by Sarra Cannon
From the sounds of it, the battle inside the castle was not quite as bad as the one taking place outside. Still, if I had to face more than a few demons at a time, there was no chance I’d be able to defeat them without any real powers of my own.
I dug through Anna’s bag and pulled out a vial of clear liquid. An invisibility potion. I only had one, and I wanted to make the most of it. I would need to move fast through the castle to locate Eva, but my guess was Selena had locked her away in the dungeon. I would look there first.
I downed the potion and waited only a moment for it take effect.
My body disappeared, but the bag of potions remained visible. I crouched low, hoping to keep the bag low to the ground as I walked up the stone steps to the castle. This entrance would bring me to the place where Selena had all her potions packaged and crated. The dungeon was just on the other side of that large room.
When I walked inside, the packing room was empty except for the vials of drug potions on the counters and a stack of wooden crates against the wall.
A lot of Selena’s workers and the men she called her “collection” would have been given the night off tonight, which was good for them, but likely very bad for Selena and Eva. I had to find them before Dominic and his demons won the fight and either killed them both or took them back to Vegas.
I crept through the packing room and searched the dungeon, but it was empty, too. Inside one of the three cells, however, a silver chain lay on the floor near the back. My heart tightened in my chest.
I had gotten here too late.
Eva was already gone.
Thirty-Two
Eva
Dominic yanked my hair, throwing me onto the marble floor of Selena’s living room.
I winced as my sore hip hit the floor.
“It looks like my demons are still fighting some of this siren’s men,” he said, snarling. “I guess we have no choice but to wait for them to finish before we make our way back to the cars. I have a private jet waiting for us in Charleston. Cost quite a lot of money to charter a jet on such short notice, but I know you’ll make it up to me, won’t you, Eva?”
Dominic walked over to a large butler’s pantry and opened a bottle of wine. He poured himself a glass and took a sip, as casually as if he were at a dinner party.
“Very nice,” he said, nodding to Selena. “You have fine tastes, my dear. You’ll fit right in back home. I can’t wait to show you off to all of my friends.”
One of his more powerful demon underlings came into the room and whispered something in Dominic’s ear. The two of them began a heated discussion about something I couldn’t understand.
Selena backed against the wall and slid down to the floor, her tears still pouring down her face in waves. For someone so ancient and powerful, she looked terrified. And I honestly couldn’t blame her.
Trying not to draw Dominic’s attention, I crawled over to her. He still hadn’t thought to tie ropes around my hands, which meant I had one good shot at bringing him down before he realized his error.
“Where did you put my purse?” I asked her as quietly as I could.
She jerked her head toward me, her eyes questioning.
“My purse?” I asked again.
As long as she hadn’t removed it, my dagger was still inside of it. I wasn’t sure it would be powerful enough to kill a demon like Dominic, but I at least had to try.
Selena lifted her chin, motioning for me to remove the black mask around her face, but that was too risky. She obviously hadn’t been able to successfully lure him with her song the first time, and as soon as Dominic realized I’d set her free, he would be on us both so fast, we might as well already be dead.
I shook my head and asked about the purse again. Before she could answer, though, I felt the energy shift in the room. Someone else was in here with us, but I couldn't see anyone nearby. Still, I could feel a presence.
His presence.
I searched for Nik, somehow knowing in my heart he was here.
As soon as Dominic’s man bowed and left the room, I caught sight of movement near the dining room door.
Nik appeared out of thin air, his hand raised. He threw something down onto the floor with great force. A glass vial broke open and long, green vines began to shoot across the marble floors and up the walls. It happened so fast, not even Dominic had a chance to react before the entire room was covered in thick vegetation.
The moment I realized what was happening, I grabbed Selena and pulled her deeper into the jungle of growth in the room. When I’d gotten several feet away, I stopped and went to work on the red ropes binding her hands.
As soon as the ropes were untied, she tore at the black mask around her face, gasping for air the moment she’d removed it.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Listen to me very carefully,” I said. “It won’t take Dominic long to get rid of these vines. Tell me where you put my purse. I know you’re scared, but if we both want to make it out of this alive, we’re going to have to work together.”
Selena nodded. “Jennings put it on the table in the front entryway,” she said, her body trembling. “But why is your purse important? What can we possibly do against him? He had me bound before I even knew who he was or why he was here. That’s never happened to me before. I can usually control men so easily.”
