He grinned. “All the warriors come here . . . even those we don’t expect sometimes.”
A bellowing roar that put Dox’s cry to shame shook the air, and I was running from my parents toward the blue, black, and silver dragon as he dropped toward me. Blaz, his wings shimmering in the bright sunlight, landed in front of me. He snaked his head out and I grabbed his face as best I could, another tiny piece of my heart healing. All the loss of the last year made sense, and even though they hurt me, I understood why.
“Rylee, you’re almost done.”
I looked up at him. “Your voice isn’t in my head.”
“Not here.” He grinned and winked one golden eye at me. He bent his front leg and I scrambled onto his back. No harness, but I wasn’t worried.
Other dragons dropped out of the sky, and across the open plain came the thundering of hooves. The warriors and heroes around me mounted, but they didn’t move forward. Their eyes all rested on me.
I lifted my hand into the sky, and slowly made a fist, but the words clogged in my throat. What the fuck was I doing? What would happen to these people I loved so dearly if they died a second time fighting for me? Would their souls be destroyed? I couldn’t bear it if that was the case.
“It’s not like the other side, Rylee,” my mother said as she climbed up behind me and settled on Blaz’s back. Mom looked at me with a wry twist on her lips. “This isn’t going to be a battle like all those you’ve faced so far.”
I swallowed hard. “You’re here, why is no one looking to you?”
“Because it is not my blood sealing the Veil. You have to direct it. That is the last thing you must do. We will guard your flank and your back as you face Orion one last time.”
She scooted closer and wrapped her arms around me. “I’m sorry, but I can’t believe I’m holding you again. It’s been so long since I said goodbye.”
Blaz looked back at me and I nodded. He launched into the air and I held my mother’s arms to me, thinking of Marcella. Perhaps one day I’d get the chance to hold her again, after she crossed the Veil.
As I stared at the seething darkness in front of us, I could only hope that was the case. That I didn’t fuck up this last step and doom the world to the demons.
No pressure, no pressure at all.
CHAPTER 48
LIAM
HE COULDN’T HEAR Rylee’s heart beating, and he thought perhaps his own had stopped. This was not how it was supposed to happen. Lurching toward her, he didn’t see Alex until the kid stood up and blocked him. “Lark said you can’t touch her.”
“I’ll fucking well touch her if I want,” he snarled. But Alex didn’t back down.
“Boss, Lark is trying to help her.” Alex pushed him back hard enough to make him stumble.
Liam reluctantly looked away from Rylee’s pale face. Lark was on her knees, her arms raised over her head as her whole body shook. “What’s she doing?”
Lark spoke softly. “I’m holding her spirit. Her body is close to true death, but if I can hang onto her long enough . . . .”
Faris leapt forward, shoving Liam aside. “You can put her back?”
Sweat dripped down the back of her neck and into her shirt. “Yes.”
“What can we do to help?”
“Right now, keep the demons off me. I need all my strength for this.”
Faris spun and Liam let him lead. The vampire leapt toward the demons, tearing heads off with his bare hands and eviscerating any that got within even twenty feet of the slab and Rylee’s body. Liam egged him on, giving him whatever strength of spirit he could.
Anything to keep Rylee safe.
CHAPTER 49
LARK
I’D LIED TO LIAM to keep him out of my way. I wasn’t at all sure I could put Rylee back into her body, but it was the only thing I could try. Holding onto her spirit was like wrestling with the wind. Her strength was still there, and though she wasn’t exactly fighting me, she wasn’t helping, either.
All around us, the demons kept coming. Though they were mortal now, and easier to kill, the sheer numbers would eventually overwhelm us. Even as I thought that, another of our people went down. The shaman, Louisa, and then the ogre, Mer.
The blond leader of the vampire nation, Doran, glanced at me. His green eyes met mine and in that split second I knew . . . he could help me.
“Doran, to me. Now!”
He didn’t hesitate and leaped the distance between us in two jumps. Our ranks tightened, the circle around us smaller from losing the shaman, ogre, and now Doran to my command. The wolves were down to only a few dozen and the half-breed trolls were down to less than ten.
“Elemental, I never thought I’d see you again. What am I saying? I knew we’d run into each other.” He gave me a wink, though it looked like an effort.
“Old history,” I spit out. “Not the time to discuss it.”
He grinned at me, but it was forced. “She’s fighting you, isn’t she?”
“Not intentionally. It’s in her nature to be difficult. Her spirit is strong and wants to move through the Veil, to pass over, and I’m about the only thing holding her here.” I wriggled my fingers, hooking them deeper into her spirit. Though she was deep in the Veil, I could feel her, but was barely able to hang onto her.
“When I bring her back, she will be bloodless.”
“Which means she won’t survive even if you can hang onto her.” He put a hand to my lower back and a flood of energy ripped through me.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” He leaned closer, looking Rylee over before letting out a slow breath. “Bloodless. Are you sure? Every last drop?”
“That’s the rules of the game, vampire,” I whispered, trying to conserve the energy he’d given me.
“Then I think . . . maybe I might be able to help.”
What in the seven hells was he talking about?
