"I took another demon mark," Amber said, her lips pressed together into a thin line. "I couldn't watch you die, I'm sorry."
Ceri's face softened and she rubbed her hand over the place the knife had sunk in. She could be angry or blame Amber for making a foolish choice, but the truth was she was thankful she was alive. Amber hadn't had many choices. She met her alpha's eyes and said, "Thank you."
Amber's shoulders slumped in relief. "Get her off that stupid slab, I'm going to go check on the others."
Shane, who must have been the white wolf she'd seen, was slumped in a corner panting. As Derek helped her sit up, she saw that Genevieve was helping Tommy sit up with one arm. The other was cradled against her chest. Tommy's skin was red and angry from Selena's attack with the wand. Seeing his injuries only reminded her of the torture she'd endured.
Her fingers dug into Derek's arm as she struggled to keep from panicking. He pulled her into a tight hug and she buried her face in his shoulder, letting the scent of his sweat and cologne fill her nose, blocking out the rest of it. His touch grounded her and she slowed her breathing. Even though the physical wounds had healed, she couldn't escape the mental scars this day had left behind.
As Derek helped her off the slab she saw Amber and the others tense up. Amber walked toward the door, her hands clenched into tight fists.
Shane limped after her, catching her arm. "He's not going to hurt you," he croaked, still struggling for a breath.
"I'll believe that when I see it," Amber said shortly.
Jameson walked into the room, followed by a blood-soaked Evangeline and his pack. Evangeline looked basically unharmed, but the way her eyes were darting around betrayed her nervousness.
"You wanted proof, here it is," Amber said, sweeping her arm toward the sorcerer's dead body and the destruction behind them.
Shane locked eyes with his alpha. He was practically swaying on his feet but seemed determined to stand with Amber. "I saw the sorcerer attempting to kill them."
"And the creation of the no magic zone?" Jameson asked, nodding toward the rubble-filled chasm.
"We were fighting in a different room."
Amber gave him a withering look. "The sorcerer did it."
"It opened up underneath me when Evangeline and I were fighting Zachariah," Tommy said, walking up to stand beside Amber.
Jameson sighed and dragged his hand down his face. "Alright. I think it's obvious that neither you nor this girl is responsible for the no magic zones. You'll still need to keep her hidden or get her out of town. Hudson made too big an impact for her to go walking around without causing a riot."
"That won't be a problem. We'll be finding a safe place for her soon," Amber agreed with a nod.
Ceri slumped with relief. It was over, for now at least. With the new demon mark, they wouldn't be truly safe, but they had a chance now. Her eyes felt heavy. More than anything, she just wanted to sleep.
Chapter 72
AMBER
It was still daylight outside and that felt wrong considering the darkness they’d just endured. Amber looked at the sun where it hung low in the sky, partially blocked by clouds and tried to still the trembling in her hands.
She’d come so close to losing someone else, someone she’d come to think of as a sister, all because of a demon’s mark. She’d hurt Genevieve and almost killed her brother. All she'd wanted was to protect them but she'd put them all in even more danger instead by dragging them into a fight with an evil sorcerer.
Angel was still floating around, observing Jameson and his pack as they milled around discussing what had happened. Maybe Thallan was right and she should kill him to protect everyone else.
Shane walked up beside her, startling her. “Sorry,” he said, touching her arm gently. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay. I’m just jumpy right now.”
He gave her a wan smile. “Understandable.”
“What now? Is the council still going to try to punish me or something?” she asked, wrapping her arms around herself. She felt cold down to the bone.
“No. Jameson asked for proof, and you managed to give it to him.” He hesitated. “Some of them may trust you a little less, or be assholes, but they can’t do anything to you without risking punishment themselves.”
She snorted. “That’s comforting. I see how well that went last time.”
"Jameson is on your side." Shane squeezed her shoulder gently. "I have to go. I inhaled a lot of silver earlier, and while the pack bond is keeping me upright, I really need to get treated."
She nodded. "Of course. I'm sorry you got drug into all this."
"No one dragged me into anything. I wanted to help because I care about you and this sorcerer needed to be stopped. Don't fret about it, okay?"
That was easier said than done. "Sure."
"I'll see you soon." He headed back toward Jameson. Ceri, Derek, and Evangeline were still talking to the old alpha, trying to work out how exactly the sorcerer had created the no magic zone.
She tuned them out and looked around for Tommy and Genevieve. They were sitting out of the way. Both looked exhausted. Genevieve met her eyes and she had a strong urge to turn and just run but she swallowed down her fear and guilt and walked over.
She nervously crossed her arms and stared at her bare feet that were now completely filthy. It finally occurred to her that she was still naked, but it seemed they were all past being concerned about modesty. "Is your arm okay?"
Genevieve sighed and pushed up to her feet. Amber watched her warily, expecting a punch or accusations. Instead, Genevieve dragged her into a one-armed hug.
"It's healing, and if I hear one word of you blaming yourself for what happened, I'll break my other arm."
Amber laughed, though the sound was a bit hysterical. "I tried to kill you."
"The sorcerer tried to kill me." Genevieve stepped away and met her gaze, eyes narrowed. "Unless you've secretly wanted me dead all along?"
