by Callie Rose
We braced ourselves just in time. Kingston did a barrel roll to the left, narrowly avoiding the potent energy ball that Gavriel had lobbed at us. My hair stood on end as I grasped at smooth scales, trying desperately not to fall off and plunge to my death.
I wish Kingston wasn’t so goddamn slippery. Why couldn’t he have been a furry dragon?
Thick black smoke rose up like a cloud behind us, blotting out the sun. Kingston was struggling to hold us all, flying slower than I’d ever seen him move. He was weighted down by four bodies, and I could feel his body trembling with effort beneath us.
Shouts and growls from below sent shivers down my spine. The air was full of magic lightning, but I could see the ground on the other side of the fortress wall. Freedom.
Come on, just a little farther, Kingston. Please. Please. You can do it.
Chapter Seven
We broke over the edge of the wall with furious magic at our backs. I took a deep breath, my heart thundering in my chest. I had to shout over the wind.
“On the count of three, we open a portal to Michael’s! Got it?”
Kingston roared, and it sounded a little panicked. No fucking wonder. We’d never tried to open a portal at top speed in mid-air, but there was no way around it. Gavriel was already gathering his airborne troops. We had seconds before we would be shot out of the sky. Kingston and Kai nodded at me, their eyes wide, their muscled bodies tense.
“One! Two! Three!”
The portal blasted open in front of us, a swirling purple disk in the sky. Kingston lurched forward, seeming to call upon every ounce of energy he had left, and hurtled us through the dark portal.
Our trip through the ether was… rough.
That probably had something to do with the energy ball that slammed into the portal just as it was closing. Energy turbulence rocked the wormhole, breaking our group apart, and the sudden loss of contact flipped my stomach upside down. I could feel the guys around me sporadically, as if someone were frantically switching them on and off and on again.
I had a sudden panicked thought that maybe we’d never come out the other side. Maybe we could be stuck in this black, empty space forever.
But a moment later, we burst back out of the ether.
We ended up in Michael’s basement somehow. Probably because we were all holding his weapons, honestly. They were all imbued with magic—they probably had some kind of magical homing device or something. Either way, when we tumbled out through the portal, Xero and Kingston were both unconscious. They were also both fully in their human forms, which somehow made Xero’s injuries look worse.
“Welcome back.”
Michael’s voice made me jump, and I spun around to find him on the stairs. I almost didn’t recognize him at first, with his clear eyes and smooth cheeks and blunt fingers. I hadn’t seen him out of his werewolf form until now, and it made me uneasy.
He noticed. “You don’t always want people to know what you can do on sight,” he said vaguely, shrugging a broad shoulder. Then he jerked his chin toward Xero. “I see you got your boy.”
I turned my attention back to the fire demon. Kingston was groaning and shaking himself awake slowly, but Xero was still completely unconscious, twisted in an unnatural position on the floor. He looked fucking dead, and my heart tried to lurch out of my chest by way of my throat.
Turning away from Michael, I crawled to Xero’s side and straightened him out, gasping at the scars and welts that had broken open during our tumultuous transport. Thick blood poured out of his wounds, so dark it was almost black.
“Xero,” I murmured, my voice cracking. “Xero, Xero, wake up. Shit. Help me. How do I fix you?”
I brushed my hand over his short, matted hair and stroked his broken face, begging whatever magic controlled this universe to send some of my life force into him. I kissed him again and again, all over his face and neck. It only gave me strength. My succubus powers were a one-way street, and it was the wrong fucking direction.
“That ain’t gonna work, you know,” Michael said gruffly. “He’s no incubus.”
Xero’s good eye fluttered open. He tried to speak, but it was all he could do to swallow. Panic struck my chest when I saw his teeth stained with blood, sharpening the way demons’ and vampires’ teeth seemed to do when they’re close to death and desperate.
“Somebody help me,” I cried, my voice cracking. “Tell me what to do!”