It took my fatigued brain more than a few beats to pick up what he was laying down. “Are you goose shitting on me?”
His grin was crooked and his eyes glittered. “Not even for a second.”
Mother goddess . . . there was a chance. Not a good one, and she might be pissed as hell if we managed it . . . but a chance.
“Do it. When the time comes, do it,” I said, digging into her spirit, holding it tighter. I bowed my head. “Not without a fight, Rylee. We aren’t letting you go without a knockdown, drag out, black and blue fight.”
I only could hope she would not want to kill us for what we’d done to her.
Of course, that was if she survived at all.
CHAPTER 50
RYLEE
BLAZ’S WINGS BEAT in time with my heart. My mother sat behind me, and I was heading into my last battle with Orion.
Yet there was no fear in me. The other dragons around us in the air sparkled with vibrant colors in every shade and hue. Below on the plains, the unicorns galloped, keeping up with the dragons easily. Their horns glinted, and more than one let out a whinny that sounded more like battle cries than a gentle call.
“How do I close the Veil?” The question burst out of me as I realized that was the one part missing in the book of prophecy. “There was not a fucking thing about this bit.”
“No one could have possibly known, Ry,” Mom said. “The prophecy could only take you so far, you have to do the rest.”
“Did you know, when you had me, that this would be my fate?” I turned to look her in the eye and was surprised to see her crying. “Did you?”
“No, my girl. I never had a clue. I was young and foolish, and the world was mine to explore. I had no idea there was more to our blood until it was too late. Until you were already on your way.” She took a slow breath. “But even with the little time I had, the small amount I held you in my arms . . . I would do it all again in an instant.”
I smiled at her, truly understanding. For Marcella, I would do it all again. For all those I’d loved along the way, the pain was worth it.
Blaz l
et out a cough, interrupting us. “Here we go, Rylee.”
“But what do I do?” I yelped as he drew parallel with the undulating darkness. Staring into it, I could see it was the physical barrier between the demons’ level and their access into the other levels, and from there into the world. Instinct took over and I reached for the darkness, but it was too far away. “I need you to land, Blaz.”
“You got it.” He tucked his wings and dove down as the first thread of the blackened Veil shot out and tried to grab him.
He spun as we plummeted, missing the tendril easily. “Whatever you need to do, do it fast,” Blaz yelled back at me. From the black Veil, demons began to wriggle through. The heroes didn’t back down, but went into the battle in full warrior mode. Dox, Sla, Lop, and Dev took on the demons with a fervor that only ogres could produce, and as they fought, Mer’s spirit flickered into existence. She didn’t hesitate, but stepped in with them, as though she hadn’t just been slaughtered on the other side.
“You ready?” Blaz asked.
“Nope.” I shifted my weight, looking for my weapons. But I had nothing on me. Not a single blade.
Fucking hell.
We landed and I was already sliding off before he came to a full stop.
My mom jumped off with me, and ran to where my father waited for her. They stood side by side, cutting a swath through the demons as though they were taking a walk in the park. Erik was on the other side of my mom, never moving far from her, reminding me that he had loved her first.
There were no demons coming for me this time, though. They avoided me like I didn’t exist. Only one demon faced me.
Orion stood within the darkness, glaring out at me. “I will always be stronger than you. Which means no matter how this plays out, you will lose.”
Is that what this was about? A fucking pissing contest?
I doubted it. I put my hand into the darkness, thinking I could hold myself out.
I was wrong and the black Veil sucked me in with one gulp, my ears ringing with Orion’s laughter as my family and loved ones battled behind me, yet again.
CHAPTER 51
LARK
RYLEE’S SPIRIT BEGAN to slip through my fingers. “I’m losing her,” I yelled, knowing it would distract everyone around me, but not caring. The Veil hadn’t closed yet, which meant she was still fighting to end this. If Rylee couldn’t finish what she started, we were all dead.
Calliope, the young leader of the unicorns swept in to me first. Her white coat was splotched with blood, heavy down her chest, but none of it looked to be hers.
We can hold the line on our own, but not for long. Minutes. Is that enough?
“It will have to be.”
She let out a shrill whinny, and the remaining unicorns circled us and the burnt out farmhouse, keeping the demons at bay. I looked up into the sky. “Eve, we will need you too. You and Ophelia have ties to Rylee. We need everyone who loves her.”
Alex drew closer to me, his hands hovering over Rylee. “Can I touch her now?”
Jaw clenched, I nodded. “In a minute, yes. We have to, if we’re going to hold her.” I dropped my hands first, pressing them against her bare belly. My spirit blended with Rylee’s and I gave her all I had, feeling the dip in my own life force as I pumped it into her.
I fed my emotions and thoughts into her: how I wished we’d had more time together. How proud I was that she was my friend. How I trusted her to complete the monstrous task laid at her feet alone. “You can do this, Rylee.”
Pamela was there beside me, her hands clutching Rylee’s opposite hand, and holding it to her cheek. “Believe, Rylee. You have to believe.”
Liam dropped to his knees and cupped Rylee’s face with his hands, bent over and kissed her softly. He whispered something in her ear, something too soft for even me to hear.
