A shifter body slams a vampire to the ground and tears out its throat then glares up at me, but when it doesn’t attack, just turns and jumps back into the crowd, I realize it must be one of Josiah Akacheta’s wolves; a pack now led by his daughter since Lucy—the very bitch we’re here to end tonight—murdered him in cold blood.
“We need to find Delaney. That’s where Lucy will be.”
Tarnley reaches down and grips my hand in his. “We stay together.”
He will hold us back,the voice assures me. But I ignore it. “Okay. Let’s go.” I pull him forward, shoving through the steadily growing number of dead bodies before me and cautiously moving past those not dead, yet.
Tarnley releases my hand to grab a witch going for one of Josiah’s pack. She screams, head throwing back as he rips into her throat. Blood sprays me, but I keep pushing forward.
And soon, I’m completely surrounded by the fight. “Lucy!” I yell, as I continue to push forward. A woman with light hair is rushing through the crowd in front of me. A shifter inches forward, and the rest of the room fades as I focus on the way he’s tracking her. The leather jacket completely gives her away, but instead of alerting the shifter of my presence, I remain silent, bringing my magic to the surface. Once he’s right in front of me, he leaps, and I slam my hand into him, unleashing the magic in my veins. It pours into him, and his bones crack with the force of the invisible field around him. He sinks to the ground as Delaney spins, hands raised, and meets my gaze.
The caramel eyes of my best friend widen. “Bronywyn!”
Supernaturals rush in front of us, momentarily blocking her view of me, so I rush further into the crowd in search of Lucy. I know that’s who Delaney is looking for, and if I can find her first—
I see her—just ahead, moments before Delaney’s scream echoes through the room. “No!” she roars. Narrowing my eyes on Lucy, I watch in complete horror as she raises Rainey off the ground, holding her in the air like some sort of twisted fucking prize.
Momentarily, I freeze, struck dumb by terror. One moment—that’s all it would take for her to end Delaney’s little sister.
A hard body slams into me, knocking the air from my lungs and sending me falling backward onto the ground. My ass hits the concrete floor, but I waste no time jumping back up and sending magic whirling around me. If I can keep them away from me long enough to get to Lucy…
“Jack!” Delaney’s scream rips through my soul, her anguished cry breaking my heart and unleashing all of the magic inside of me at the same time.
I shove my way through the crowd, killing everything that gets in my way, just in time to see Delaney unleash her magic into Lucy. Doesn’t matter who it is now. Before, I was careful, not wanting to hurt any of ours, but now? Now all that matters is me getting to Lucy. And if they get in my way, they deserve to die.
The dark witch smiles, completely unafraid of the fight ahead as her power momentarily makes Delaney’s retreat.
At least, it does until I reach over and interlink my fingers with those belonging to my friend. She turns to me, eyes blazing with power, unlike anything I’ve ever seen from her. But it’s still not enough.
Let me be free. I can end her,the voice coos.She already killed one of your friends. Shall she take out more?I momentarily glance at Jack as tears gather in my eyes at the sight of his broken and bloodied body.
He’d been a good man.
And now he was dead.
Anger pushes through my fear.Kill her.Those two words are all it takes for the restraints I’d been careful to keep over the shadow magic snap, and everything I have pours out of me, joining Delaney’s assault.
Lucy screams; layers upon layers of panicked voices crying out in agony fill my ears, but I don’t stop. Instead, I reach down even further. A vampire blurs toward us, but Delaney stops him easily enough, throwing him to the ground and turning her attention back to Lucy.
Power flows around us like a bubble of electricity, sealing us and Lucy inside, and keeping everyone else at bay. Like an isolated storm, we rain down on Lucy, ripping her apart with the magic in our veins.
The dark witch screams once more before falling silent.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper, and Delaney turns to me, her face contorting in grief-stricken anger.
“Where have you been?”
She’s mad even though we helped,the voice whispers.Because she’s jealous that she wasn’t able to stop Lucy alone.
“I—”
“Delaney!” Cole roars her name, and she turns away. With one last glance at Jack’s broken body, I shove back into the crowd, my own pain, anger, and grief trying to smother me.
I’d helped her. Sacrificed my soul, and she’d been angry.
Logically, I get it. I wasn’t there in time to save her friend. But isn’t that what I am to her, too? What I was?
She can’t understand us,the voice says.I can help you. Turn off all the pain, the grief. Just say the word. Give me control.