She frowned, her hands moving up and down my body, glowing pink, then shook her head.
“I’m sorry, no,” she replied. “Whatever this is, it’s stronger than what I’ve learned to do so far. I can stop it at the source, though it will mean the end for everyone here…”
As she said that, we both glared at Azazel. He didn’t seem happy to see a Daughter here, and instantly brought the rectangular diamond up, tightening his fist around it.
An unbearable pain shot through my heart, as if a thousand knives had pierced it at once, twisting slowly as they drove deeper. I broke into a cold sweat and roared in agony.
It was too much. I wanted to pry my chest open and rip out my own heart, just to stop the pain.
I cried out as I rolled to the side, unable to keep my eyes open.
I heard Azazel laughing.
Whatever that blood spell was, it had deeper, more horrifying effects that went beyond body control. I could only guess how much dark power he must have used to conjure up such torture. I felt death, cold and silent, clutching my heart.
I thought I’d made it, but I was wrong. Viola couldn’t save me, either.
I felt my limbs cooling and losing vigor, and I struggled for each lungful of air. My body was caving in. I was dying again, but I couldn’t be saved this time.
My mind rushed to my sister. I peeled my eyes open, desperate to see her one last time, but my vision was foggy and gray. I heard the shouting, the screaming, and the cries for help. I wanted to get up and help my friends.
Field. Phoenix. Vita. Serena.
They were all there, fighting for their lives and mine.
Hansa. Jax. Even the shifters. The Druids.
Anjani.
The pain of never seeing her again was worse than what I was experiencing under Azazel’s spell. My stomach dropped as everything I would miss about her flashed through my mind. The feel of her skin against mine. The smell of her hair. Her voice when she said she loved me. I would never get to worship her the way she deserved.
Grief crashed over me as I felt my body surrender to the pain. My heart couldn’t last much longer, its beating frayed and broken. Darkness enveloped me, trying to seduce me, inviting me to just let go.
I just wanted to see Anjani one last time.
I heard Phoenix grunting and Destroyers’ bodies thudding on the stone slabs. He hadn’t fed since he’d lost Viola. Chances were he’d soon run out of energy. Aida was crying out my name as she and Field defended themselves from another attack.
Viola left my side. I felt a chill filling the void she left behind.
I was of no use anyway. I was dying.
We needed her to stop Azazel.
“Jovi, no!” Aida’s scream pierced through the muffled noise of battle, while my senses further delved into oblivion.
“Jovi, hold on,” Serena gasped out, struggling to breathe. I could hear her choking.
The sound of everything slowly began to die down. Silence trickled through.
My muscles went soft, my arms and legs paralyzed and my breathing shallow.
It would soon be over.
“Jovi!”
I knew that voice. Yet it sounded so distant. So far away.
“Jovi, no, no, no,” Anjani pleaded from beyond the blackness that had swallowed me. “Hold on!”
I felt my head move, but not of my own volition. Anjani was next to me.
“Jovi, listen to me! Open your eyes!”
It was what I’d wanted, after all. To see her one last time.
Screw death. Death could wait a few more seconds.
I found one last sliver of energy and used it to push my eyelids open and gaze at the most beautiful creature I’d ever been fortunate enough to behold. Her long, curly black hair was loose down one shoulder, the tips tickling my face. It made me smile.
“Jovi, stay with me,” she whispered, tears streaming down her cheeks.
Her silvery skin glowed. I was thankful that I could see her in her full, unapologetically succubus nature, before death took me away.
“You’re beautiful,” I managed to say.
Or at least I thought I said it. I wasn’t sure, since I couldn’t exactly feel my lips moving. Her emerald-gold eyes were wet and filled with grief. It broke my heart, worse than Azazel’s spell.
“Open your mouth, Jovi,” she urged me, then ripped the wolf’s head pendant from the delicate chain around her neck.
What are you doing?
