“I’m a witch. Of course I follow the legendary Myrddin,” Liv replied. “For too long the vampires have ruled our world. Myrddin helped me reach my full potential. He helped me when all any of you would do was tell me to be patient. You have no idea what it means to be vulnerable.”
“Are you kidding me? Did he teach you to rewrite history, too?” Kelsey asked.
“I’ll explain it all to you later.” Liv held up a hand. “Rigescunt indutae.”
Every bone in my body locked into place. I couldn’t move, could barely breathe. Daniel seemed to be in the same position.
“Eximo.” Dean did not have the same trouble. He spoke a single word and I could move again.
Liv’s eyes widened. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m the spellcaster who’s been up against way better witches than you,” Dean replied. “Meaner, too. You have nothing on the witches of Arete, but I did learn a few of their tricks.”
“Here’s one of mine.” Liv thrust out a hand and suddenly Dev began to choke. “Let the wolves go and I’ll think about allowing the prince some oxygen. Deanna, if you don’t mind helping.”
That was the moment I felt all the oxygen leave my body. Sometimes it sucks to be the king’s wife because what I really am is the king’s weakness. Dev has some superpowers of his own, but as a companion, my only true superpower is my power to attract vampires. It’s a shitty power, if you ask me, and it did nothing to protect me from Liv’s magic. I could feel that magic like a tight fist around my throat.
I looked to Dev, reaching for his hand. He was calm, patiently waiting for Daniel to do whatever it was he was going to do. He squeezed my hand, as though he could lend me strength.
I needed breath. Breath for me. Breath for the baby growing inside me.
Dev’s eyes changed, and I knew I was in the presence of Bris, the god who shared my Fae husband’s body. Bris was an Irish deity who’d brought his unique magic to our lives years ago. He amplified Dev’s fertility magic, and I felt him try to send me a pulse of it.
It wouldn’t come. The wards worked on gods, too, it seemed.
I felt something shimmer around me and I could breathe again. Dean stood in the middle of our group, his hands held out as he shielded us.
“Aren’t you the smart one? I can try harder. Let’s see how long you can keep it up on two fronts,” Liv challenged.
Dean braced as though he’d been hit hard.
“Protect Zoey,” Dev managed to say. “I can hold my breath for a long time.”
Before I could shake my head, Daniel was holding his hands up in the universally acknowledged sign of I give up. “Stop, Olivia. I’ll go with you. We’ll all go with you.”
Dean sagged as the magic was turned off and we were left with three growling werecreatures.
“I’ll get us out of this,” Daniel promised.
There was a low growl, a deep, full-throated sound that hadn’t come from the wolves coming toward us. It had come from the hallway we’d turned down to get here, the one that formed the long end of the T-intersection. I couldn’t see what was coming our way, but I could hear it. A wolf of some kind, and it had the other wolves whimpering.
“What the fuck is that?” Kelsey moved toward Dean as though she was ready to protect the young man who seemed to have used a lot of energy in the last few moments. Dean’s hands trembled.
I turned and watched as an arrow slammed into the panther from the side, and the witch screamed as another pierced her chest.
Arwyna flew in, her ruby wings pumping hard as she made a beeline for us. She landed on Dev’s hair and seemed to hold on as though she knew this was about to be a fight.
Then the largest wolf I’d ever seen prowled into sight. Dark fur and with eyes that glowed with power, there was no question who the alpha was. He attacked the panther, easily biting into the big cat’s neck and breaking it with a crunch.
The other wolves took off running, the witch right behind them. When I looked back, Liv was gone as well.
“Fen?” Kelsey had tears in her eyes.
“Hey,” Daniel began, “we don’t know who that is. Stay back.”
Arwyna was shaking her body, her wings fluttering as if to express her disagreement with the king.
That mega wolf’s tail had started to wag like a puppy’s, and despite the fact that he was covered in blood, he ran straight up to Kelsey and rubbed his face against her leg.
Kelsey dropped to her knees and wrapped her arms around the wolf. “My Fen.”
I stared as a young woman in all black stalked into the hall, an arrow notched in her bow. Her auburn hair was back in a braid, and she looked so much like Summer my heart hurt. “Evangeline?”
“Evan,” Daniel whispered her name.
She turned and stopped, a shocked smile lighting her face. “I can’t believe he was right. You’re here. You’re really here.”
“I told you, sister. I told you this was the correct time and place. Trent and Sasha were being too conservative.” Rhys looked like his father. He was dressed in tactical gear and had a familiar gun in his hand. It was my old Ruger, the one Daniel had modified to hold specialized rounds. And he looked like he knew how to use it. “Mother, Dad, Papa, we need to go. Lee is waiting for us in Ether. Liv and her lackeys might have run, but it won’t take them long to regroup. The pixie queen found us. It’s how we knew for sure you were here.”
“Rhys,” Daniel began.
He shook his head. “No, Dad. You can take charge when we get back to base, but for now this is my mission and I’m calling a retreat. I’m going to get my ass kicked by Sasha and Trent as it is. Fen, do not even think about changing. I know you want to show off how grownass you are, but you’ll have to do it back at base. Kill anyone who tries to stop us.”
Rhys turned and started back down the hallway.
“Rhys, there’s no way out if we go that way,” Dev complained, holding his ground.
Fen growled, an obvious warning that he could herd us if he wanted to.
“I think we should follow the kids,” Kelsey offered.
“Papa, we know what we’re doing,” Evan said encouragingly. “Please follow Rhys. Lee and Eddie are waiting, and the sooner we get out of here, the faster we can explain.”
“I need to get the painting.” I clung to hope that I could find a way out of this nightmare I found myself in. My children weren’t children. They were fighters, warriors, when I’d promised them an easier life, one where I protected them.
The walls started to rattle, the ground beneath us trembling.
“She’s coming back,” Dean warned. “And she’s not alone. I won’t be able to stop them all. There are so many witches here, and I don’t think they’re all from this plane. And I sense others. Demons, Your Highness. There are demons here.”
It was everything I’d feared about that fucking dark temple. It would allow demons easy access to the Council building, but then it wasn’t the Council building anymore.
Evan moved behind me, Fen coming to her side. “Momma, there’s no reason to get the painting. It’s dead. Do you think we haven’t spent a decade trying to figure it out? Again, I’ll explain it when we’re safely back at base. Hurry.”