“You got it.” He tucked his wings and dove down as the first thread of the blackened Veil shot out and tried to grab him.

He spun as we plummeted, missing the tendril easily. “Whatever you need to do, do it fast,” Blaz yelled back at me. From the black Veil, demons began to wriggle through. The heroes didn’t back down, but went into the battle in full warrior mode. Dox, Sla, Lop, and Dev took on the demons with a fervor that only ogres could produce, and as they fought, Mer’s spirit flickered into existence. She didn’t hesitate, but stepped in with them, as though she hadn’t just been slaughtered on the other side.

“You ready?” Blaz asked.

“Nope.” I shifted my weight, looking for my weapons. But I had nothing on me. Not a single blade.

Fucking hell.

We landed and I was already sliding off before he came to a full stop.

My mom jumped off with me, and ran to where my father waited for her. They stood side by side, cutting a swath through the demons as though they were taking a walk in the park. Erik was on the other side of my mom, never moving far from her, reminding me that he had loved her first.

There were no demons coming for me this time, though. They avoided me like I didn’t exist. Only one demon faced me.

Orion stood within the darkness, glaring out at me. “I will always be stronger than you. Which means no matter how this plays out, you will lose.”

Is that what this was about? A fucking pissing contest?

I doubted it. I put my hand into the darkness, thinking I could hold myself out.

I was wrong and the black Veil sucked me in with one gulp, my ears ringing with Orion’s laughter as my family and loved ones battled behind me, yet again.

CHAPTER 51

LARK

RYLEE’S SPIRIT BEGAN to slip through my fingers. “I’m losing her,” I yelled, knowing it would distract everyone around me, but not caring. The Veil hadn’t closed yet, which meant she was still fighting to end this. If Rylee couldn’t finish what she started, we were all dead.

Calliope, the young leader of the unicorns swept in to me first. Her white coat was splotched with blood, heavy down her chest, but none of it looked to be hers.

We can hold the line on our own, but not for long. Minutes. Is that enough?

“It will have to be.”

She let out a shrill whinny, and the remaining unicorns circled us and the burnt out farmhouse, keeping the demons at bay. I looked up into the sky. “Eve, we will need you too. You and Ophelia have ties to Rylee. We need everyone who loves her.”

Alex drew closer to me, his hands hovering over Rylee. “Can I touch her now?”

Jaw clenched, I nodded. “In a minute, yes. We have to, if we’re going to hold her.” I dropped my hands first, pressing them against her bare belly. My spirit blended with Rylee’s and I gave her all I had, feeling the dip in my own life force as I pumped it into her.

I fed my emotions and thoughts into her: how I wished we’d had more time together. How proud I was that she was my friend. How I trusted her to complete the monstrous task laid at her feet alone. “You can do this, Rylee.”

Pamela was there beside me, her hands clutching Rylee’s opposite hand, and holding it to her cheek. “Believe, Rylee. You have to believe.”

Liam dropped to his knees and cupped Rylee’s face with his hands, bent over and kissed her softly. He whispered something in her ear, something too soft for even me to hear.

Eve was next, dropping behind me and reaching out with a talon. She clutched Rylee’s leg. “Hang on, Rylee. A little longer.”

Ophelia clawed at Orion’s body and pulled him out of the way, then laid her head on the slab so her muzzle was pressed against Rylee’s other leg. Rylee, you promised me you wouldn’t die. You must come back.

Doran laid his hand over Rylee’s heart. “You are stronger than him, Rylee. You always have been.”

Will, the panther shifter, slid close and dropped a hand to touch her. “Come on, Rylee, you can do this.”

India, the little spirit seeker that had remained glued to Calliope’s side, knelt beside Liam and touched Rylee’s face. “Your spirit is stronger than his, Rylee.”

Charlie wrapped his hands around her right arm. “Come on, lass. You bees everything this world has waited for. Don’t yous doubt it for a second.”

Alex waited until everyone else was holding her, the battle around them ebbing and flowing, the circle contracting. I looked at him. “Now, Alex. You are the last, and perhaps the lynch pin to this moment. She is bound to you like no other. Not even Liam.”

He nodded, let out a slow breath, shifted and then lay his head over her chest, his black fur covering her. His words were the simplest, and yet I knew as he did, they were more powerful than anything else he could have said.

He let out a deep throated whine and closed his eyes.

“Alex loves Rylee.”

CHAPTER 52

ALEX

WHEREVER RYLEE WAS going, I was going. My choice. My decision. I’d promised her I would stay to the end. I would hold to that promise no matter where it took me.

I clung to her, knowing only that I couldn’t go on if she wasn’t with us. The whine slipped past my lips; pain, fear, and utter desperation. She couldn’t leave this world.

I wouldn’t let her.

CHAPTER 53

LIAM

HE HELD HER face gently, his lips pressed against her forehead. His love was all he had to offer her.

Faris closed his eyes. Love, who would have thought he would find it now, and with Rylee?