It took me too long to respond, lost in her shimmering beauty as I felt life dissipating from my flesh. I wasn’t ready to let go of her yet. I held onto consciousness as my inner-wolf howled one last time, giving me the jolt I needed to hold out for a few more seconds with her, while my heart continued to break and burn like a hay bale on fire.
It was enough time for me to watch as she pried the diamond out of the silver wolf’s jaws and shoved it into my mouth.
“Swallow it, Jovi, please,” she said.
I felt the stone in my mouth, cold and sharp. I couldn’t do much, but I could move my tongue just a little bit, enough to let the diamond roll down into my throat.
A peculiar coolness spread from my chest through the rest of my body as the diamond’s edges dissolved. Whatever was in it, it was doing something to me.
“That’s it, Jovi. Hold on, it’s almost over.” Anjani kept her eyes on my face, watching with concern.
The coolness gathered back into my chest and closed around my aching heart. I felt something snap inside me, but it didn’t hurt.
Suddenly my lungs were free, and I inhaled a profoundly deep breath, wheezing as the pressure in my ribcage vanished. Blood rushed through my veins. My legs and arms tingled as I regained feeling.
My heart muscle pumped strong and fast, making up for the minutes I’d spent being deprived of oxygen. I could see clearly again. I could see her. And there was relief shining all over her gorgeous face.
I could feel it, too, as death begrudgingly retreated and daylight washed over me.
The sounds of battle around us were once again clear and loud, and I reveled in each of them. Each clang, each thud, and each grunt was a reminder that I’d escaped my own end, twice in a row, within the same hour.
“Anjani,” I croaked, pleased to hear my own voice.
She bent forward and wrapped her arms around me, hiding her face in the hollow space between my neck and shoulder for a brief moment. Her heart was beating frantically, her muscles twitching as she held me tight.
I responded to her embrace, thankful to still be alive. Thrilled that I’d been given a little more time by her side.
“My love,” she said, her voice trembling, and she kissed me deeply.
“How did you do that?” I managed to ask as my senses kicked back into gear and I regained full control of my consciousness and my body. Azazel’s blood spell was gone.
“I found the old fae that gave you the pendant downstairs in the dungeon,” she explained quickly, glowing like the moon. “She told me what she’d been forced to do for Azazel, taking your blood and all that. But she gave you the wolf’s head pendant to help you. She knew something like this would come to pass and told me the moment she recognized me. So I came up here to find you—”
“And right in the nick of time, my sweet succubus.” I grinned and took her mouth in a brief but hungry kiss. “I love you now more than ever.”
“Good.” She winked. “Now let’s kick some Destroyer ass!”
Aida
My brother had made it. I almost couldn’t handle the joy of seeing him breathe and talk again. “Relieved” didn’t even begin to cover how I felt, and I made a mental note of the massive slap on the head that Jovi would get from me for nearly getting himself killed, followed by the hug of the century.
Field and I barely managed to give each other a smile before more Destroyers came at us. The shifters were doing a great job of keeping others at bay, but the slithering beasts kept pouring in. Field grabbed his hatchet
from the floor, and I snatched a sword off one of the fallen hostiles. We took our stances.
My blood chilled as I recognized one of the Destroyers moving toward us.
“Goren,” I murmured as horror clutched my heart.
He was big, a massive chunk of pure evil and brutality. I’d evaded him more than once, and yet he’d come all the way back to Luceria to fight us. I took a deep breath as a grin slit his face, his yellow eyes flickering black with anticipation and what appeared to be sheer excitement.
He seemed to live to inflict pain.
“We get to play again,” he hissed as he drew closer, his broadsword screeching as he pulled it out of its scabbard.
I caught a glimpse of Viola kneeling next to Hansa, who was convulsing from the poisoned arrow. The Daughter’s hands glowed pink as she pulled the projectile out and pressed on Hansa’s wound. But then I couldn’t watch anymore—Goren raised his sword and brought it down against me with a heavy swing.