“Dominic isn’t a man,” I said. “He’s a demon. An ancient one. But if you have any songs that work against demons, it’s time to get them ready. I’m going to try to get my dagger out of my purse. I need you to stay close, and if you see any sign of him, you start singing. Do you understand?”
Wide-eyed, she nodded and grabbed my hand.
I stared down at it, hardly believing that the woman who’d just captured me and thrown me in her dungeon just an hour or so ago was now clinging to my hand like a lost child.
I squeezed her hand back. “It’s going to be okay,” I said. “We can do this. Let’s move. Can you lead me to the entryway?” I asked.
She nodded again and kicked off her heels. She led me through the maze of vines that were already starting to wilt to a dull grayish green. I followed as quickly as I could and soon, we had passed out of the dining room and entered a large entry with enormously high ceilings and a grand marble staircase.
I kept my eye out for Nik, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. I hoped that meant Dominic couldn’t see him, either.
Selena pointed to a glass table that held a ridiculously large vase filled with roses, hydrangeas, and peonies. There, next to it, was my purse. Hope shooting through my chest, I ran forward and reached for the purse. My hand caught the leather strap, but some invisible magic lifted me up and threw me across the room.
My body slammed hard against the marble floor, and I winced as the contents of my purse scattered across the slick surface. The dagger slid just out of my reach, but as I tried to lunge toward it, Dominic stepped across my path.
The vines from whatever Nik had thrown on the floor were now all shriveled, the mess that had helped hide us now nothing but a few stray vines and a cloud of green dust. Nik emerged from the dust-cloud, his hand raised with another potion, but this time Dominic was too fast. He grabbed Nik’s hand and with a mere flick of his wrist, the demon threw Nik across the room, his back slamming against the wall with a loud thud.
The sound was so similar to the one my mother made that day when, as a child, Dominic’s demons stole her life and took me captive. This couldn’t be happening again.
But just as Dominic turned his attention on me, the first notes of a gorgeous song rang through the hall.
Selena stood, her eyes locked on Dominic’s face. He was frozen in place, as if he couldn’t look away from her. And for a moment, neither could I.
But as she continued to sing, I realized this was my only chance. My one hope to end this now and forever.
I lunged forward, wrapping my hand around the hilt of the dagger.
I stood, positioning myself directly
behind the demon who had taken away my childhood, killed my mother, and nearly taken away my life.
With one swift motion, I buried the dagger into his heart from behind.
He screamed and fell to his knees, flailing his arms as he tried to remove the dagger, but it was too late for him.
His body withered, aged, and slowly turned to dust at my feet.
Thirty-Three
Nik
Eva plunged the dagger into the demon’s back. As his body crumbled to dust, I managed to stand, my body aching as I ran toward the woman I loved.
I drew her into my arms and held her as her body trembled with sobs. Together, we fell to our knees on the marble floor, locked in an embrace.
“I’m so sorry I let this happen,” I said. “I promised to keep you safe, Eva, and I almost lost you. I never want to lose you again. I love you.”
She looked up into my eyes, and I felt my entire world shift as she repeated those words back to me. “I love you, too, Nik,” she said. “I think I’ve loved you from the moment I first laid eyes on you.”
I pulled her into a kiss, pouring all my love into that one connection that meant more to me than any words could ever express. Before she had come into my life, I was hopeless and alone. I was a shell of the triton I used to be.
But she had brought me back to life and made me realize that my true worth, my true happiness was not tied to my powers or the shape of my body. I kissed her with the passion of ten years’ worth of sunsets, and when we finally pulled away from each other, I knew there was no force on earth that could ever keep us apart again.
The silver shackle on my wrist opened and fell to the floor with a clang. In an instant, I felt my powers returned to me. The magic I’d known as a child flowed through my veins again.
Eva and I both looked over to see Selena standing near the pile of dust on the floor, her eyes locked on the two of us.
“All these years, I’ve taken joy in building my collection,” she said. “I thought controlling so many men made me powerful, but after tonight, after knowing what it feels like to be at the mercy of someone else, I realize my collection was my greatest weakness. My greatest shame.”
Shimmering tears streamed down her face as she looked at Eva.
“You could have left me there alone and run away with Nik the moment he dropped that potion,” she said. “Why didn’t you?”
Eva stood and walked over to the siren, taking her by the hand.