"Of course not!"
"Then why are you acting like you did it on purpose?" Genevieve demanded, jabbing her in the arm with her finger.
"I fell into his trap, I should have seen––"
"Blah blah blah." Genevieve rolled her eyes. "We're all alive, and the sorcerer is dead. We can analyze our strategy some other time."
Tommy snorted in amusement. "Gen, you may not be the best at comforting people."
"I'm excellent at it. You hush."
Amber shook her head. No matter what happened, they didn't lose their sense of humor. Frowning, she looked down at Tommy.
"How the hell did you and Evangeline end up here? You were supposed to stay home." She crossed her arms and glared at him.
"About that..."
A hand on her shoulder startled her, but she looked back to see it was Ceri, her brother, and Evangeline. She avoided eye contact with Derek. That was a conversation she was not ready to have, not if she wanted to keep her shit together until she had a chance to be alone.
"Is everyone doing okay?" Ceri asked, leaning in to take a closer look at Genevieve's arm.
"As well as can be expected," Genevieve said, waving Ceri away. "You can look at it later. Let's go home.”
Amber agreed with a nod. Nothing sounded better.
Chapter 73
EVANGELINE
Evangeline couldn't believe her good luck. When those werewolves had shown up, she was sure she'd be killed. The fact that they'd given her the benefit of the doubt after they'd watched her literally beat a man's head in with a rock was insane. Maybe there was a chance she could have a normal life after all...or at least be safe for a while.
They climbed out of the truck and she was tempted to run inside and tell Eloise they were safe now, but she held back and walked next to Tommy. It was strange how aware of him she was now. Kadrithan had dozens of demon marks at least but he'd never talked about how close you felt to the person that wore it. She felt Tommy's fear and pain as he'd fought, and she felt his exhaus
tion now. His strongest emotions were like a heartbeat at the back of her mind.
Ceri paused in front of the door. “There’s something wrong. I should have noticed sooner, but I thought it was just because of the fight.”
"What?" Evangeline asked, shoving in front of Tommy. "What's wrong?"
"There is a threat inside the house. The wards are activating."
Evangeline yanked the door open, but Amber's grip on her arm kept her from entering. "Get off of me!"
"Slow down. You can't help Eloise if you walk into a trap."
"Deward is supposed to be there with her. Can you see him?" Tommy asked nervously from behind them.
There was a strange thunk from upstairs and Amber rushed inside with Evangeline close behind her. She ran in front of the alpha and looked up toward her mother's room. An elf was facing off with Deward, the troll that always tutored Tommy, and his features were contorted with rage.
Deward’s shirt was singed and he was standing in front of her mother who was slumped against the wall with a baseball bat in her hand. She could barely stand but her mother wasn’t the type to go down without a fight.
“Get out of my way or I’ll kill you too!” the elf shouted.
“Move, Deward,” Eloise growled.
“I refuse.”
"Get the hell away from my mother!" Evangeline yelled, wishing she could draw on the demon's power again. Now that she'd fulfilled Tommy's request, she wouldn't be able to access it until the sun set.
The elf's eyes turned to her and hate filled his face.
"Thallan, what the hell are you doing?" Amber asked, her tone even and calm like she was trying to talk down a hostage situation.
"I waited but as expected, the demon has you wrapped around his little finger." He drew a gleaming blade from his belt. "SHOW YOURSELF KADRITHAN OR I'LL KILL THEM BOTH."
Thallan walked toward the stairs, the knife held in his hand like a shield. There was a strange, glowing sphere in his other hand. He lifted it and his eyes darted around the room. "I can kill them all. I know you've seen one of these before."
Amber stepped in front of Evangeline, shielding her with her body. A useless gesture if that was a firebomb. Evangeline eyed the door to her mother's room, trying to find a way to get to her and run before it was too late.
Her uncle appeared, looking at the elf with a bored expression. "This is beneath you, Thallan."
The elf sneered at him. "You murdered my wife."
Kadrithan raised his brow. "Your wife was killed in a car accident. I know you've always irrationally blamed me, but this is taking things a bit far."
Evangeline knew that tone. Her uncle was pissed. If he'd been able, he would have killed the elf right then and there, but of course, he couldn't.
Thallan's fingers tightened on the firebomb and Amber tensed like she was going to try to make a leap for it. If she missed, the whole house would blow.
Evangeline stepped around Amber and walked straight toward him, her hands held out to her side to show she had no weapons. "Stop it. If you want revenge, just kill me."
Thallan's eyes flicked over to her.
"Kadrithan wants me alive. He'd be devastated if I was killed. So, if you think you need some kind of revenge, then just kill me. Leave everyone else out of it." She took another step forward. "I'm sick of everyone around me getting hurt trying to protect me, so just hurt me instead."
"Evangeline, get away from him and stop being stupid," Kadrithan demanded.
Amber was trying to edge toward her and she could feel Tommy panicking. She didn't care anymore. She thought she'd done enough when she had killed Zachariah but they'd come home to another threat. It would never end, not as long as she was alive.
