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Every muscle in his body throbbed. Shattered bones were too numb to hurt. But his head. Fuck, he needed a month to rest and recover from that blow.

He braced his hand around his sword, but it weighed a solid ton in his hand. The hilt became the handle of a cane, the tip embedded into the floor to keep him from collapsing.

Quinn braced him at his shoulder, keeping him vertical.

“Sorry we’re late. I’m much better at kills than knockouts,” Bennett said as he strolled in, adjusting his shield on his arm.

“Being a good guy sucks.” Blood streamed from a gash over Blayk’s eye, and he leaned into Bennett.

They’d all taken a beating, and the demon hadn’t even taken a scratch yet.

Eryn strutted across to the kitchen and lifted the bottle of wine. Blood smeared over the glass under her fingertips as she poured a splash. She tipped back a sip.

The corner of Vann’s lips quirked into a smile as he watched Eryn’s courage grow. Brighter. Standing taller.

Standing right in front of the knife block.

Tisiphone lifted her drink and leaned against the counter next to Eryn. She flicked a look at the room of hunters itching to spill demon blood. “If you kill me, you kill her, too.”

“Vengeance eats a person alive,” Ryan said as they surrounded her. “How many hunters did you kill? At your full strength?”

Her gaze flickered as she looked the son of the demon king up and down. As if just realizing who he was.

“I wasn’t even at full strength when I killed my old team, after they hurt my mom.” Ryan casually looked over his dark blade and smiled subtly. “By the way, my father doesn’t send his regards.”

Tisiphone’s eyes flashed, and she looked at his demonic black sword. She looked at each of them, and her arrogance waned. “Did he tell you that your aunt and I were dear friends?”

“Nah,” Ryan said, and shrugged. “Nor did she care enough about you to mention you. Not that we chatted much, when we killed her.”

Each passing moment eased his dizziness. Cleared his vision. Vann breathed in every molecule of oxygen and waited patiently as his team bought him enough time to at least be able to see straight.

Bodie stalked inside, still in his wolf form. The satisfied wolf licked blood off his lips, sat casually at Adair’s side, and stared hungrily at the demon who stood a few feet away.

Tisiphone flicked her gaze up from the wolf, to the vampire at his side. The vampires who stood by Vann’s side. “You chose your friends well, sister. We’ll be satisfied for centuries, after we’ve fed on their dying breaths. Imagine, moving Lexi into this house with us? We’ll be so happy together.”

Eryn savored her wine at Tisiphone’s side while the team took position.

With every passing moment, Vann bolstered enough energy to stand without help.

Tisiphone watched Eryn with delight and shock, her blood-red lips parted in an open smile. “You will be glorious. End him. He’s so close. One death, personal and intimate, and you will become fury. With the soul of a hunter to feed you as you transition, you will become as strong as the sisters of my birth.”

Eryn looked back toward Vann. At the sword he was too weak to lift, braced at his side like a cane.

“One death, personal and intimate?” Eryn asked.

“Yes.” Tisiphone squinted with uncertainty. “Your heart must shatter, to be rebuilt.”

Eryn looked down at Vann’s sword, and drifted up to hold his look. She spoke to Tisiphone. “My heart shattered when you sent Vann to me, with injuries no one else could have survived. You shattered my heart when you killed my parents. If I become like you… Lexi will be next. I can’t live with that. I won’t be like you.”

Vann held his front dramatically, sword held limply at his side, and shuffled toward them. “Eryn, I love you. I’m sorry we never got to go on that date.”

“I love you.” She lifted one shoulder, seeming to bite back a flood of fresh tears. “Now do what you promised. Fulfill the prophecy.” Eryn swallowed hard and looked sadly at Tisiphone. “I will not feed off souls to survive.”

Tisiphone shifted in front of Eryn protectively. “Not even Alecto was so dramatic.”

Vann stumbled closer, and lifted his sword, aimed at Eryn. “My grandmother warned me I’d have to kill the woman I loved one day. I’m so sorry.”

Tisiphone’s eyes widened at Vann, at the room full of hunters, vampires, and a werewolf all ready to kill her. She pushed Eryn behind her. Either she truly cared… or, she knew she wasn’t leaving this room alive—not without an ally. “I protect my sisters.”