Eve was next, dropping behind me and reaching out with a talon. She clutched Rylee’s leg. “Hang on, Rylee. A little longer.”
Ophelia clawed at Orion’s body and pulled him out of the way, then laid her head on the slab so her muzzle was pressed against Rylee’s other leg. Rylee, you promised me you wouldn’t die. You must come back.
Doran laid his hand over Rylee’s heart. “You are stronger than him, Rylee. You always have been.”
Will, the panther shifter, slid close and dropped a hand to touch her. “Come on, Rylee, you can do this.”
India, the little spirit seeker that had remained glued to Calliope’s side, knelt beside Liam and touched Rylee’s face. “Your spirit is stronger than his, Rylee.”
Charlie wrapped his hands around her right arm. “Come on, lass. You bees everything this world has waited for. Don’t yous doubt it for a second.”
Alex waited until everyone else was holding her, the battle around them ebbing and flowing, the circle contracting. I looked at him. “Now, Alex. You are the last, and perhaps the lynch pin to this moment. She is bound to you like no other. Not even Liam.”
He nodded, let out a slow breath, shifted and then lay his head over her chest, his black fur covering her. His words were the simplest, and yet I knew as he did, they were more powerful than anything else he could have said.
He let out a deep throated whine and closed his eyes.
“Alex loves Rylee.”
CHAPTER 52
ALEX
WHEREVER RYLEE WAS going, I was going. My choice. My decision. I’d promised her I would stay to the end. I would hold to that promise no matter where it took me.
I clung to her, knowing only that I couldn’t go on if she wasn’t with us. The whine slipped past my lips; pain, fear, and utter desperation. She couldn’t leave this world.
I wouldn’t let her.
CHAPTER 53
LIAM
HE HELD HER face gently, his lips pressed against her forehead. His love was all he had to offer her.
Faris closed his eyes. Love, who would have thought he would find it now, and with Rylee?
Liam smiled as Faris’s thoughts flowed over him. But that wasn’t what caught his attention. Around them, the sky was lightening.
He tensed and looked at Berget. She shook her head, but her eyes were scared. “We can’t let her go.”
“I know,” he said softly, reaching out and taking her hand. “Faris, you understand what this means?”
The vampire let out a sigh. That we’re both idiots, willing to die for her.
Liam couldn’t help the smile that curved his lips. “That’s love, my friend.”
Faris startled. Friend.
“What would you call us?”
More like brothers at this point. The vampire grunted. Liam couldn’t argue. He looked past the circle of unicorns to the sky. The faintest hint of pink tinged the lower horizon in the east. Liam wasn’t terribly worried. A strange sense of peace flowed over him. He’d left her once and found her again, and he had to believe this wasn’t the end for them.
What fear Faris had eased at the thought. Yes, I think you’re right. We won’t lose her.
Their bond was too strong. He swallowed hard and turned his head, inadvertently catching Lark’s eye. She stared at him, then her head snapped around to the horizon.
“Marco! Get the blackout curtains, something, anything to cover the vamps!”
The remaining Harpy let out a shriek of acknowledgement, but already Liam could feel his skin heating up.
“Berget.” Lark shifted and pretty much laid on top of the smaller vampire. Berget curled up under her, but didn’t take her hands from her sister. None of them could, not as long as Rylee was still fighting to end it.
“Faris, can you open the Veil?” Doran asked, his green eyes swirling with ideas.
Liam shook his head. “No. Not without taking my hands from her.”
The others threw out idea after idea, but Liam already knew the outcome.
And so did Faris.
The sun slid upward and the first rays hit him hard, like being dipped in burning oil.
He bit down
on the scream that roared up his throat. Around him the clatter of voices, the whoosh of wings, the scream for him to get under cover.
Too late, seconds and inches too late. Faris breathed through him, a peace that the vampire hadn’t known for hundreds of years and his voice broke on his final words.
“To live for love is a blessing, but to die for love? I see, now, to die for love is an honor.”
CHAPTER 54
RYLEE
THE BLACK VEIL, the seventh Veil and the only thing between the world and the demons at the moment, sucked me in with a rather large belch. I stood in front of Orion, seeing the glow of his aura around his body for the first time. It wasn’t black, but a bright pulsing silver that beat in time with his heart. I looked down at myself. A dim thread of gold ran around my body, also beating in time with my heart.
“You see, you aren’t strong enough.” Orion laughed, stalking toward me. He grabbed my hands and linked our fingers together before I could jerk away from him. I stilled my initial instinct to fight him and locked my fingers around his. His grip was dry and cold, and he squeezed until my knuckles popped, forcing me to one knee.
I shook my head. “No, I’m not strong enough; you’re right.”
His eyes widened. “You admit it?”
Slowly, I lifted my eyes to his. “Not on my own, I’m not.” Around me the flicker of spirits whispered. Lark, Pamela, Berget, Doran, Eve, Ophelia, Charlie, Will, India.
Liam and Faris.
Alex.
They were indistinct and yet their strength fed mine. The pulsing band of gold grew around me until it was three times the size of Orion’s.
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