But the message to my brother wasn’t complete. There was one more thing I had to do.
Ignoring the burning in my lungs and the growing ache in my brain, I unleashed Nex. Her power—my power—coursed through Elysian, pulsing down the blade’s steel into the earth; from there, it raced in an ever-widening arc, gathering the earth’s heat as it arrowed toward the heavy pulse of darkness. This time, it didn’t just work its way through cracks in the ground; it exploded. It was a deadly force of heat and fire that swept the stain of Darkside from a huge swath of the area around the palace, leaving only those in the air free.
I didn’t attack them. I couldn’t.
Consciousness was fading. Life was fading.
Somehow, I pried my fingers from the blades and fell back, staring up at the sky through bloody lashes, seeing nothing, hearing nothing beyond the strained pounding of my own heart.
The earth quivered a warning of approaching steps, then a figure appeared in my sightline.
Ricker.
He knelt beside me, his concern radiating from his body as he half reached out and then stopped. “Gwen? Can you hear me? Are you okay?”
“Yes.” It was little more than a hoarse whisper, but in all honesty, that was more than I’d expected.
“Well, that was pretty fucking impressive. The way you dealt with Darkside—”
“It was more than just Darkside,” I croaked. “I shut the fucking gates. Or, at least, the four closest to London.”
He stared at me, his expression a mix of awe and disbelief. “Seriously?”
I half laughed, but it ended up coming out more a gargled groan, as pain exploded through me. Damn it, everything hurt.
“I’m Elysian’s wielder, Ricker, and she was designed to close gates. So yes, I’m serious.”
He sucked in a breath and released it slowly. The awe didn’t leave his expression, but the concern had deepened. “Do you need anything?”
“My knife.”
I felt rather than saw his frown. “Which knife? You’ve two.”
“Both.”
No one but me would be able to remove Elysian from her sheath of asphalt, but the knives were another matter. While family legend might state only the firstborn female of each generation could use them, given how many other legends had proven untrue of late, I wasn’t about to risk a stranger stealing them. The Blackbirds were unlikely to do so, but there were plenty of other people in the palace who might.
Distrust of my fellow witches had definitely sharpened abruptly since my brother’s betrayal.
Footsteps vibrated through the ground as one of the Blackbirds gathered Nex. Ricker drew Vita from my belt and then placed both knives into my waiting hand. I closed my fingers around them, but it was Vita’s blade I pressed flat against my chest. Her steel grew heated, and her golden glow infused the night’s lingering shadows. This time, she wasn’t drawing on my strength but rather connecting with the De Montfort healing ability that had lain dormant within me for so long, once again allowing me to do what no other De Montfort had—heal myself. Up to a point, anyway. She eased the dangerous weakness and slowed my unnaturally high heart rate, but I was too weak for the healing to go much further. To fully recover, I needed time and greater strength, and time, for me, was precious and finite.
I blinked away the drying tears of blood and slowly pushed into a sitting position. Ricker remained close, but the other Blackbirds were now looking up, their expressions uneasy. One quick look revealed why—the demons with the energy weapons were slowly but surely widening the portal’s gap.
“Why is no one closing that?” I croaked, with a vague wave upward.
“From what comms are saying, those damn energy weapons are somehow feeding on the portal’s edges. The more magic our witches pour into the portal to close it, the stronger the weapons become.”
“I should have guessed the fuckers would not be easily deterred.” I raised my free hand. “Help me up.”
He did so easily but didn’t release me, holding me steady as my knees threatened to buckle and the world spun crazily around me. I swallowed heavily and tucked the knives into my belt. As the wind stirred across my bare arms and whispered tales of the demons’ retreat from other parts of London, seeking unclosed gates before the sun rose, I gathered her force around my fingers and then flung her, as hard as I could, toward the portal and demons beyond.
The surge of air was so fierce, it ripped me from Ricker’s grip and sent me stumbling forward. I ended up on my knees again, grunting in pain and blinking back tears as I stared up at the whirlwind I’d created. It sucked up dirt and rubble and tore weapons from hands as it surged toward the portal. As it forced its way through the small gap, I raised a hand and splayed my fingers. The whirlwind responded, expanding rapidly, ensnaring the demons and whirling them around and around, smashing them into each other, shaking loose the weapons they held and then spitting them back out. Some tumbled into buildings, some were smashed into the ground, and others were simply flung toward the brightening horizon.
When there were no more demons left, I released my grip on the air. As the whirlpool disintegrated, the portal finally slammed shut. We were safe.
I sucked in a breath and dropped my head. I needed to move, needed to eat and rest, but I didn’t even have the strength to hold my head up, let alone speak.
Steps vibrated through the ground again, then I was gently lifted and cradled against a body that was warm and strong but unfamiliar. Not Ricker. Someone else. An earth witch rather than a Blackbird. He quickly carried me from the courtyard, his weight on the earth light and even.
I blinked. While I wasn’t physically connected to the ground at the moment, I was still receiving input from her. But was that so surprising? Mo didn’t need to bare her feet to use the earth’s energy, so this awareness might simply signify a deepening of the mage skills I’d inherited from her.
But the earth wasn’t the only thing I remained linked to. Vita still pulsed, but this time, rather than drawing on the De Montfort healing ability, she was siphoning the energy of the man who carried me. And while it was extremely tempting to broaden the connection and ease the multitude of aches that still remained, it was too big a risk—for him rather than me. I might have closed the four closest gates, but there were plenty of others. Until I took Max out, the palace defenders would need to remain at full strength.
Of course, so did I, but at least Mo could zap some strength into me once we rendezvoused.
I was carried through the palace at speed—which gave me little chance to study the glorious surroundings—and then caught a service elevator down a floor before heading through a dizzying maze of corridors. We ended up in a rather small but neat bedroom.
After lowering me onto the bed, the earth witch stepped back and said, “Would you like a meal brought to you?”
I hesitated, torn between the need to eat and the desperate desire to sleep. “Something hot in four hours would be great.”
“I’ll make sure it’s arranged.” He paused. “I’m afraid you’re required to remain in this room—for safety reasons, you understand.”
He meant the royal family’s safety, rather than mine. “And if I need anything?”
He motioned to a small box on the wall. “Use the intercom.”