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We’d been making out in the middle of a battlefield like love-struck teenagers, and when I glanced up, I saw that Gavriel was still fighting from the lip of the crater. Only a few fallen remained standing, and my stomach churned at the sight of them.
“We have to get up there,” I said thickly. “Kingston. Can you carry all of us?” Then I turned to Hannah. “Stay here. Help keep his minions from winning. Please.”
She nodded once, her eyes wide and scared, but almost feral with battle lust and determination. Then she turned and waded back into the fight, blowing several fallen warriors back with the force of her magical blast.
Kingston had shifted while I was distracted, and now he let out a low, rumbling noise that was almost like a purr. All four of us scrambled onto his back, and he took off into the sky with a heavy sweep of his wings.
“Head for the crater’s edge!” I screamed over the sound of the wind in my ears. “Get me over the fight. Then drop low!”
“Fuck, Piper.” Xero’s voice was choked and tight. “I didn’t tell you that you were my soulmate just so you’d sacrifice yourself for all of us.”
“It’s not a sacrifice,” I shot back, gazing at him fiercely. “I’m doing this because everything you see in me is what I want to be. And I’m not planning on dying.”
If I can help it anyway.
I didn’t let that thought linger long enough to gain a foothold in my mind. This wasn’t about living or dying anymore anyway. It was about saving the things that were most precious to me in the world.
Kingston’s massive wings carried us fast, and when he swooped low over the spot where Gavriel fought off the remaining fallen, the dark lord lifted one hand to hurl a bolt of blue light toward us.
My dragon shifter mate banked left, narrowly avoiding the blast, and I took advantage of the distraction to slip off his back.
I fell ten feet and landed hard, rolling as my ankle twisted beneath me. A sharp pain flared, and I clenched my jaw to keep from crying out.
Gavriel’s eyes widened when he caught sight of me.
He looked just as terrifying as he had the last time I’d seen him. He was pale as a ghost, tall and lean. His long, spider-like fingers tapered into purple claws, which were almost black. His eyes were deep pools of complete darkness, with twin specks of bright red where his pupils should’ve been.
“You. I should’ve known this would all come down to you,” he hissed.
He sounded angry, and I felt a little swell of pride at that. He was pissed as fuck because we’d snatched away his easy victory, and it was extremely satisfying to watch him rage—even if his side was currently winning.
“Yeah,” I grunted, testing out my ankle. I was pretty sure I’d broken it, but it was already healing, thanks to the power roaring through my veins. “It must really get your panties in a bunch to get your ass kicked by a girl.”
“On the contrary, foolish child. I will merely destroy you first. Then I’ll torture and kill your little toys, and then my army will sweep over the earth.”
He lifted his hand, and I could see dark smoke beginning to gather at his fingertips. The stench of death seemed to pulse from it, and fear chilled my skin. Kingston was banking in the sky, wheeling around to come back toward us, and I couldn’t let him or any of my mates get hit by that smoke.
I reached out with my magic toward Gavriel.
As I did, the yellow light that’d poured from me earlier began to radiate from my skin again. This time, it flowed directly toward the lord of the underworld, encompassing him in its bright glow.
His eyes widened in shock just before the beams covered him completely, and as soon as they did, he hesitated, his arm half-raised.
Holy shit.
“Turn around and go back to the underworld,” I commanded, imbuing every bit of power I could into my voice.
“Yes.” He blinked, staring at me with his creepy as fuck eyes as his red irises dilated. “Yes. I must… go back…”
In my periphery, I could see Kingston bank again. He’d been making a beeline for Gavriel, but something about the light emanating from me held him back, almost as if it was a barrier he couldn’t cross.
Shit. Was the light I was pouring into Gavriel protecting him even as it held him in my thrall?
Motherfucker.
That was less than ideal. I wasn’t sure if my succubus power could actually convince Gavriel to give up his fight to conquer earth, and if I dropped the glow, he’d be on me in a second. He was too strong for me to hold for long.
I reached out with my feelings, and sure enough, I could feel his twisted mind and spirit already resisting me, pushing back against my hold.
