Page 498 of Axis of Fire

I had no idea whether this would work.

But we had to risk it.

Rosalie gave me a hesitant nod before turning her eyes back to the demon.

I did the same.

Then I signaled for Taylor and Azalia to stop.

The moment I uncovered my ears, I hurled a cloud of poison toward the creature while Rosalie struck at its bones.

"Taylor, help us!" I shouted, releasing another wave of poison as Rosalie attacked again.

I thought I had finally figured out how Taylor's magic worked.

Maybe he amplified the abilities of others.

Maybe he could strengthen our attacks enough to bring the demon down.

But what happened next was something entirely different.

Our three powers merged.

As one.

The combined force surged beneath the demon's skin.

The air filled with sickening cracks.

Something inside its body snapped.

An inhuman sound tore from its throat.

Before I could even draw another breath—

its body went limp.

It collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

Everyone seemed to exhale at once.

Azalia's knees gave out, and she sank to the ground, too exhausted to hide it.

Rosalie burst into tears.

As for me...

I stood frozen, unable to decide which emotion to listen to.

Relief.

Or grief.

They crashed together inside me until I couldn't tell one from the other.

"Oh my God..." Azalia whispered as she struggled back to her feet.

"Look."