She had made revenants of Rome’s brothers. I couldn’t breathe. I screamed, and Rome roared. Everything felt as if it were fragmenting around us. I couldn’t believe this was actually happening.
“She will not get away with this, not this kind of evil. She dies. Tonight.”
I hoped Rome’s words were true.
We moved then, Jaxton initially overhead until he shifted back to his human form. He stood there naked and picked up a fallen dagger, and we all went at Faith. The necromancer held up her hands, and the revenants moved forward, some with swords, some with shorter blades. She pulled the water from the ground and the pond, creating at least a hundred daggers, maybe more.
“You’re so weak. If only you had my power, understood what I do, you would win. You are nothing. And now, you will understand that.” She shoved many of the daggers forward. Not all, but enough. People screamed as the blades met their marks. I ducked out of the way of one and shouted as Rome pulled a second out of his arm, tossed it to the ground, and kept going.
Another dozen ice daggers came out of the air, and we moved, Laurel using her sword to deflect them.
“We need to stop Faith. We stop her; we stop all of this,” Rowen said.
“Tell me what to do,” I replied.
Ash lifted his chin. “Clasp hands and use the magic. Repeat after me.”
Before I could, another dagger came forward, and Rome let out a shout as he tossed himself in front of me. The blade sliced into his collarbone, another embedded itself in his chest. I cried out, using my water magic to melt the ice and pull it from his flesh. He groaned, blood seeping, but he shook it off. “I’m fine.”
“No, you aren’t,” I said.
Then the Trace and Alden revenants were there, and nothing made sense anymore.
“Let me do this,” Laurel said.
Rome shook his head. “No, this is mine.”
I moved forward, and I knew it was my responsibility, as well. I would not let my mate do this alone. No matter the cost, no matter the pain. When Alden moved forward, I used my ice and my water, sliding a dagger home through his neck. He fell to his knees, gone once more.
Rome growled and looked at me, reaching out. I thought he would hold me or do something, but instead, he pushed me out of the way as Trace lunged. One of Trace’s claws sliced my arm, and I cried out at the pain. I looked down, saw the blood pouring, but then I saw my mate. I wanted to do something, wanted to call out, but there was nothing I could do. Instead, I watched as my mate, the man I loved, placed his hands around his brother’s neck and twisted. Trace fell to his knees, his mouth open, and I swore I saw something there for a second. Hope? A thank you?
I didn’t know, but I was bleeding, and so was Rome, and Trace and Alden were gone once again.
I could barely keep up.
Laurel tugged at me, and we moved towards the others. Faith was there, lobbing more ice daggers, as well as directing her revenants.
She was so powerful. She was sacrificing something, but none of us could get close.
“The spell. We need the spell.”
Rome threw himself in front of me again, taking another hit, and I growled. “Stop it. I can take care of myself.”
“Use the spell. Let me protect you.”
I knew he was right. I had to. I had to let him. Because I would protect him. I was going to save everyone. I gripped Laurel’s and Rowen’s hands. Rowen gripped Ash’s. And we chanted.
“Earth, air, water, fire, seek the one that we desire. Stop this evil, purge this blight, banish this witch to darkest night. Lord and Lady, ancestors, too, lend us your strength for what we must do. Take this witch so we may be free. This is our will, so mote it be!”
I screamed, water and fire and earth and air searing through me as I threw back my head, and magic poured out of my mouth. Blood began trickling from my nose, but I didn’t reach up to wipe it away. There was so much power, so much more than I’d ever felt or used before. It was almost too much. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. Instinctively, I pushed it towards Faith, and I knew the others did the same. I had to trust in my coven.
Because there was nothing else I could do.
Ash shouted, a guttural scream that echoed in my mind. Laurel stood firm, despite the blood trickling out of her ear.
She scared me the most. My hand burned, but I didn’t let go. She was burning from the inside out, her entire body shaking. I knew this was too much for her. We had asked too much of her. But I couldn’t end the spell early. We had to stop Faith.
I looked up at the necromancer, her blond hair floating in the wind, blood pouring out of her eyes, nose, and mouth. Still, she kept moving, kept chanting. Another dagger came forward and sliced me across the stomach, another embedded in my shoulder, but I stood steady.
I could not fall. I would not falter. Rome and Ariel, and the other shifters were taking care of the rest of the revenants because Faith was still alive, and her necromancer power was still too strong.
And then I heard a shout and pushed forward with my magic. Something broke inside me. I fell to my knees, my hands dropping in front of me as I let go of both Laurel and Rowen. Rowen fell beside me, cupping her head as she screamed. Ash stood there, staggering back as his whole body shook. Blood soaked my clothes, and my wounds felt as if I’d been stabbed over and over again.
Faith burned, her body turning to ash, smoking as she stared at us and screamed. She shouted, she screeched, and then the revenants fell where they stood, the magic around us popping like a balloon.
Faith’s screams suddenly cut off, and then there was nothing.
I looked to my left and called Laurel’s name. She stood, her sword suddenly falling from her hand as her whole body burned. Not just fire magic but fire itself. She stood in embers, a living flame as her magic consumed her. I knew this had been too much. Rowen rose and staggered beside me, reaching out, tears falling from her eyes. Ash was beside her, his gaze dark as he looked at his sister. I knew he was likely trying to think of a spell to stop what was happening to her, but I didn’t think there was anything we could do.
She was burning, dying, and we couldn’t do anything. I coughed, blood spurting from my mouth, and knew that whatever had snapped inside of me had cut something deep. I could feel my life draining from my body. And then Rome was there, holding me close as I watched Laurel.
I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t stop the bleeding. We had stopped Faith. But had it been enough?
Jaxton jumped and threw himself on top of Laurel, the only one of us able to move. I heard the hiss of his skin as flames burned flesh, and they both fell to the ground. Laurel curled up in his arms, and their magic together doused the flames.
I looked up at Rome and tried to speak, but blood poured from my mouth.
Rome held me close and roared.
I looked down at the jagged dagger still in my flesh and knew that I had been impaled not by magic but by metal. The final throw Faith had leveled wasn’t ice but steel.
I didn’t know if this was goodbye. I attempted to speak in case it was, tried to do something.
Somehow, we had won. Somehow, we had defeated Faith. And yet, as I tried to speak, I knew death was coming. And I didn’t know if we had lost everything else, as well.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rome