“Because I know what it’s like to be his prisoner,” she said. “And no matter what you’ve done in the past, no one deserves that. Not even you.”
“Thank you for what you did for me,” she said. “I know I can never truly make up for what I’ve done, but I hope that by giving you your freedom, Nik, in time you can learn to forgive me.”
I got to my feet and went to join them both.
“Set them all free,” I said to her. “Stop running drugs and trying to find your worth in the pain and misery of others. If you do that, maybe in time, you’ll learn to forgive yourself.”
Outside, Nathan, Cole, and the other hunters had arrived to take care of Dominic’s lesser demons. When they joined us inside, Nathan stared at the dagger and the demon’s dust on the floor.
“I thought I told you to wait for us, Nik,” he said, a hint of a smile on his face. “But I’m glad you didn’t. Nice work taking care of that demon, though.”
I laughed. “It wasn’t me,” I said. “It was a joint effort between these two ladies.”
Nathan raised an eyebrow and nodded in approval. “If either of you ever wanted to think about training to be hunters, you know where to find us,” he said with a laugh.
As they continued the cleanup efforts, Eva and I started to walk away when something hidden inside the dust glimmered in the light. I paused and crouched down to take a closer look. Using the dagger, I sifted through the dust and lifted out a beautiful gold and emerald bracelet.
Eva gasped and reached for it, clutching it against her chest.
“My mother’s bracelet,” she said.
“It was stolen from The Dragon’s Hoard tonight,” I said. “That’s how I knew the demon had found you, but by the time I realized it, you were already gone. He must have tracked you from there.”
“It’s all I have left of her,” she said. “She spent most of my young life moving me around and trying to keep me safe, but I wish she was here now to see that finally, after all this time, I’ve found a home I can truly call my own.”
Eva wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her body close to mine.
“I’m finally free,” she said.
Together, we walked out of the castle at the edge of town and out into the night, toward our destiny.
Epilogue
Eva
I was incredibly nervous as I stood in front of the mirror and checked my appearance for the hundredth time.
The dress Nik’s sister, Aurelia, had sent for me to wear to her wedding was gorgeous. It was made of a thin, iridescent material that clung to my body and shimmered like scales. She’d even sent a clip made of small, curved shells for me to wear in my hair. I hadn’t gotten the chance to meet Nik’s family yet, but they were already treating me as if I were one of their own.
Nik hadn’t been home in more than a decade, and even though his brother, Leonidas, had told him a hundred times that everyone was excited to welcome him back with open arms, I could still sense his worry and concern.
There would be a lot to talk about with his father, someday, but today was about Aurelia and her wedding. There would be time to discuss the future of the kingdom and the plans for their family on another day.
Personally, I was just happy we would both be able to attend the wedding together.
Normally, a triton could only shift between human and triton form at night near a full moon. When I’d first realized his true form and magic had been restored, I was terrified that he would choose to go back to his family’s kingdom. It would have devastated me to lose him, but it also would have broken my heart to see him give up his triton form forever just to stay in Willow Harbor with me.
As a gift, though, Selena had given some of her blood to Anna and asked her to create a permanent spell that would allow Nik to shift between forms whenever he wanted. It took some time to figure out, but eventually Anna was able to craft the perfect spell.
It was a dream come true for him, and I think for Selena, it eased some of her guilt.
Her gift meant Nik and I could have a life here in Willow Harbor together, but he could also shift into his true form at any time to go visit his family or help defend his kingdom when they needed him.
I, on the other hand, would be the only human attending the wedding today. Anna had crafted a water-breathing potion for me that she promised would last more than twelve hours. To say I was nervous was an understatement, but I was also excited. I was going to be the first human to ever see a triton’s kingdom.
I left my room at the Inn a little early and walked across the street to the town square. I took off my shoes and stood in the grass beneath the beautiful willow tree and closed my eyes, letting its power flow through me.
Behind me, strong arms wrapped around my waist, and I smiled as Nik kissed my cheek.
I had spent my entire life dreaming of adventures, but never in any of my dreams had I imagined a life as wonderful and adventurous as the one I had found here in Willow Harbor.
“Thank you,” I whispered, my heart full of gratitude for this mysterious tree and this incredible man.
After all that we had been through, we were finally free.
We were finally home.
Extend Your Stay In Willow Harbor…
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