I almost cheered out loud.
Danny held Selene in his arms like she weighed nothing. He gaped down at her, and when he tilted his head back up, surprise laced his features. “So what has happened here, then? Shall I toss her away like trash or set her down gently?” His eyebrows shot up as he glanced around the group. “Since we’ve just now arrived, I’m not gathering a clear understanding of what’s gone on, but it looks a bit… complicated.”
One pissed-off Vampire Queen stood right behind him, her arms crossed, pale hair perfectly coiffed, and a perplexed expression on her delicate features.
“Complicated is a good way to describe it,” I answered. “Just set her down behind you. She’s not going to die.” I had no idea how Tally had gotten them here, but I was ecstatic. The timing couldn’t have been better.
“It figures we would appear right in the middle of complete and utter madness,” Eudoxia complained. “Which I have no doubt was brought on by you.” Her eyes were accusing. The Vamp Queen had never shied away from telling me she didn’t like the way I did things, and she wasn’t going to begin now.
I didn’t have time to respond, because Lili was on me before I could turn my head.
We rolled on the ground as second before her hand dug sharply into my chest, her nails like daggers. “Ow! You don’t get… to have my heart,” I sputtered as she started to chant a spell. The pain was intense. I turned my head to shout, “She’s going to—”
Rourke’s fist connected with her face. It effectively cut her off her words, but she hadn’t loosened her grip on me. Instead, she regenerated—as fast as I’ve ever seen a supe heal—and we continued to roll, amid shouting.
“You’re not going to win this,” I raged, knocking her against the edge of the stone circle, banging her head against it. “Your interpretation of the new reign… was the wrong one.”
Her eyes were crazed as she plunged her hand farther into my abdomen, radiating her power outward. My wolf howled and I gasped. The pain was searing—like nothing I’d ever experienced before. But no sooner had she’d done it, than her hand faltered, and she withdrew it.
My body convulsed in pain as I healed the wound as quickly as I could.
I glanced up to see a seething Vampire Queen, her own hand deep in Lili’s body from behind. “Lili, it’s so nice to see you again.” Eudoxia’s lips curled into a tight smile, pursed in concentration. “It appears I landed on this cursed plane just in the nick of time. I heard someone say something about a heart? I think yours will do nicely.”
Lili squirmed, screaming, “Get off me, this is not your battle, vampire!” Lili’s grip on my shoulder loosened as one of the Queen’s fae spells shot forward. It traveled through Lili, and into me, tasting like crab apple.
But Lili repelled it quickly with a burst of her own concentrated power and Eudoxia was knocked backward.
My wound had already healed, but I knew Lili would be back at it for another try. She wanted my heart and she wasn’t going to stop until she got it. My jumpsuit was in tatters and I was covered in blood, but I managed to wrap one leg around Lili’s torso. With my strength back, and in my full Lycan form, I whipped her over, effectively pinning her to the ground.
Rourke, Tyler, Ray, and Danny all hovered around us in a circle, waiting for a chance to take her out. But it wasn’t going to be that easy. Lili was strong and determined. I slid my hand up around her neck and gritted my teeth as I gave it a tight squeeze. “I will find a way to get rid of you, Lili. Just give me a few minutes to figure out your weaknesses.”
Lili began to laugh. A high-pitched chortle. Not the response I’d been hoping for. “I have no weakness! I’ve told you that all along. I take what I want, and I get it. This is far from over, wolf.” Her hand shot to my side as she uttered a spell, and as she said the words they echoed behind her.
The spell caster demons had recovered. My mind shot to darkness in the next instant, but this time my head felt like it was going to explode. It wasn’t the same spell, but it had also been keyed to my signature. There was no way to fight against it. I heard the guys shouting and running as my wolf did her best to fight against the void, but our magic wouldn’t respond. My hold on Lili dropped, and she rolled me over, settling herself over me triumphantly.
There were crashing sounds all around as Lili’s victorious laugh rang out into the air. “It’s too late, you can’t save her.”
Her voice cut off abruptly as she was tossed off of me. Rourke took me in his arms, his voice reedy. “Jessica, I need you to wake up. Right now.” His hands fell against my hair, his lips next to my ear. “Come on. You can do this. We took those assholes down again and this time we made sure they won’t wake up.”
I heard him, but I couldn’t respond out loud. Rourke, I managed internally. I need more… magic. These guys have my signature… the spell is coded to me.
I can barely hear you, he replied frantically. Jessica, what’s going on? We took them down again. Why aren’t you waking up? He leaned over me, his anxiety coursing through my veins. What do I have to do to wake you up?
What I needed was more raw magic, something to change my signature. Need… magic.
Power rushed in from Rourke, but power wasn’t the problem when I couldn’t access my own magic. I’m giving you power! Rourke’s voice was on edge. Why isn’t it helping?
Need… new magic, I told him.
What I needed was the Prince of Hell.
There were muffled shouts in the background. I grabbed Rourke’s shirt, and with everything I had, I whispered, “Get the Prince of Hell.”
Rourke moved with me in his arms. “He’s busy trying to revive his bride. There’s no way he’s going to help us. We have to think of something else.”
“Tell him I have a plan”—I gasped—“to save his bride.”
“He heard you,” Rourke growled. “But he’s choosing not to respond.”
Eudoxia’s voice was close. “Lili, you fight the same as you always have. Nothing has changed.” She was the one keeping Lili away from me.
“And you’re just as weak as ever, Vampire Queen,” Lili retorted. “You have chosen the wrong side yet again, which isn’t really a surprise.”
“No, it has always been you who has chosen unwisely,” Eudoxia answered. “If one never learns from one’s mistakes, one can never grow stronger. If it’s not a proverb, it should be. It’s been four hundred years since our paths last crossed, and it seems you are no smarter for it after all this time.”