“Come here!” he growled as I dodged and launched my own attack. He roared, blocking my sword with his.
Sparks flew, and he bared his fangs and laughed, effortlessly pushing me back.
Field darted past me and took on the other Destroyer, his hatchet sharp and relentless as he swung it down hard, forcing his opponent to slowly move back.
Goren came at me again, his blow even harder the second time around. I managed to block it, still, using my forearm to stop my own sword from being pushed back. I felt the blade cut through my skin, drawing blood, but I couldn’t back down.
I ducked in a swift spiraling move with my sword out, slashing his abdomen. Dark blood sprayed my face. He hissed, and I quickly withdrew, my gaze darting up and down his body, looking for weak spots.
“Don’t worry, little wolf girl.” Goren smirked. “I’ll take my time with some good old-fashioned torture before I hand you over to Azazel. Besides, you don’t need arms and legs to have visions.”
I shuddered at the mental image but held my ground, raising my blade with a confident grin.
“I kicked your ass once, and I can do it again,” I shot back.
It was enough to annoy him, a vein popping out of his thick neck. He charged me once more, and I summoned everything I’d learned during my sparring sessions with Field, Phoenix, and my brother. Goren, like every other sack of meat out to kill on this platform, had little tells I’d quickly learned to identify.
I was able to tell what kind of attack he was going for from the moment he raised his sword again. I dodged, then hit back with my sword at a lower angle, taking him by surprise. He still blocked me, but it took him the extra ounce of effort I needed to quickly perform a 360-degree turn to amplify my hit speed and ram my blade into his arm.
He growled from the pain but didn’t get a chance to retaliate.
I heard Hansa roaring from behind Goren before she jumped and shoved her broadsword so deep through his throat, it came out the other side. I had to move my head so I wouldn’t get cut in the process.
I stilled, my muscles tense and both hands clutching the handle of my sword, which was still stuck in his arm.
Hansa glared down at him. Goren’s eyes were bulging, his mouth gaping as he choked. Blood poured out, glazing his square chin and throat, before it joined the crimson stream flowing from Hansa’s masterpiece of a stab wound.
“I made a promise to the fallen sisters of the Red Tribe, and I have to say, I am thrilled that I’m able to keep it,” she said, her boot against his back.
She bellowed as she pulled the sword out and sprang upward in a twisted jump. She came down hard with a mid-air swing, and the blade cut Goren’s head off cleanly. She landed on both feet, wearing a proud grin. The head rolled off the platform, and that was the last either of us ever saw of the source of many of our nightmares.
Blood sprayed everywhere from his neck, but neither of us seemed to care. We smiled at each other. Revenge felt good.
The beast’s body fell to the floor. I pulled my sword back and growled as I kicked his body a couple of times, pushing him toward the edge. I put all my strength into the third hit, until the rest of Goren joined his head in the abyss below the platform.
Hansa and I both looked down at what was happening below, allowing ourselves a few seconds to catch a breath. Throngs of incubi were being savagely pummeled by our allied forces. Explosions tore their ranks apart, bright orange fireballs that expanded and burned everything in their path, even swallowing some of the Destroyers that had been too slow to pull back.
Bajangs were pouncing on hostiles, tearing their heads off, while Maras teamed up with the succubi to take on the hordes of Destroyers still defending the castle. The Lamias were hard at work, their Druid magic shooting fire darts out at the beasts, while the Tritones and Grezzi’s incubi were busy battling Azazel’s incubi.
One by one, however, the soldiers that had been charged with defending Luceria were breaking from their ranks and turning on their own garrisons. I could hear their commanders furiously spouting orders and telling them to get back into their positions, but many incubi had already decided to give our alliance a chance.
I couldn’t help but grin when I saw one cluster finally overpowered as our forces broke through the western gates and poured into the castle.
“This is it,” I said, then looked at Hansa.
