Page 209 of The Bonds of Indigo

When my vision clears, the ruler of the Beyond stands before me, missing his arm.

“Fuck…” Her voice starts my heartbeat again. “You!”

I jerk my head to see Amarah, sat up with her channeled bow in her left hand, and a taut arrow in her right. Her face is covered in dirt, but I don’t miss the cracks in her skin. It isn’t just in her forehead. They draw all the way down her face, to her neck, and even up her arm.

It’s not even just that…

Her hair is basically glowing, and her eyes are that of the sun. Sunfire, just like my little deviant described.

“He doesn’t belong to you!” she screams, and releases the arrow.

I blink, and Belial bellows.

The arrow crossed the space so fast even my eyes couldn’t track it. When I finally register the damage, I stare in stunned disbelief.

It pierced straight through his chest—exactly where any heart would normally be.

“How?!” he shouts, so loud the entire world below us shakes.

It’s Lucifer who says, “Pureblood. Pure magic. Pure channeling.”

I turn toward him. Pale trails of skin are showing through as his Vigoro peels back, burning away in thin, shadowy tendrils. When our eyes meet, there’s fury in his. His mouth shapes the words, silent but sharp as a blade, “Fuck you for doing that. How could you?”

I know he’s furious with me, but I can’t stop to apologize. I move to step toward Amarah, but Belial has other plans.

The moment he shouts, I know we’re in deeper shit than before. Pyrehounds—hundreds of them—pour out of the gates to the Beyond, which open so suddenly I have to wonder if they ever truly closed.

He shrugs his shoulder, and the arm that had been blown clean off peels out of his flesh, regenerating in seconds.

“Make it messy,” he commands, and the Pyrehounds charge.

They haven’t even reached us when I hear, “Meow.”

What follows is carnage.

A blur of movement slices through the pack—Pyrehounds are thrown, crushed, snapped clean in half. Their howls and whines echo across the battlefield as creature after creature collapse.

I force myself to focus—really focus—and when I glance at Lucifer, he’s just as confused.

This isn’t him.

It’s not me.

And it definitely isn’t Amarah; her magic is gold.

These are all black, like shadows… Oh my Gods.

“You know…” The female voice has goosebumps crawling up my spine. “I swore I wouldn’t see you for at least a few years, Belial.”

Slowly, as though tension is pulling me in the opposite direction, I turn toward the woman. She stands directly above Amarah, long black hair swept to one side and a pissed-off snarl cutting across her cherry-stained lips. Her silver eyes lock onto Belial with such cold disdain it practically drips from her gaze.

“I owe you this.”

A loud crack snaps my attention back to Belial, and I actually laugh. He’s down on one knee, head shoved into the dirt, barely lifting himself when Kairhyse slams his foot into the side of his skull.

“Gods, that feels fucking fantastic.”

“Don’t get cocky, Kai,” Xeraphine scolds him, unimpressed. “Lose your head again and I’ll make you wait to come back.”