Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Enzo
The screams from the cathedral tore through the night, each one more desperate than the last. The blond figure had vanished from the broken window—Ari was inside with them. My people. My family.
Where the hell was Angelo?
Serenity.
I should leave Joy here—safe with Tinker Bell and Morden, protected while I handled this. But the thought of letting her out of my sight, of losing her again after everything we'd been through, made my blood run cold.
Every single time I'd left her behind, she'd been taken from me. Kidnapped. Tortured. Dragged to another fucking dimension.
Not again. Never again.
"Joy, no! The queen will get away," Morden yelled.
"Stay with me," I said, grabbing her hand and pulling her close.
We plunged into the bayou, water and mud sucking at our legs, slowing us down. The twisted roots of cypress trees made every step treacherous. Behind us, I heard the queen's remaining soldiers shouting orders, organizing pursuit.
A Dark Demon dropped from the canopy above, landing between us and the cathedral. I didn't slow—just drove my fist through its chest as we passed. It smacked into a tree and collapsed.
But three more took its place.
Joy's shadows lashed out, wrapping around one demon's throat. It clawed at the darkness, choking. I took advantage, snapping the neck of the second while her shadows crushed the third.
But they kept coming. The bayou swarmed with them now.
Ari must have called every Dark Demon in the area.
For every demon I cut down, two more took its place.
It was hopeless—but I couldn’t give up. The screams from the cathedral were getting more desperate, more frequent. Those were my people dying in there.
Fuck. We were running out of time.
"Trust me," I said, and before Joy could respond, I swept her into my arms. My vampire speed kicked in, and we became a blur. Demons lunged but caught only air. Trees whipped past. The fetid water sprayed around us.
The cathedral's broken entrance appeared ahead, and the sounds of battle from within made my blood run cold.
We were almost there.
Dark Demons guarded the cathedral entrance, swords drawn and gleaming in the firelight. At least a dozen of them, tall men forming a wall of deadly intent between us and whoever was screaming inside.
Hades descended from above like divine retribution, his roar shaking the very air. The sound was primal, ancient—a challenge from a creature that feared nothing. The Dark Demons' confident stances faltered. They tried to reposition, to brace for impact.
Too slow.
Hades crashed into their ranks with the force of a battering ram.
His lion's body sent them flying like tin soldiers—bodies slamming into walls, tumbling across the muddy ground.
Their screams filled the air as Hades' claws raked through them.
The ones who tried to fight back were crushed beneath his weight or caught in his powerful jaws.
Blood sprayed across the cathedral's stone entrance.
The path was clear.
I ran through the fallen guards, their groaning bodies littering the ground, and set Joy down behind me just inside the cathedral's broken doorway. My body became her shield.
She gasped behind me. “Zoe! Oh my god, is she dead?”
“No. But almost.”
Marsha’s portal was finally closed. Tinker Bell’s spell must have worked after Hades killed her. At least no more Dark Demons would be pouring into the cathedral. But there were still about twenty of the bastards left.
Nothing I couldn’t handle.
“Enzo, look.” Joy pointed up toward the ceiling. “It’s Serenity, but there’s something wrong.”
Serenity flew down from the vaulted ceiling, her white wings spread wide. But something was wrong—horribly wrong. There was no white glowing aura. No warmth. No light radiating from her like there always was. Her movements were too smooth, too calculated.
My blood went cold.
Fuck. That wasn't Serenity.
Gunnar flew in first, his black wings flapping hard. He landed a few feet away, looking at an empty jail cell. “Where’s Ebony? She was here.”
That shapeshifting bastard was coming straight for Joy and me. My fangs extended fully, and I dropped into a crouch, every tense muscle ready to strike if he got near Joy.
Dark shadows erupted around me, Joy's power lashing out like whips toward the false Serenity. She'd figured it out.
Then I caught movement from the corner of my eye—Angelo stumbling through the doorway, his shirt drenched in blood. And beside him, Serenity. The real Serenity, staring in horror at her own twisted reflection.
Thank God. Thank fucking God. They were alive.
The imposter touched down a few feet away. The transformation was grotesque—features rippling like water. Long hair retracted into short blond locks. Feminine curves hardened into masculine angles. White wings bled to black. Green eyes froze into cold blue.
Ari's smirking face emerged from Serenity's stolen form. "How easy it was to draw you away from the queen.”