“Evangeline, no!” her mother screamed from upstairs. Her shout made Evangeline look up and she saw horror on her mother’s face, but she couldn’t turn back now. This was the only way to keep her safe.
Thallan adjusted the grip on his knife, then moved toward her like a flash. She lunged at him at the same time to stop Amber from getting in the way, but they never collided. Blinking she looked around and found herself...upstairs. Deward looked just as surprised as she did to see her standing next to him.
Her mother limped toward her and yanked her into a hug. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I had to…” her thought trailed off as a woman appeared in the midst of the living room. Pale green hair fell over her shoulders in loose curls, framing a delicate face. She was beautiful...and transparent.
Thallan, whose legs had sunk into the floor like it was quicksand froze, his eyes going wide.
“Illya?” he whispered reverently as if he were looking at an angel.
She drifted forward, her ethereal feet not touching the floor. “I waited for you,” she whispered. “Day after day, but everything around me grew dark. What have you done?”
Tears slipped out of Thallan’s eyes and slid down his cheeks. “I was trying to find a way to avenge you. The demon, he took you from me. I didn't know you were here.”
She shook her head, a frown marring her perfect mouth. Gently, she tried to stroke Thallan’s cheek, but her hand passed through him. “It was an accident. Simple bad luck.”
Her mother’s hug tightened around her as if the mention of death scared her. It scared Evangeline too. Her mother was old. If she was attacked again she probably wouldn’t survive. They might have gotten through this but all hope of feeling safe seemed laughable now.
“No,” Thallan insisted, cringing away from her. "No, I can't..."
Illya leaned in close. “Stop looking for someone to blame. The man who killed me is already dead.”
Thallan’s body shook with grief but he couldn’t look away from the woman.
Evangeline glanced at the others to see if they had any clue what was going on, but they all looked just as confused as she was, except for Ceri, who looked about as awed as Thallan.
“What is she?” Amber asked nervously.
“An echo,” Ceri said in awe. “She poured so much magic into this place that a little piece of her stayed behind. The house isn’t sentient, she is.”
Illya moved away from Thallan, shaking her head in disappointment.
“You will not come here again until you hold no more hate in your heart,” she said, lifting both hands. The house groaned and everything shifted, rolling in a dizzying blur, and then Thallan was gone.
The woman, Illya, glanced back at Evangeline and smiled brilliantly at her. She felt herself relax slightly.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. I can see the good in you.” As quickly as she had appeared, Illya vanished, disappearing back into the house.
Evangeline looked down at the pack, stunned. “That was weird, right?”
“Extremely,” Deward said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. “This pack is very strange.”
Chapter 74
TOMMY
They’d all searched the yard after the incident with Thallan, but hadn’t been able to find him. Amber had decided that they were safe enough in the house for now and she’d deal with him later.
Tommy pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes until he saw stars, then took a deep breath and headed over to talk to Deward. Amber had spent the last ten minutes apologizing and thanking him while also chastising him for going along with their plan even though it had worked.
He stopped awkwardly in front of the troll and scratched his head. "Sorry about that."
"I've never been called irresponsible or idiotic before," Deward said with a frown.
"I can't believe she said that." Tommy covered his face with a groan. "I really am sorry, I shouldn't have––"
"Do not apologize," Deward said, lifting his hand. "I think, perhaps, I did act rashly. Something I've never done before, but the result was satisfying. Despite your alpha's doubts, you joining the fight did seem to make a difference."
He wasn't sure how to respond to that. "Well, yeah, it did."
Deward nodded. "Then I shall take that conversation simply as a sign of concern from your alpha."
"Probably a good idea."
Captain Jack walked through the living room and pawed at Amber's leg, meowing loudly. Deward eyed the cat warily.
“I did notice something while you were gone. There is something wrong with your cat.”
“Did he throw up or something?” Tommy asked, concerned.
Deward shook his head. “No, but before your ghost appeared, its eye was glowing. It looked as if it were about to attack. No one seemed to notice since they were focused on the demon and the elf.”
Tommy looked at Captain Jack, brows pinched together. “Glowing?”
“Glowing green. It’s possible the adrenaline caused me to mistake what I saw, but I’m almost positive that I remember correctly.”
“Weird. I’ll keep an eye on him.”
Deward nodded. "I should return home now to give your pack privacy and discuss all this with my father."
"He won't tell anyone about Evangeline, will he?"
"No. My father never believed demons were responsible for the no magic zones. He will not betray your pack's confidence."
"Great," Tommy said with a huge sigh of relief. "So, I'll see you in a few days for more tutoring?"
Deward shook his hand firmly, and pulled him in, pressing their foreheads together briefly before stepping back. "Yes. See you then, brother."
Tommy blinked, not sure what had just happened. It kind of felt like Deward had just declared him an ally or best friend or something. “Yeah, uh, see you then...brother."
Deward grinned and headed toward the door, waving his goodbye to the rest of the pack.
"Are you two dating now?" Evangeline asked drily, appearing next to him.
Tommy shrugged. "Maybe." He had managed to find pants shortly after they'd dealt with the Thallan crap, but no one had had a chance to clean off yet. He felt grimy but Evangeline was covered in blood. "Are you okay?"
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