Page 56

When I see her, glowing and glittering and bright, a funny idea wriggles itself into my head. She and I are not so unalike. We are darkness and light, yin and yang, two halves that make a whole.

We are the same; our powers are evenly matched, our loyalty to our masters unwavering, except the Fire Bird’s master is fate and my master is going to be so much more than that. He is going to rule the world and every dimension that surrounds it.

“Eve,” she calls my name, “I’m so glad you can join us.”

In front of me, she has cast a barrier spell over the pathetic, power-lacking supers of Phoenix Falls. The ones who remain in town were too stupid to get out when they had the chance. I throw a ball of dark magick to try and break it, but it holds.

“You’ve grown, Fire Bird,” I sing, sweeping down the aisle she made for me. I tick my head to the side and examine her. “Do you have scars? From where we drained your pretty little body of its blood, I wonder?” I lick my lips. Oh, how I wish I’d tasted her blood.

A flutter of movement. The seer is lunging for me.

I catch him in mid-air, tighten my invisible grip around his thick neck, and squeeze. “I thought you’d have learned your lesson the last time we sparred, Ink Heart,” I spit.

He flexes his fingers, trying to pull roots from the ground or branches from the trees, but he fails, and I throw him loose, sending him hurtling into the fountain.

“Go back to your devil,” the Fire Bird says, striding forward.

Even with my babies salivating for her flesh, she does not falter.

“Go back and tell him his end is near.”

I study her for a moment. She is very brave, but very stupid. Although, I have to confess to being impressed that she is so whole after still being so dead a few days ago. “Oh, poor little Fire Bird—” My voice catches in my throat before I can finish my insult. My breath is trapped too. My lungs feel hot—like there is acid inside them, bubbling, swirling, pushing on my insides.

I try to laugh, but the feeling grows stronger, and the laugh turns to a whimper.

My babies know I’m in trouble. They begin to bark and howl.

The Fire Bird raises her hand, twists it, and slams my airways shut. I grab my throat, eyes wide, half terrified, half transfixed by her sudden burst of power.

The hounds won’t let her take me. They surge forward, barreling toward her but—keeping me in her intangible grasp—she turns her eyes on them. Fire blooms in her face. A wave of heat rumbles through the cobbled path. It undulates, like waves of fire are surging beneath it, and knocks my hounds from their feet. They roll away from me, crying and howling.

The Fire Bird lifts me into the air with nothing more than a flick of her wrist. Then she stares up at me and calmly says, “Do you remember what to tell him?”

This time, when I try to speak, my voice returns but it is reedy and weak. “His end is… near,” I stutter, acrid hate swirling in my belly. She will regret this. When he breaks her in two and drinks her blood from her splayed veins, her last thought will be that she should not have been so arrogant. She should not have underestimated him.

The Fire Bird studies my face, then nods and throws me to the ground. I tumble over myself and land in a heap. My body still burns on the inside. It makes me want to scratch my arms and pull my clothes off and yank out my hair.

“Go,” she sings, her voice like metal, piercing my skin.

I stumble to my feet. Her mates gather behind her. Three mages, a polar bear, and a werewolf. Even rolled into one, they would not be powerful enough to protect her from what is to come.

I tip my head back and laugh. It fills the surrounding air, but before it can echo off the walls of the town hall, I have turned on my heels and I am fleeing back to my King.

35

NOVA

When Eve disappears from view, I release the crowd from their bubble and tell them to go home. They seem reluctant—lingering and staring at me as if they want to remain here where I can protect them.

“It is not enough,” I tell them. “Eve is just a witch. She’s powerful, but her magick can be broken. The Shadow King is much more, and there are things I must do now. Watch for my signal. When you see it, come to The Hollow.”

As they shout questions and plead for answers, I push through them with my mates at my heels. Before we reach Rev’s, I veer away from Main Street and head for the woods behind The Cross.

“Nova?” Tanner catches my arm. Despite everything, he looks at me in exactly the same way he always has; with deep, sparkling eyes that are full of love and lust.

“We need to go back to the lake.” I look past him at the others. “It’s time for me to show you how we’re going to win.”

Snow releases a low grumble. I walk over to him and wind my fingers into his thick, surprisingly soft fur. I kiss the top of his snout and he rubs his forehead against my chest. Then he dips his head and shoulders so I can climb onto his back. I don’t need to; I could make it to the lake a hundred times faster than him if I wanted to. But somehow it feels right to approach it like this. All of us. Side by side.