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Adriel lunged forward, but Christian caught her, forcing her back. “Help her!”
“We’re trying to helpyou!You need more blood.” Her son struggled to calm her, but she would not give in. “Mother, you’re hurt!”
Defeated, her vision blurred. She couldn’t help Juniper. She was at their mercy and helpless. “Please…”
“Look at me,” her son commanded with sharp authority. “Let us help you, and I will then help her. But you are my first priority.”
Hisfirstpriority, but not his last.
Tears burned her eyes as she searched the clouds of smoke, her gaze always seeking Juniper. The dust cleared, and Cerberus spiked his fist into the ground.
A brilliant flash gathered between Juniper’s fingers, and she projected a shield of light around herself before the tremors reached her, deflecting his attack. His rage doubled.
He growled in frustration. The hulking immortal delivered a devastating blow to his chest, crushing bone and caving in muscle. Cerberus howled in pain but retaliated, lunging at the petite female figure on the cave floor.
He yanked her up by the hair, lifting her face from the ground, and Adriel gasped, realizing who these avenging angels were. They were not angels at all. They were her parents.
Chills wracked her body as emotion clogged her throat. Juniper heard her plea after all. She found them.
What she must have gone through to accomplish such a task…
All this time, Adriel thought they were dead and gone because Cerberus told her they were. One more lie. One more betrayal. It was nowonder she was without hope. He destroyed her faith in not just her god but also those she loved. But they were actually here, fighting to save her, because they loved her.
Juniper unleashed another blast of energy, but Cerberus used Adriel’s mother as a shield.
“Stop!”Adriel’s father roared, a look of horror in his eyes.
Juniper froze. Fury banked in her eyes, deferring to Adriel’s father’s command. Eleazar crept slowly along the wall.
“Let her go, Cerberus,” her father ordered.
Cerberus seethed, holding her mother by the throat, his other fist twisted in her hair as he rose to his full height. “Now, you will truly know what loss is.” His claws lengthened, and the air crackled as a storm raged over the sea, blowing gusts of salty wind and rain into the cave.
The air charged with electricity, and Juniper siphoned it all. Her fingers spread wide as she prepared to strike, only needing a safe opening and a signal from the others.
Adriel’s father hesitated, reading the dangerous situation for what it was. Cerberus jerked her mother’s body higher, shielding himself in a way that left the others at his mercy.
“Lazarus, just say the word,” Juniper growled.
Her father raised a staying hand. But there was no reasoning with Cerberus.
If Juniper released her magick and missed her target, Adriel’s mother might not survive.
Memories flooded her mind as a damn brokeinside of her. She remembered their unfathomable love and the possessive way her father adored and guarded her mother. He would do anything to protect her, including lay down his own life.
Adriel couldn’t look away. This might be the last time she saw her parents alive. As deep as that ache burrowed inside of her, it was nothing compared to the thought of losing Juniper.
Cerberus roared, his fangs dripping with blood and venom as his wild glare bounced from each enemy.
Sniffing her mother’s hair, he slowly hissed, “Lilias…”
“Cerberus!”her father growled, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from dragging his slick nose down her mother’s cheek.
Her mother’s body hung limply in his arms, but then her head slowly lifted, her stare directed to Adriel’s father’s. Something private whispered between them, spoken through the sacred link shared only by mates. Adriel feared it was a goodbye.
Eleazar watched cautiously, waiting for a signal to strike. Wind tunneled through the cave, and the scent of their fear overpowered the sea air. Dane fumbled with a small leather pack, his hands trembling violently as a vile of crushed herbs slipped out of his grip and rolled across the cave floor.
“The aconite,” he hissed, lunging forward tocatch the tiny jar. He passed the vile to Christian. “Go. It will sedate him.”