It wasn’t fair. Goddamn it, this was my fucking rescue mission. I was the one in charge, I was the one who forced all of this to happen.
That was all my power was good for, wasn’t it? Forcing people to do things, rallying troops, changing minds, and manipulating hearts—what else was I good for?
Hot tears spilled down my cheeks as I cradled Xero’s head in my arms. I felt helpless and useless, and guilt battled sorrow for dominance in my bleeding heart.
“He can drink from me,” Kai said quietly.
I looked up at him in shock. “Kai. What about the bond?”
Xero started to shake, and I swore I could feel his skin cooling beneath my touch, growing clammy. Kai knelt down across from me, his eyes flashing fiercely.
“Remember what we talked about, Piper? We’re all bonded, naturally or supernaturally. I don’t care which it is anymore. The bonds are there. They’re real. And they’re good for us. So there’ll be another magical bond in the mix—so the hell what? I’m going to save my friend.”
With that, he took his own wrist in his mouth and slashed it open with his teeth. Blood poured from the wound in a thin stream, splashing on Xero’s cheek before reaching his quivering mouth. Kai pressed his wrist to Xero’s lips, letting the blood flow over the demon’s tongue.
I held my breath, gripping Xero’s hand and praying to whatever higher power might be listening that my bond-mate would react.
He did. Slowly.
First came a noise in his throat like a groan, then little labored swallows. He was so weak. I squeezed his hand, pushing healing thoughts at him, knowing that it was useless.
I wasn’t good at healing. I was good at surviving. I was good at going it alone. I was very good at sex, and now with my powers, I was good at controlling people.
What does that make me? A cold-hearted general?
My blood ran cold. Was I a villain? Xero’s condition was my fault, and I knew it. If I hadn’t bonded with him, he wouldn’t have come out into the underworld with me or stepped in front of me to stop Gavriel’s attack. He would be safe and sound at school, passing his tests and proving himself worthy of his second chance. I’d ruined his life.
My heart squeezed painfully, and I looked around at my guys. They all had good reasons to hate me, but they didn’t. I couldn’t help but think it was purely magical, no matter how much they argued with me that it was real. How would they know? And how could I ever forgive myself if anything happened to them because of their feelings for me?
Xero coughed, breaking me out of my dark thoughts, and my gaze snapped to him.
Blood dribbled out of his mouth, and I couldn’t tell if it was his or Kai’s. His skin had begun to heal, and the swollen knots across his abdomen had receded down to a less alarming size. He took a deep breath, then accepted the wrist that Kai pushed back at him. How much had he had to drink now?
I glanced up at Kai. Fuck. Too much.
“Enough,” I said. “You’re killing yourself, Kai.”
“Almost done,” the vampire rasped weakly.
“No, Kai, stop it!” Goddamn it, why were they all making it so damn hard to keep them alive?
“He’s got a wound on his ribs on one side,” my toffee-skinned mate gritted out. “It punctured his lung. As soon as that closes, I’ll stop.”
No. I can’t lose one mate to save another. Damn it, this is so fucked up.
I opened my mouth, prepared to use persuasion on him if I had to, but Kai shot me the most furious look he’d ever given me—and he’d given me plenty of death glares in his time.
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br /> “Don’t. You. Dare,” he said thickly. “This is my choice, and he’s my friend. Turn that shit off.”
I snapped my mouth shut and ground my teeth together. He was right. It wasn’t my choice. And if I didn’t want to become a damn villain, I needed to let the people I loved make their own decision.
Endless minutes passed as Kai grew paler and paler while Xero only looked incrementally better. Just when I was certain that it was hopeless, that I was about to watch two of my men die in front of me, Xero pulled away. He dropped his head back and took a long, deep breath, his chest rising and falling smoothly. As if there was finally no more pain.
“Thanks, man,” he murmured, grasping Kai’s unbloodied hand. “You good?”
“I’ll be fine.”
He didn’t sound fine though. He sounded exhausted.
