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As he moved toward the foyer, he gestured with a quick wave of his hand for her to join him. She didn’t have to be told twice, but ran to his side.

He took her hand. “Stick close.”

“I will.”

Moving across the foyer, then turning into the hall leading to the bedrooms and the library, he opened the control box. He flipped the switch to override the automatic commands and pressed the shutter button. The sudden sound of the shutters lowering made her jump again as they had the first time.

The next moment, there was an awful banging on the steel, gaining in volume as more and more hands struck the metal. What followed was worse as several wraiths started to shriek in the horrible way the Invictus wraiths could.

“Oh, God.” She covered her ears.

But he took her hands away, forcing her to hear the thunder-like sounds. “You need to be strong, Regan. We’re in it right now and this noise is nothing; it’s only meant to frighten you, but don’t let it.” He kept hold of her right hand. “Okay. Back to the living room.”

“Why there?”

“Because if any of these Invictus have enough battle energy to bust down the windows, we’ll have room to fight.”

“We?” She swallowed hard.

He lifted her arm. “Do you see how your marks are pulsing? They’re matching mine and what I’ve accessed is my battle energy, the vibration I can release when I engage the Invictus. And I believe you’re also experiencing a ramped up version of battle power.”

Regan stared at her arms, then closed her eyes, shutting out the terrible din of fists striking steel. She wanted to know exactly what he meant and to feel the energy herself.

A new vibration had started to pulse and it had Ian’s signature. She was feeling his battle power as well as her own since every realm-person had essential battle ability. She’d just never accessed hers before.

Opening her eyes, she turned and gripped Ian’s hand. “You’re right. But what should I do? This is all new to me.”

He held her gaze tightly. “Go with your instincts every step of the way. When the time comes, you’ll know what action to take. Be strong.”

She deliberately straightened her shoulders and forced herself to grow calm.

In response, he offered a crooked smile, then kissed her once on the lips. “You’ll do.”

She hoped to hell he was right.

The pounding on the shutters and the shrieks of the wraiths got louder and louder then suddenly stopped.

“Did someone issue an order or something?” she asked.

“I’m sure of it.”

“I’ve always thought of the Invictus pairs as completely unruly.”

“Not anymore. Margetta has found a way to harness them, to control them.”

Suddenly, several Invictus pairs slid between the steel shutters and the bank of curved glass windows. The wraiths’ eyes glowed a fierce red hue and their bonded mates, whether troll or fae, vampire or shifter, appeared crazed. Each began to hammer on the glass for effect, to make noise to frighten them. A couple of massive shifters threw their weight against the windows. Their combined battle energies could have busted the bullet-proof glass, but noise was something wraith-pairs loved to make.

Ian held up his right hand and let his battle energy flow. He erected a massive blue shield in front of the two of them, his power crackling the air.

Regan wished like anything she had Olivia’s ability to create a shield of invisibility. But for all her power as the Ruby Fae and the realm knowledge she shared on a daily basis with her fae students, she couldn’t do much in a battle situation.

Just when she was sure it couldn’t get worse, she felt Ian tense up. “Shit,” he muttered.

“What? What now?” Glancing up at him, she followed the direction of his gaze.

Ian was staring at a large vampire and his bonded wraith. The woman levitated, her dark black hair writhing as though a strong wind swirled around her. She wore the red gauzy strips of fabric pieced together in a long gown-like garment, a design common among the female wraiths. The woman smiled, bearing sharp yellow fangs.

Her vampire mate wore only leathers and tough-looking black boots with steel toes. His heavily muscled chest was bare.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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