t do something, we’d all die, and everything we’d accomplished would be in vain.