Gunnar kicked the door shut behind him with explosive force. "Ari, you bastard! Where's Ebony? What have you done with her?"
"Hidden." Ari's smile widened, cruel and satisfied. "Somewhere you'll never find her. You should have remained our obedient weapon, Gunnar. Now your beloved wife pays the price for your rebellion."
"No!" The word came out as an anguished roar. Gunnar's fist slammed into the stone wall, and the impact sent cracks spider-webbing through the ancient masonry. Plaster rained down.
This bastard needed to pay. "Maybe the queen escaped, but you won’t,” I snarled.
"Try it, lover boy." Ari raised his hands, fingernails extending into razor-sharp claws.
"Enzo, no!" Joy's warning came too late.
I didn't care—didn't think. I just wanted him dead. My hands locked around his wrists, and I lunged for his throat, fangs fully extended.
Dark Demons converged from both sides. Their swords bit deep—shoulders, ribs, back. White-hot pain blazed through me, but adrenaline did as well, and I refused to let go of Ari.
Then a golden-brown-and-crimson blur shot past me—Hades—slamming into Ari with devastating force and ripping him out of my hands.
Ari smashed into a wall and slid down, leaving a blood smear on the stone. He held up his shaking hand as Hades stalked toward him, murder in his eyes. “You kill me, you’ll never find your fucking queen.”
“Enzo! Angelo!” Dimitri’s shout cut through the chaos. “Not to interrupt your revenge fantasy, but I could use a hand before I become demon chow!”
I looked through the chaos and spotted Dimitri and Rose.
He stood over Valentin's beaten form, absolutely drenched in blood.
Rose had blood running down her chin and she was next to Valentin.
Zoe hung limply against the pillar, still unconscious.
Dark Demon corpses surrounded them—evidence of the brutal fight he'd been waging alone.
But Dimitri was swaying on his feet, clearly at his limit.
And Valentin... Christ, his face was so swollen and battered I barely recognized him.
Anguish tore through me. Dimitri was dying on his feet, and Valentin was barely conscious. I had to reach them.
I pushed my vampire speed to the limit.
Shadows exploded past me, flowing like dark water toward Dimitri and Valentin. Joy's power wrapped around them both, creating a protective cocoon of darkness. The Dark Demons slashed their swords at the shadows, trying to break through to finish what they'd started, but the shadows held firm.
Thank god. She was keeping them alive.
Angelo appeared at my side like an avenging angel, rage etched into every line of his face. We became a two-man army, cutting through the Dark Demons standing between us and our wounded brothers.
The first demon came at me with a sword.
I batted it aside and seized him by the throat, fangs extending fully.
I bit down hard, tearing through flesh and artery.
His blood poured into me—hot, coppery, powerful.
Energy surged through my body, knitting torn muscle, closing sword wounds.
The demon went limp in my grasp. I threw him aside and grabbed the next one.
Screams filled the cathedral—the dying, the desperate, the doomed.
I drained another Dark Demon, feeling his life force fuel my rage, then broke his neck and let him drop.
Angelo moved beside me like a shadow, his ancient sword singing through the air.
Every strike was fatal. Every movement was efficient.
We'd fought together for too long to need words.
Four Dark Demons tried to overwhelm him. Mistake. He spun through them like a dancer, his blade finding throats and hearts with surgical precision. Bodies fell around him in a spreading pool of blood.
Movement drew my eye. Ari was hauling himself upright, one hand braced against the wall, blood streaming down his temple from Hades' brutal attack.
His gaze swept the cathedral—taking in the massacre, the corpses, his crumbling victory.
When his eyes found mine, I saw something I'd never seen before.
Fear.
"Hades,” Gunnar's voice cut through the chaos, low and deadly. The Catan dragon's head swiveled, his mane swishing as he cocked his head at Gunnar, his golden eyes glowing. "Make Ari tell us where Ebony is."
Ari spread his wings and launched toward the broken rose window, flying erratically as blood dripped from his wounds.
Fuck. The bastard was making a run for it. That wasn’t happening. I shifted into a bat and soared after him.
But Hades gave chase, his powerful wings beating as he closed the distance.
Ari flew out of the broken window into the night.
Then, suddenly, Hades stopped mid-flight. He wheeled away from Ari and dove back down, landing in front of the broken altar. His lion's nose pressed to the ground, sniffing frantically.
He'd found something.