"I'll be right behind you." Another lie. But what else could I say? That I was going to hold them off while they escaped? That one of us needed to survive to protect our children, and his Underworld magic gave him better odds?
He knew. Through our bond, he felt my intention, and his expression crumpled. "Phoebe, don't you dare?—"
The ceiling chose that moment to cave in.
Chunks of concrete and rebar crashed down between us, creating a barrier that separated them from Audrey's forces and me. I heard Aidon roaring my name and felt his shadows trying desperately to reach through the rubble. I knew Stella and Nanawere trying to reach me as well. The collapse kept accelerating, and the chamber began folding in on itself.
"Go!" I screamed. "Save our children! That's an order!"
Through our bond, I felt his anguish and rage. His absolute refusal to leave me. But I also felt the moment he made the choice. The terrible, impossible choice between staying with me and ensuring our babies survived.
His shadows withdrew, and I was alone. Audrey stepped over the rubble, flanked by three Thessmark. The orange glow in her eyes pulsed in time with her heartbeat. "Now, let's discuss what happens next. You're going to tell them to stand down and let my collection teams take the children without resistance."
"Never," I spat, calling up all the magic I could muster.
She smiled a terrible, gentle smile. "I was hoping you'd say that. Breaking you will be so much more satisfying than simple cooperation."
CHAPTER 15
Ihad maybe five seconds before the Thessmark reached me. That wasn't long to do something, anything, before Audrey Taverner got her hands on me and made good on her threat. I had to save myself, and by extension, our children.
I spent four of those seconds trying to find power that wasn't there. My inner fire guttered weakly. I tried to conjure my witch fire in my hands. It was barely more than sparks. Destroying the Scythe had drained me past empty, leaving my magical core feeling like a wrung-out sponge. My knees shook from pure exhaustion, and my vision kept graying at the edges.
I spent the fifth second doing something stupid. Without stopping to second-guess the impulse, I slammed my hand against the stone floor. I spoke a word that Tarja whispered through my mind. She might have been explaining what it would do, but I was too focused on getting the hell out of there to pay attention.
The floor beneath me rippled like water, then dissolved entirely. And the world rushed past me as I fell. My body passed through darkness that pressed against my skin like velvet wrapped in thorns. I didn't have the power to manipulatedimensional magic. That kind of magic was difficult for most gods. But desperation makes you capable of impossible things. And right then, I was desperate enough to tear holes in the Hellmouth itself to escape.
Audrey's furious scream followed me into the void. It echoed strangely as I plummeted through a space. Did I open a dimensional slip? Or was it a portal? That wasn't as important as focusing on being deposited somewhere safe. Somewhere I desperately needed to be. And survive the landing.
The next thing I knew, the impact with solid ground was knocking every molecule of air from my lungs. My poor ribs would never recover. I hit concrete hard enough that stars exploded across my vision. For one terrible moment, I couldn't breathe. Couldn't think. Couldn't do anything except lie there like a landed fish, gasping uselessly.
"Phoebe!" Familiar hands grabbed my shoulders and hauled me upright. Aidon's face swam into focus, his sapphire eyes wild with terror and rage. "What the fuck—how did you?—"
"Desperation," I managed to wheeze out, my ribs screaming in protest. Holy shit, it had actually worked. "Tarja instructed me on how to use the dimensional magic to get out."
Stella appeared at my other side, her pink witch fire crackling around her hands as her gaze flew around us. "Can you move? Because we need to go. Now."
"Working on it." I let them pull me to my feet, biting back a groan as my abused body protested every movement. Everything hurt. My ribs were cracked. My shoulder throbbed where the Thessmark had sliced me. And my magical core felt like someone had scraped it raw with sandpaper.
Nana was already in the car, shotgun across her lap. "Get in. We're leaving before more of those things show up."
Aidon practically threw me into the back seat before sliding in beside me. He pulled the door shut with enough force to makethe entire vehicle rock. Stella got behind the wheel, and within fifteen seconds of my arrival, we were moving. Stella drove like a madwoman through town. Her knuckles were white on the steering wheel.
"Taverner?" she asked, taking a corner fast enough to make the tires squeal.
"Shit," Aidon gasped as he hit the door. His shadows flickered weakly around him. They were barely more substantial than smoke.
"Taverner is alive,” I replied. “She's coming for the babies."
"I think I lost ten years of my life listening to that," Jean-Marc grumbled. His voice echoed through the earbud that was somehow still in my ear.
"Is the building still standing?" I asked my son.
"Surprisingly, it’s structurally sound,” Jean-Marc replied. “The explosion was contained to the sublevel. Your containment circle worked better than we hoped. But the magical discharge knocked out power to a six-block radius, so emergency services are on their way. They will have company soon."
My relief lasted approximately three seconds before terror replaced it. Through my bond with Tarja, I felt a spike of fear from her that made my heart stop. The sensation was sharp and immediate, as if someone had driven a spike of ice directly into my chest.
"The house," I gasped, grabbing Aidon's arm hard enough to bruise. "Something's happening at the house."