I kissed Xero’s forehead, then extended my wrist to Kai. “We’ve got a long jump ahead of us. Recharge. You need it.”
“I’m fine,” Kai insisted, sounding a little better. “I heal fast, and I don’t think I gave him too much.”
“Hate to break up the love fest,” Michael interrupted, worry sharpening his tone. “But y’all can’t stay here.”
My head whipped up, my gaze catching on his. He shook his head, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck.
“That portal you created had a signature. They all do. Now, I’m well-warded and all that, but if they manage to track you, you’ll be in a world of shit. I’ll cover for you. Tell ’em I never saw you. But y’all gotta go.”
Chapter Eight
Kai and I helped Xero to his feet. He was still a little wobbly, but he was standing on his own before long. He gave me a slow, self-deprecating smile.
“Demons aren’t as efficient at healing as vampires,” he said. “It’s gonna take a minute for this to kick in all the way.”
“Are you strong enough to survive a portal back to earth?” I asked, chewing on my lip.
Xero looked doubtful. He took a few wobbly steps across the basement, then turned around and walked back with a lot less wobble. He nodded, straightening his shoulders. “Yeah. Just give me a few minutes.”
Tension crackled in the air as Xero shook off the lingering effects of his injuries. He looked so much better physically, whole and mostly unblemished, though his clothes were still ragged and his skin was smeared with dirt, blood, and sweat.
But what about inside?
What about his heart, his mind—his soul?
My stomach twisted to think of what he’d been through in the weeks we’d been searching for him. Would he be able to come back from that? What kinds of scars remained inside him?
As if he could feel my worry radiating from me, Xero looked over and met my gaze. He gave me a wan smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes, but when he strode over to pull me into his arms, his heartbeat was steady and strong. I rested my cheek against his chest, listening to the gentle rumble of his voice as he spoke low.
“I’ll be okay, Pipes. I have you back. I have the other guys. We’re together again. Everything else, we’ll figure out. You’re all I need.”
My chest tightened at his words, and I hugged him back so hard it was a good fucking thing Kai had just healed his ribs. He chuckled, then tipped my head up to kiss me.
“Thank you,” he murmured. “For coming for me.”
“Always.”
My voice was fierce, and I heard three voices murmur in agreement behind me. Xero nodded gravely at the other men.
“You good to go?” Michael asked, glancing up the stairs. He was in human form, but I caught him sniffing the air, as if trying to sense any nearby threats.
Shit. We need to get the fuck outta here.
“Yeah,” Xero said, releasing his grip on me. “As I’ll ever be, anyway.”
“Then get to it. I’m gonna go make dinner like I ain’t just committed treason. Good luck.”
“Thank you, Michael,” I said fervently. He’d had no reason to help us, and several good reasons not too. But he’d given us aid when we needed it most.
He waved my thanks away and trudged up the stairs with slumped shoulders. A stab of sympathy made my heart twinge, and I blinked rapidly as I watched him go. Poor fucking guy. He’d just wanted to visit his family, see the people he loved—and now he was hiding out in the unforgiving wilderness of the underworld, all alone.
It was completely unfair.
That need I used to have before my life was turned upside down, that drive to save the hopeless and downtrodden, returned with a vengeance. When had I lost track of that? Probably around the same time I had to go Slut Factor Three Thousand just to survive. It had been very distracting.
“Creating portals from the underworld to earth is hard,” Xero told us, glancing around the tight circle we’d formed.
I shook my head, refocusing on the problem at hand. Now wasn’t a great time for introspection.
“I’ll do what I can to help,” he continued. “But I’m still pretty damn weak, so I won’t be able to do too much. When you guys made the jump last time, you were probably helped by the Temple Stones. It’ll take all the power we can muster to make a portal strong enough this time. And we all need to have a clear image in mind of the place we want to end up. If we’re not all focusing on the exact same spot, we’ll split our energy.”
“FU,” Kingston said immediately. “Right outside the gates. Just like old times.”
Xero nodded. “Sounds good. Kingston, Kai, you both good?”
