I wish I could summon my wings, but riding a dragon is just as good. The second my legs are around Bryce he takes off, leathery wings lifting him faster than any being with such bulk should be able to. I hold on tight with my legs and left arm as Bryce speeds forward and shoots a jet of blue flame at a spot covered with trees.
Blasts of amethyst, golden, green, and blue light power illuminate the night. I turn to look at Nox, tamping down the desire to help him, knowing he can manage, knowing he’ll be fine. Elated that he found me, as I knew he would.
The demon prince is still battling with the golden Nephilim. Nox’s features are set in an expressionless, almost bored mask. Flares of amethyst energy repeal the yellow light.
Nox is holding back, I know it; I remember all too well what it feels like when he’s truly angry.
Bryce shoots yet another roar of blue fire singing trees before it collides with Aaron who cries out. I feel horrible for the poor forest.
“Obex!” I cry, blocking a blast of Aaron’s power before it hits Bryce’s right wing.
The dragon roars and rallies his fire again, sending a bolt towards the Nephilim. I stand, covering myself with a thin but steady shield, and step on Bryce’s head before jumping down, sword poised over my left shoulder. Fire envelops me as I let out a battle cry, swinging my flaming blade in an arc and slicing from Aaron’s left hip to his right shoulder, cutting through his armor. My lips curl into a smile as I land in a half-crouch, waiting.
The ground shakes as Bryce lands a few yards away from me. Aaron brandishes his sword and we begin the fight again. He’s weakened. His blows don’t make my bones hurt as much as they did before, and he can’t stop me from cutting his wrist, making him lose hold of his sword. He tried to grab the sword with the other hand but I use a blast of my telekinesis to send it away from his reach.
Aaron’s still standing and shimmering as he mutters something foul under his breath. I reinforce my shield and stab him through the stomach, just as a nasty spell hits me and forces me back. I crash against something firm, but warm. My sight swims and I blink to focus in on Bryce, who’s looking at me with concern. I can see it even in his dragon face. He’s used one of his massive front paws to steady me.
“I’m fine,” I rasp, flicking my hand in Aaron’s direction.
Bryce nods, letting me go and taking a step forward, causing a tremor as he stalks toward the Nephilim.
I growl as I force myself to sit up, hot blood pouring from my nose as I blink back tears. Strong hands envelop my shoulders—my demon warden’s face comes into view. He helps me stand and wraps an arm around my waist to stabilize me. We take a few steps towards Aaron who is on his knees, my claymore impaling him right through his solar plexus, still blazing with my orange-golden power.
His shape blurs, a circle of green power surrounding him.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Nox says, voice icy. “You are going nowhere, and there will be no one to snatch you away this time.”
Bryce growls his approval. Isir walks with her usual nonchalance to the scorched clearing. She is buzzing with power and I can only guess she siphoned her opponent and not in a fun way, as she’s said.
“You are all dead,” Aaron hisses, rust-colored, slightly shiny ichor pouring from his mouth. “The Asteri will hear about this, they will know you killed us and come for you.”
“I don’t think so,” Isir croons, “Nox, did you kill the blond oaf?”
“No,” Nox says, his breath tickling my neck.
Isir nods, “I didn’t kill mine either, the others ran away and you, well,” she looks to Aaron, “no one will miss you, I’m sure.”
“Indeed,” Nox confirms. “I can’t imagine your Asteri sire wanting anything to do with your repugnant soul.”
I feel a presence nearby and look beside Nox, where Stefan walks on all fours, snarling. Aaron’s face blanches. He tries to leave again, but he can’t.
Isir bows to Bryce and Stefan. “Bon appétit.”
Stephan runs and leaps towards Aaron who tries to hit him with a spell only to be blocked by a non-verbal shield launched by both me and Nox. The lycan lands on top of the Nephilim and tears out a piece of flesh from his throat and shoulder.
Aaron gurgles ichor through his destroyed neck, but his spine is still intact. Stefan backs down, spitting the piece of flesh and muscle on the ground with disgust.
