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“Let’s go,” I say, and we all hurry out of the shadows in the opposite direction of where we threw the potions. Hopefully our plan has worked to lure any nearby demons into the brothel and away from the dungeons.
Ambrette and jasmine fuse with smoke as we move through the darkened passageways.
“Stay close,” I hiss. “The presence of a succubus is enough to confuse your brain with lust, but those potions could make the demons even more—”
“Horny?” Jett says.
“I was going to say lecherous, but… yeah.”
We huddle together as we run through the darkness. A canopy of blackened leaves lines our path, along with structures of rotted wood and crumbling bricks. My feet falter as the home I’ve known for the last hundred years closes in around me. Why haven’t I ever tried to leave this place? Shame sickens my gut as much as it emboldens my fight to take down Catori.
My afterlife has always felt riddled with confusion, but protecting Sera is the one thing I’m certain about.
26
Cold stone presses against my back. I hold one arm across Rowan’s chest as we wait for two guards to pass by. Jett, Celeste, and Nikita are already hiding in the shadows on the other side of the dungeon’s caverns.
A tiny orange glow like the cherry of a cigarette hovers just above the ground. The guards’ bodies grow sluggish as Celeste’s time-altering power washes over them, appearing as though they’re wading through time as if it were mud.
“Now,” Celeste whispers.
Rowan and I dart across the open space to join the others, then we all follow the path farther into the tunnels that lead to the dungeons.
If you piss Catori off, he either sends you to the pits, sentencing you to a fight to the death with anyone else on his shit list for the day, or he just kills you himself. The dungeons are reserved specifically for people he hasn’t finished using yet.
Jett holds up a hand when we reach the inner chambers. Small cells fortified with basalt, iron and nightshade are carved into the stone walls—the combination creating a supernatural dampener on the captives’ powers.
“Have you decided?” My stomach clenches when Catori’s voice bounces off the walls.
Cautiously, I peer around the wall. Catori stands on the raised platform in the center of the room. Chimere and Hynde stand by his side, a dozen soldiers behind them.
“My sister and I will grant you a new deal. Your release for our protection.” Sera’s voice is strong and steady, the opposite of my heart.
Catori grins as he turns to nod at Hynde.
“When your ancestor, and that bitch Cassandra—” Wait, what? Why does he say my mother’s name like that? How does he even know of her? “—tricked me, I had to cut my hand first. I won’t be making that mistake again.”
Sera doesn’t falter in Catori’s presence as two demons grab her and hold one of her hands out for him.
She’s the picture of silent strength. Her bravery, her wisdom, and her perseverance for good is just as beautiful now as it was the day I threw myself into her, shielding her from the demon fire. This has been our destiny from the very beginning: she fights for good, and I fight for her.
When Edith read our tarot cards, she said we were soulmates. When my mother and Theodora created the talisman, it forever tied their blood together. We were always destined to find each other; that’s why I’ve felt out of place for a hundred years. I was waiting for Sera.
My fingers dig into the wall as Hynde pulls a dagger from behind him and hands it to Catori.
“The dagger.” Jett looks pointedly at me before his gaze drops to Nikita. She’s standing behind him, one hand on his arm as she watches the scene unfolding before us.
“It’s now or never.” I pull the talisman spell from my pocket.
“Let’s do this,” Celeste whispers as she holds her hands up, her fingers glowing orange as she summons her powers, making time turn sluggish, and we charge into the main chamber.
Rowan and Nikita shift into their wolf forms, their snarls echoing through the dungeon tunnels around us. We enact our plan as best we can: I go for Catori, Celeste covers me from behind, and Jett, Rowan, and Nikita form a circle behind us, watching Sera and Sloane.
Demons circle Catori within seconds. He smiles at me through the fray as if he knew all along this would happen. It looks even more disturbing as it forms fighting against Celeste’s powers, but the demons that charge toward us aren’t as strong. Each attack is slow, allowing us to counter every strike.
Catori heaves, and his eyes burn so hot that the blue turns white. Smoke rises around him, flickering with currents like an electrical storm before he roars.
Celeste’s magic is thrown, and some of the demons falter. Catori’s power ripples through the bonds that tether us to him. Some fall to their knees while others fight the command to yield, knowing he’s not calling for submission but demanding more chaos, more war, and destruction.