“I’m great, now that I don’t have three million pounds of people on my back,” Kingston said, a smile twitching his lips. I had watched the light in his eyes dim over the past few weeks, but now the green of his irises glittered like jewels
“I’ll make it,” Kai said, shaking his head as if to clear it. “Will you?”
“I’m good.” Xero nodded stoically.
Jayce looked across at me. “Piper? Are you better?”
Guilt snaked through my core again. Of course I was. I’d been okay since the moment we reunited with Xero and had only been getting better with every touch since. “Yeah, I’m fine,” I said quickly. “Let’s do this.”
“On the count of three.” Xero reached out, and we all linked ourselves together, grasping each other’s forearms. “One. Two. Three.”
There was a sickening pull in my gut as the floor fell out from under me. The walls around us shimmered, and reality dissolved, leaving nothing but my men shining like beacons in the dark. Gravity went sideways and upside down, and the muted colors of the basement spun into black, then the black spun into gray and white and blue.
Gravity righted itself once more as we all landed in snow up to our knees. I had to resist the impulse to bury myself up to the neck in the wonderful earthly white stuff.
“Ahh, there it is.” Jayce let out a contented sigh. “Right where it’s supposed to be. Looks a little rough, but at least it’s back.”
I gazed up at the massive school building.
He was right. The ice crystals hadn’t quite reformed over the windowsills and ledges, and the burn marks and scrapes were way more obvious out in the sunlight, but it was good to see it surrounded by snow and mountains again instead of being buried in a giant cave in the underworld.
I inhaled the sharp, cold, fresh Mönkh Saridag air and savored every molecule.
“Just like the first time I saw it,” I commented. “Except that Hannah was with me then. And Sonja. God, she was a bitch.” I bit my lip as guilt socked my gut again. “I’m sorry she’s dead though. She didn’t deserve that. An ass kicking maybe, but not that.”
“We missed our exams,” Jayce said quietly. “What are the chances the Custodians will be reasonable about that?”
I shook my head grimly, still staring up at the school. “Slimmer than an haute couture model at fashion week.”
Kingston’s face fell. Jayce looked confused.
“It’s not gonna fly,” Xero translated. “Doesn’t matter the reason.
Actually—the fact that you went in there after me might make things worse. They didn’t exactly like me to begin with.”
“So what I’m hearing is we should take a portal to Madagascar, change our names, and lie low until this all blows over,” Kai said.
He was only half joking. Maybe less than half.
“With Gavriel and the Custodians both pissed off at us? How long do you think we could stay undetected?” I was trying to be reasonable, but honestly, the idea of retiring to an island sounded way better than going inside the castle-like school building to face the music.
Kai shrugged. “My record’s fifteen years.”
“Willing to bet your life that you can break that record?” Xero asked. “”Cause I’m pretty sure we’d be betting those against the fury of two armies.”
“It’s not worth it.” I shook my head. I’d almost lost my mind seeing what Gavriel had done to my fire demon mate. I wouldn’t risk him or any of the others again. “Come on. What’s the worst they can do?”
We all knew the answer to that, but none of us were willing to say it out loud. Being banished back to the underworld just sounded exhausting.
I told myself that I could persuade them to let us stay, and I clung to that thought against all reason as we walked through the gates and made our way back to the school.
We’d arrived late in the afternoon. The break in between school years was short at Fallen University—maybe because none of us were allowed to have contact with our families anyway, so they figure we had no place to go—so school was back in session already.
I expected to walk into the after-class hubbub as people laughed and joked in the halls or headed toward the common areas to chill.
Instead, we stepped into an empty hallway.
The castle was quiet. Not silent, exactly; there were muffled voices in the hallways around us, and the distant noises of people moving about the halls. But it was very subdued, as if the student body had been reduced by half.
“Let’s try to get to our rooms without being seen,” I whispered. “We should at least look presentable when they confront us. It couldn’t hurt to be clean and well-groomed.”