Bryce lets out a roar that shakes the ground and opens his jaws, devouring a shrieking Aaron, consuming him all at once.
I flinch, and Nox steps back with me. The crunch of bones being pulverized lasts only a minute, and Bryce gulps.
I’m frozen for a second, torn between feeling disturbed and satisfied that the bastard has paid for what he did.
“So, uh, did you just eat my claymore? Won’t that give you a tummy ache?” I ask Bryce, genuinely curious, and missing my weapon.
Nox snorts.
Isir chuckles and steps back.
Bryce locks azure eyes with me and makes a rumbling sound, leathery lips moving over massive jaws. He opens his mouth and spits out my claymore, covered in saliva and shimmering ichor.
“Erm, thanks?” I say.
Bryce nods, flapping his wings and taking off towards the mansion. Stefan and Isir follow him, the latter winking at me. Nox casts a soft spell that kills the flames all around us, then another that cleans and summons my claymore to his ready hand. He looks into my eyes as he gives it to me; I swallow hard with the conflicting emotions on his beautiful face.
So close.
We were so close to never seeing each other again.
“Are you alright?” Nox asks, amethyst eyes searching.
I let out a weak snort. “No.”
He presses a feathery kiss on my brow, and I sigh.
We nod to each other.
Later, we have much to discuss, but later.
“I feel bad for the trees,” I say aloud.
“Me too,” he admits.
NOX
Dinah is steady enough to walk on her own back to the mansion. She’s quiet and looks exhausted. Her feelings a tangled knot of relief and sadness, worry, and anger. I know how she feels.
I can sense Aaron’s corrupted soul lingering. As much as I want to consume it, I also think it’s an easy way out for him. The Light won’t take him back, he’s far too corrupted for that. And what better punishment for him than to wander, unable to rebuild his physical form? He’s not powerful enough to create another vessel. Only another Asteri could do it for him, and all they’d need would be to look at his soul to see how unworthy he is.
Lean fingers twine around my hand and I glance down, surprised but pleased to find Dinah looking at me. I secure my hand around hers as we cross the charred tree line, and the mansion looms in the distance. The air is rife with the smell of burned soil and ozone.
“The others left then, the doctor and Elle,” Dinah muses, voice scratchy.
My brow furrows. “Who is Elle?”
“Pregnant Nephilim,” she responds, examining my confused expression.
“Nephilim females are infertile,” I say.
“Apparently not completely if their power is siphoned by those quartz devices.” Dinah trembles with dread and raw anger. “They were going to put one of those things inside me again.”
I squeeze her hand tighter, tamping down the fury burning inside my chest. I need to find that doctor and cut him open. To hell with the consequences. “You’re safe now, they won’t get their hands on you again.”
Dinah swallows hard and nods. She gets distracted by the sight of the unconscious Nephilim warriors on the ground. Isir drained the life-force of her opponent. He won’t be waking up anytime soon. The blond is an excellent fighter, but eventually got cocky and gave me an opening to give him a massive heart attack with a blast of my power. I summoned magicked chains made of obsidian and iron to tie them both down, blocking their abilities should they wake up.
“Is there anyone else in there?” Dinah asks,
looking towards the mansion.
“No,” I reply.
“I’d like to burn it to the ground,” she says, voice small.
Just what I was thinking. “Your wish is my command,” she turns to look at me. “I’d like to sweep it to make sure there is nothing useful that can trace back to them inside, however.”
Dinah nods. “Ok.”
“So, what shall we do with these nasty buggers?” Isir muses, lightly poking the blond warrior with her foot.
Bryce has landed a few yards away, half curled on the ground, wings tucked tight. He’s probably processing the meal he just had. Stefan is sitting near Bryce, still in lycan form, his grief only slightly dimmed, crimson eyes curious on us.
“Is there like a prison for the criminally deranged Nephilim?” Dinah asks.
I half-smile. “No, unfortunately.”
“You can’t kill them,” she says, silver eyes appealing.
“I won’t,” I assure her, even though the idea is beyond tempting. “I think I’ll see if I can contact an Asteri friend, have her handle them.”
