“Look!” Azazel pointed east.
I followed his gaze to see a mammoth creature flying toward the Keep.
“Conah!” Mal pointed at another figure.
I spotted the golden-haired Dominus, wings pinned back, as he flew away from the beast, but there was something in his arms. Someone.
A new feeling urgency bloomed in my chest and frantic moths beat against my ribcage.
I’d only felt this way a handful of times in my life, and all when Cora was in trouble.
Cora.
Oh fuck. It couldn’t be.
We were closer now, close enough for me to make out that his cargo was female with blonde hair
It was Cora!
And then she was gone.
“Mal!”
“There!” He pointed at the beast, and I spotted my friend atop it.
What the fuck? The beast stopped beating its wings and began to fall.
“Cora!” My scream was ripped away as I picked up speed toward her.
Why wasn’t she jumping? Oh fuck, maybe she couldn’t. I wouldn’t make it on time, Unless… I accessed the urgency inside me and hit blur-mode. I’d never done this before. I didn’t even know if it was possible, but the world slowed down around me, and then I raced toward my friend.
I caught sight of Conah on the far side of the beast, hands outstretched as he tried to reach her too, but without blur-mode he would fail.
I wouldn’t.
I reached her a second later and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her off the beast.
She let out a yelp.
“It’s me. I’ve got you.” I slipped out of blur-mode and hugged her to me as I rose up into the air.
“Fee? Oh god, Fee!” She wrapped her arms around me and squeezed as we hovered above the falling beast and then an awful crash filled the air as the monster hit the ground.
“What are you doing here?” I held her tighter as Conah joined us.
“Fancied a vacation,” she said dryly. “Always wanted to slay a Dragomite.”
“The catch up will have to wait,” Conah said. “We have serious incoming.”
Azazel and Mal joined us as I followed Conah’s gaze over the Keep and toward the mountains to see a wave of darkness rolling over the plains toward us.
“What is that?”
“That,” Conah said, “is Mammon’s army.”
We hit the ground running, and Azazel and Mal immediately set to barking orders.
“Gather the troops. Hold the line!”
I caught sight of Asmodeus amidst the troops, hair billowing in the breeze as his orders were carried off by the wind.
The wall to my left was decimated, the town around us was in carnage. Death, blood, and screams rent the air, smoke stung my eyes, and this was just the beginning. This monster, this Dragomite, and a small troop had done this, but Mammon’s army was on the way.
“How many men do we have?” Azazel demanded of Asmodeus.
“Not enough. Not nearly enough.” His expression was grim.
The sound of sirens sliced through the cacophony, and the thunder of hooves followed in its wake.
Azazel turned to me and grabbed my shoulders. “Go. Get to safety. Now.”
I shrugged him off. “Like hell. I’m fighting.”
He opened his mouth to argue but Cora flicked her wrist and a ball of lightning appeared in her hand. “My jump power may be temperamental here, but I can still blast a hole in a demon. We got this.”
There was no time for him to argue with me. He knew it. I knew it.
“All hands on fucking deck,” Mal said. “Fee, Cora, stay close to the Keep and get out if things get hairy.”
And then with a roar the first wave of Mammon’s army hit us.
Chapter Forty
Lilith
Samael lands on his balcony, cradling me to his chest. He came for me. He’s here. He’s whole, and I can’t believe how full my heart is.
I will forgive him any transgression. No secret will turn my heart against him.
He carries me into his bedchamber and lowers me carefully onto the bed. “My love, you must rest.”
The tenderness in his tone melts me. “I will regain my strength soon.”
He kisses my forehead and then makes to walk away.
I grab his wrist. “Where are you going?”
He frowns down at me. “To fight. We are under attack.”
Panic squeezes my heart. I’ve only just got him back. “We have troops for that.”
He blinks slowly. “Have I been gone so long that my warrior queen has become simply a queen?”
Shame pricks at my cheeks and that makes me angry. I pull myself up to my full height, tall for a female demon but still minute in comparison to the love of my life.
“I am not weak. While you were in your delirium, I ran this world. I built an army worthy to fight any foe. I am Lilith, queen, ruler, destroyer, and creator.”
His smile is soft and wistful, and he gently strokes my cheek. “You are beautiful in your passion my love. But no matter how high we rise, we must always be prepared to fall with those who fight for us, for if we do not, what are they fighting for?”
His words, although uttered softly, have a bite which brings the sting of shame to my neck.
Have I changed so much?
“You are weakened from your ordeal,” Samael says. “Rest, and I will fight for the both of us.”
“No.” I grasp his hand. “We fight together.”
“Are you sure?” he asks.
The thrill that comes before a battle sizzles in my veins, and I realize how I’ve missed this feeling. “More than sure.”
A wickedly delicious grin spreads across his face, and my core contracts with need. I’ve missed him, the real him, more than I can express.
“In that case, let us wreak some carnage, and by the end of this day we will have Mammon’s head on a spike.”
“Now that, my love, is a plan.”
Chapter Forty-One
Grayson
The sound of war filters into the foyer. The doors have been barricaded, and its only Uri’s presence and the knowledge that he can get us out if needed that keeps me sane.
Fee is out there somewhere.
At least she isn’t here.
At least she isn’t outside.
A guard runs into the foyer, “The Dragomite is down but Mammon’s army approaches to the east.”
“We can’t hide in here and do nothing,” Hunter says.
He’s right. This is Fee’s world. Her queen and her kingdom are in danger. “We need to be out there.”
We both look to Uri.
He nods. “We go out, and we fight alongside the demons.”
He holds out his hands. Hunter and I take them and the world splinters before we materialize into chaos.
Blood and ash coat the air and for a moment, my brain is overwhelmed, and then the thunder of hooves rips through the screams and the bellows. Huge lizard-like beasts ridden by demons and daemons of all colors sweep over the land. The glint of metal, the clink of swords, the rage of battle cries, and the boom of cannons batters my senses.
The air erupts with the sound of gunfire, and demons topple off their mounts and a shockwave of power hits me in the chest, throwing me back.