“Let’s kill some more Destroyers, Aida,” the succubus replied. “They seem to have it covered down there.”
I winked, then nodded. We both turned around and stilled. There was plenty of fighting left to do, with Destroyers still keeping our forces busy while Azazel faced off with Draven, Serena still stuck in his invisible grip. Every time Draven tried to move toward him or launch a spell, all the while holding that golden force field against him, Azazel clamped down even harder on the chokehold in which he had Serena. Destroyers consistently tried to come at Draven, too, but Jax and the others did a fine job of keeping the beasts busy and away from the center of the platform.
Draven needed some kind of distraction to get Serena out of Azazel’s grip, but the others were busy keeping his side clear and defending themselves. I was about to suggest helping him to Hansa, when movement behind Azazel caught my eye.
Viola was slowly walking toward him.
As soon as he saw her, Draven’s force field died out, consternation imprinted on his face.
Viola’s body was gradually lighting up all bright and pink, her skin incandescent with sheer Eritopian power. Her gaze was glowing violet, her chin high and her expression solemn and unwavering. I’d seen something similar coming from her when she’d influenced the shifters back at the mansion.
This was serious stuff she was summoning.
My heart stopped as I understood what was happening.
Serena
Azazel’s hold on me was relentless, and I was beginning to see stars before my eyes. I choked and continuously struggled to free myself, but he was slowly yet surely suffocating me to the point where I couldn’t find the strength to even push out a barrier to distract him.
Draven had kept trying to intervene, but every time he’d muttered the beginning of a spell, Azazel hissed, warning him as he tightened his grip on me. The young Druids fought Destroyers away from us and tried to return to our side. They wanted to supply Draven with more of the energy he needed to perform stronger spells and get Azazel to drop me. We’d obviously missed a few details during our strategy session, but it was too late to turn back.
I then noticed Draven’s golden force field go out.
I caught a glimpse of Aida and Hansa taking a few steps toward us before they stopped, their eyes wide and their faces pale. It was then that I spotted Viola approaching us, and I stilled, suddenly worried less about my predicament and more about everyone else’s, remembering Vita’s first vision of how all this would end.
As Viola moved closer behind Azazel, he sensed her presence and glanced furiously at her—while still trying to keep his eyes on Draven to avoid a sur
prise attack.
“Okay, I clearly have to address this problem now.” He rolled his eyes with frustration. “What are you doing here? I thought you Daughters weren’t getting involved anymore!”
“You’re confusing me with my sisters,” Viola replied in a thousand different voices at once.
I had to admit that, even in my semi-conscious state, I was equally creeped out and in awe of her when she was powered up like this. She looked like a moving marble statue, incandescent in a bold pink hue while her eyes glowed violet, the lower part of her white silk dress fluttering in the wind.
She was several feet away from Azazel when she flashed into a pink mist and reappeared right in front of him. His bright green energy field, which he’d been using against Draven’s golden one, instantly faded – she’d passed right through it. She touched his face before he could even react, her hand glowing hot pink.
“No, don’t!” he managed to croak, eyes wide with genuine terror.
I felt the invisible force that had been choking me loosen, and I fell flat on my face. My whole body hurt, but I was thankful to feel the cold stone against my skin and the cool air filling my lungs again. I wheezed and choked as I looked up.
Azazel had let me go, now forced to deal with Viola.
A few seconds went by as Azazel blinked, but nothing happened.
Viola frowned, then took a step back. I understood then that Azazel was too powerful even for a Daughter’s simple touch to kill him. We’d guessed this much from Vita’s first vision about this potential ending for Azazel, but the circumstances had been different then, since we didn’t know he had Nova at the time. Now, even with Nova out of his reach, it seemed like the touch could not destroy Azazel.
“I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to do this. I tried to help my friends but you’re so bent on destroying every good thing in this world… Your power has spiraled out of control. The time has come for you to pay for your crimes, Azazel,” Viola said, sending shivers down my spine.
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