Dinah nods, relieved.
“Stay with Isir, I’ll be right back,” I say.
A flicker of humor crosses her features. “Mother hen.”
I snort, relieved that she finds it in herself to try to joke despite everything.
I portal right inside the mansion. Using my full speed to examine the building from top to bottom. Most of the rooms are unused, the ones that were inhabited are empty. As usual, the basement is where the interesting stuff is. I feel sick when I see the fully equipped OR. There is no quartz device, but I’m certain that the doctor, as Dinah called him, took it.
There is a computer sitting on a stainless steel desk in a room full of files, Dinah’s laptop discarded on the floor by one of the glass shelves. Their neglect of the red laptop was our salvation.
I send all the items through a dimensional pocket along with the medical equipment. They’ll be waiting to be properly examined in an empty apartment back in my building. To my surprise and relief, there is no underground facility.
The whole process takes me less than ten minutes.
I portal near Dinah. She peeks at me from over her shoulder, Isir has an arm around her waist, both of them are facing the unconscious Nephilim.
“I’ll need to portal them to a secure location,” I say, gesturing to the unconscious warriors. “But first, I’ll take you back to New York.”
A flare of panic ignites in Dinah’s eyes. I understand her reluctance. Being away from her is the last thing I want.
Nevertheless, it’s necessary.
I open my mouth to reassure her, but I’m cut off by a vortex of golden energy that forms right in the middle of the grounds. The sheer force of the ethereal energy that buzzes out of the circle of light is akin to the sun. Ripples of near blinding light power pulse from the vortex.
An Asteri.
A ridiculously powerful one at that.
I throw a shield around all my friends and step forward. Knowing I have no time to portal them to safety and leaving any of them alone to face an Asteri is not an option. Dinah gasps as she, no doubt, senses how I begin to open the dam containing my power. I’ll need it to face whoever is coming through that portal.
Isir curses; her power sharpening again. I can sense Dinah rally her diminished energy, Bryce and Stefan ready themselves too.
Golden energy—bright enough to turn the night into day for a moment—coalesces and then dims, revealing a six-foot-five female. She has short blonde hair sticking out in all directions and obsidian piercings in her nose, brow, lower lip, and lightly pointed ears.
“It looks like I missed all the fun,” the Asteri pouts, managing to look childish despite her otherworldly presence.
A golden aura bathes her from head to toe.
I let out a breath, containing my power.
“Ashleon,” I greet.
“Crown Prince Astherinox Ekhelon,” Ashleon replies, with a small bow and a wicked smile.
I swallow back a groan. “It’s okay, she’s an acquaintance,” I say for Dinah and Stefan’s benefit.
Ashleon places a hand against her chest, blinking. “Acquaintance? You wound me.”
Bryce huffs and curls again as Stefan eyes the Asteri warily. Isir leashes her power.
“So, you have a last name,” comes Dinah’s awed voice as she stands beside me, silver eyes wide on the Asteri warrior.
“It is his second name,” Ashleon explains, approaching with nonchalance. “Which he rejected, claiming it was ridiculous.”
“Both of them are,” I can’t help but grumble.
Ashleon chuckles. “Aw, you know how parents are. Stupidly proud of their little spawns and terrible at choosing names.”
I roll my eyes at her.
Ashleon stands two-feet away from Dinah, cocking her head. Dinah examines her back, taking in the combat boots, black, ripped jeans, and corset revealing leanly muscled arms decorated with golden bracelets shaped like snakes, the many piercings, and oval golden-blue eyes.
“Hello,” Dinah says, biting her lip, nervous and intrigued.
“Hello there, Dinah Marie Novak,” Ashleon replies with her usual devilish smirk.
Dinah wrinkles her nose. “Asteri have the habit of saying people’s full names, or is that just you?”
I grin. Ashleon’s colossal power is not precisely subtle despite her efforts to keep it contained, not now that she’s decided to let herself be seen, anyway. I can feel her tap on the wards I placed around a ten-mile radius. She sends a layer of her cloaking power right around mine. No Asteri or Nox can find her when she decides not to be found, which is often.
