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Elena and My Sons aim to hold back the sea? It’s one thing for Oren, a fae borne of water magic, to do so, but for them it’s tantamount to suicide. The amount of energy that it would take, even with all five of them … “Elena, you can’t.”
“I can, and I will. I’m not about to let my Father-in-law-slash-future-Brother-in-law die on my watch.” She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “I never thought I’d be saying that.”
“Lena … Thank you …” Callie’s eyes fill with fresh tears, and the energy in the room shifts as Elena and her mates cast a spell to create a bubble of air around us all. I take note that their spell excludes Leviathan, though My Brother unfortunately can still breathe underwater, even in his human form. The water surges back in around us, slamming into the bubble, but Elena and her mates hold firm. Callie’s aura glows brighter, and when the glow dissipates, the four fae stand next to me, confusion written on their faces beneath the golden helms and splashes of demon blood.
“Whoa! How the fuck did we end up here?”
“Molli, help Him!” Callie’s voice breaks as she pulls my head into her lap. There’s not much room on it, what with the baby taking up considerable real estate there, but I don’t mind. I’ll spend my last moments here. With My Family.
“Oh, shit! C’mon, Oren. Time to get to work. Do you have enough juice after holding the sea back?”
The blue-haired fae man nods. “I’ll find the ‘juice,’ as you put it.”
Cherry and Holden, the larger Alpha wolves, join the two fae at my side. Their bloody snouts touch my chest, and their eyes glow crystal blue, the only outward sign of their magic. Blue and white lights illuminate the air around me as the fae begin to channel their energies.
For the second youngest here, Molli takes charge surprisingly well. “Cal, I know you have two types of magic in you, so I’m going to ask you to help, too. Use whatever you got.”
Callie sobs and puts a hand over the gaping wound in my chest. Her aura glows brighter, mixing with the energies of Molli and Oren.
“There you go. Keep it up. Cherry, Holden, do what you can. I’m going to focus on the life-bond between these two—er, three—and use that to anchor Asmodeus’s soul in this plane, in His body. Oren, babe, try to mend Him quickly. He’s already lost a lot of blood.”
Oren nods, and I watch with detached interest as the blue light splits into hundreds of threads, each latching onto a different damaged part of me and stitching them all together.
Though I cannot see the wolves’ magic, I feel it. Warmth vibrates through me, like a gentle humming, centered on my chest.
Some part of me is in awe of these combined efforts to heal me. I’m a demon, aPrinceof demons, and these good souls, these beings destined for Heaven, are joining forces to keep me alive. Risking their lives for mine, even. I know enough about Earth magics to know that this will tax all of them to the point of exhaustion, if not worse.
With all the remaining strength I have, I lift my hand and put it over Callie’s, lacing Our fingers together. I look up into her eyes, locking my gaze on her. Even distraught as she is, she’s a vision of perfection.
“Don’t worry, Az. We’ve got You.” Her voice wavers, giving away her doubts. “We’re not letting You go.”
I try to smile up at her, but a surge of pain—perhaps a byproduct of the healing, I’m sure—causes me to grimace instead. “If I do go, at least I’ve got the best view in any Realm.”
Callie chuckles despite herself. “I’ll give You an even better view if You live.”
She definitely knows how to motivate a man … and a demon.
Molli rolls her eyes. “Ew.”
The Earth beings work tirelessly for hours. Outside the bubble that Elena and My Sons have conjured, Leviathan rages, pacing back and forth and testing the sphere in different places, no doubt searching for a weakness, a way in to finish me off.
Elena breaks concentration just long enough to chastise us.
“Y’all could hurry this shit up. Bucko outside wants in.”
I can’t help but chuckle. My Brother has been called many names in his time, but “Bucko” is not one of them.
To my surprise, Molli answers in the affirmative.
“Yeah, yeah. We’re almost done.”
Almost done? I lift my head and look at what once was a deep opening through my chest to the other side, replaced now by fresh scar tissue, almost sealed shut. Not even a trickle of blood remains from the grievous wound, save what had already spilled down my chest.
How …?
Callie leans down to whisper in my ear. “Wanna do the honors, baby?”
Something metal touches my free hand, and I glance over to see that Oren has slid the hilt of his blade into it. I meet his opal eyes, and he gives the barest of nods. I wrap my fingers around the grip and clench the sword in my hand.