Ashleon is the most powerful Asteri ever brought into existence. More than Mikhael, Gabriel, and the other Asteri in the Arch hierarchies. Truth is, if she had the hubris necessary, she could very well be a goddess. Her might is only rivaled by the Morning Star.
Who happens to be her soulmate.
“I think I like you,” Ashleon says to Dinah, who smirks.
“How did you find us?” Isir asks.
Ashleon flicks a glance at her. “It’s not every day a dragon goes boom. I thought perhaps one was in danger and decided to help, but it looked like you had it under control.”
Dinah blinks. “Wait, you were here already?”
Ashleon chuckles. “Indeed, I simply decided to enjoy the show.”
“And make an entrance, like the total drama queen you are,” Isir teases.
Ashleon winks at the succubus. “What are my powers for if not having fun, eh?” She turns her attention to me, “so I heard you need me to give these two a little lesson.”
“If you would be so kind,” I say.
Ashleon bows her head. “It will be my pleasure, your Highness,” she says, amusement and mischief in her eyes. She looks at Dinah, “we’ll be seeing each other soon, baby Nephilim.”
With that, she disappears with a blinding flash of golden light along with the unconscious warriors.
“Show off,” Isir grumbles.
“Well, that was very strange,” Dinah says, shaking her head with disbelief. “Shall we blow up this gods-forsaken place and go home?”
I smile at her, warmth blossoming inside my chest from knowing she considers my home her own.
“Is there any reason to blow it up aside from being petty?” Isir asks with a grin.
“Isn’t that a good enough reason?” Dinah retorts.
Isir chuckles. “Good point.”
We step back, keeping a prudent distance. Bryce stands on mighty paws, flaps his wings for a moment, and faces the mansion. Stefan stands further back, lycans and vampires detest fire with passion; I wrap both Isir and him in a shield.
“Ready?” I ask Bryce and Dinah.
Both nod.
Bryce roars, arching back his head and inhaling. Dinah calls for her power, their warmth enveloping me.
“Ego creo ignis!” Dinah cries, orange flames erupting vio
lently from her outstretched hands and crashing against the front door of the mansion. Bryce’s blue fire follows alongside my amethyst fire. I send it winding down corridors and entering the basement, complementing the chaotic force of Nephilim and dragon fire. Then I materialize a barrier around the mansion, keeping the fire contained.
It takes less than two minutes for the entire structure to groan and begin to collapse in on itself. Dinah gives up first with a tired groan, Isir wraps an arm around her waist at once.
By the time Bryce and I pull back, there’s only charred rubble left behind.
“We should step back,” Isir advises.
Dinah takes my hand as we back down, giving Bryce room to shift back into his humanoid form. Blue fire envelops him and he lets out a roar that shakes the ground. I’m grateful for Ashleon’s lingering barrier. The Asteri aren’t precisely fond of dragon shifters, and humans would love nothing more than the chance of tearing him apart. The fire dies down and where there was a giant dragon now stands a six-foot-five blond with sad eyes.
Naked.
I summon clothes on him and Stefan—who shifted alongside Bryce. Amethyst energy envelops them both for a few seconds, and neither of them flinches.
“Let’s go home,” I say. Dinah twines her fingers tighter around mine, Isir takes my left hand, Bryce and Stefan complete the circle and I send my power around all of us.
CHAPTER 26
DINAH
I let out a sigh and nestle closer to the source of my favorite scent and gentle warmth. A powerful arm wraps around my waist, cradling me closer.
“You know, I could get used to waking up like this,” I murmur.
Nox kisses my crown. “Me too.”
I lick my dry lips and blink, moving a bit to lay my chin on his chest and look at him. He is truly stunning, the severe line of his jaw, the perfection of his brow and nose, the luscious curve of his lips. Not to mention those amethyst eyes that examine me with intensity. He places a lock of hair behind my ear with a soft caress of two fingers, the simple contact sends a bolt of awareness through my whole body.
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