Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
Joy
My arms shook, and my power was drained. I dropped my arms and fell to my knees, my shadows drifting away like smoke. Ari—that bastard—had slipped out the broken rose window and gotten away, abandoning what was left of his men to die.
Coward.
Three Dark Demons turned toward me, swords raised high. Where was Enzo?
A bat swooped down beside me—Enzo. He transformed back into his human shape mid-dive and positioned himself between me and the threat.
A Dark Demon lunged for us. Gunnar intercepted him, his hand clamping around the demon's throat. The demon's scream cut off as Gunnar's death touch took hold—his skin turning gray, then black, then crumbling to ash.
The other two Dark Demons froze. Their swords clattered to the floor as they raised their hands above their heads in surrender.
Hades pawed desperately at the broken altar, his whines growing more frantic. Someone was trapped beneath the rubble.
I had to help. Even though I had nothing left.
"Joy, no!” Enzo shouted, but it was already too late.
I raised my shaking arms and arched my back, calling on reserves I didn't have.
Shadows, help him.
My shadows surged forward one last time, wrapping around the broken altar. With a sound like grinding stone, they lifted the massive structure and hurled it across the cathedral.
The effort cost me everything. Darkness crept in at the edges of my vision.
Enzo gripped my shoulders. "Joy, are you all right?"
"I'm okay." I blinked hard, my vision slowly clearing. Exhaustion pulled at me, making my limbs shaky. “What happened? What about Zoe?”
“She’s okay. Angelo broke her chains. With Marsha dead, they were no longer enchanted. Don’t worry about her. Serenity will heal her.”
"Ebony!" Gunnar's broken cry made me turn. He was lifting a white-haired woman from the hole beneath the altar—a space that had been sealed, hidden. She lay completely still in his arms, her skin ghostly pale.
He gathered her against his chest, one hand cupping her face. “Come back to me," he whispered desperately. "Please come back."
Guilt clogged my throat. We were too late. We should have gotten here sooner.
"I can heal her," Serenity offered, stepping forward.
Enzo stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. "Wait. Watch Gunnar."
A warm golden aura bloomed around them both, pulsing with life. Ebony's eyes fluttered open, finding Gunnar's face. "Gunnar?"
"Yeah, babe." He kissed her. "I'm here. You're safe now."
Tears pricked my eyes. Like a fairy tale come to life—Sleeping Beauty awakened by true love’s kiss.
My legs gave out. Enzo swept me up before I hit the ground. "You're completely drained, Joy. We need to get you home to Crescent Manor."
Crescent Manor? Seriously? I wanted to be there, wanted to see my brother, wanted to be in Enzo’s room, but so much had happened…
I leaned my head against his chest. “But what about Angelo?”
Serenity smiled. “Don’t worry about him.”
But I wasn't so sure. Angelo stared at us. He looked as fierce and deadly as his reputation with blood running down his chin and his suit soaked with it.
Serenity headed over to him. "I've got some healing to do."
Dimitri sat on the blood-soaked floor, cradling his brother.
He looked up at Serenity with a smirk, though it was strained with pain.
"Please tell me you've got the good stuff.
Because Valentin's face looks like it went through a meat grinder, and I'm pretty sure I'm holding in my own intestines. So, you know, no pressure."
Angelo glared at him but didn’t say anything. He watched the rest of the Dark Demons, now less than ten, that were huddled against the wall, almost daring them to move.
Serenity brushed past Angelo and knelt beside Dimitri.
Dimitri shook his head weakly. "Valentin first."
Rose was already at Valentin's side, her hands hovering over his battered face. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "No, no, no."
Morden, Tinker Bell and Alice entered the cathedral, all of them moving slowly, exhaustion written in every line of their bodies.
I exhaled and placed a shaking hand on my forehead. I hadn’t realized how terrified I’d been to lose them—lose Morden before I’d even gotten to know him. They must have won or the queen and her army would be in close pursuit. The battle must have been fierce.
"And?" Enzo looked at them, his jaw tight. "The portal?"
Morden sighed heavily. He didn't focus on Enzo—his eyes found mine. "Ari escaped into the Elder Dimension before we could close it. I'm sorry, daughter."
My stomach dropped. "Brynn. Darius." They were trapped there. Trapped with Ari and the queen.
Tinker Bell wiped her hands on her thighs, her voice weary. “Alice and I made sure it was sealed properly. No one will be coming through that portal for a very long time."
The words should have brought relief—the invasion was stopped, Earth was safe. But all I could think about was Brynn's face and Darius' kindness. Two people who'd helped me, who'd become friends.
And I'd left them behind in hell.
Enzo lifted an eyebrow. "Who are Brynn and Darius?"
A tear slid down my cheek. "Friends I met there. We have to get them out."
He kissed the top of my head. "We will. But not now. Not today.”
I wanted to argue, but every bone, every muscle, every shadow was tired.
Please forgive me, I said silently. I won't forget you.
"Valentin, you're alive." Rose planted kisses across Valentin's face. His eyes were open and his color had returned. I smiled. Serenity had healed him.
The sound of uneven footsteps made me look up. Keir limped into the cathedral, his arm dangling at his side, shirt soaked with blood. I tensed as I thought all of the terrible, cruel things he had done to Brynn and her family. I could barely look at him.
But what if Morden had been telling the truth? Maybe Brynn was wrong, but I wasn’t sure.
Not yet.
“Tonight has not been my night,” he said.
Another Unseelie followed close behind, his hand settling on Keir's shoulder. "The harpies are here to take us back."
Morden looked at me, devastating grief flickering across his face. "I don't know if I should leave my daughter. I’ve already lost…” He turned away, struggling to maintain composure.
His son. The half brother I’d only recently learned about and had never met. Dead. Gone. Killed protecting Enzo while I was trapped in another dimension.
Tears burned behind my eyes. Morden had just found me—his daughter—only to lose his son in the same night. The pain radiating from him was almost unbearable.
All of this—the death, the destruction, the loss—it was Ari's doing. I hoped he got what he deserved back in the Elder Dimension.
"I'll protect her," Enzo promised, his arms tightening around me. "You have my word."
Morden turned back to face us, tears shining in his eyes.
My throat tightened. Seeing him like this—vulnerable, grieving—made me want to reach out, but I didn’t know how. So I did what I normally would do with Louis.
I extended my hand toward him. “Father.” It felt strange to say, but also somehow natural. "I'll be fine. I promise."
His expression crumbled for just a moment before he composed himself, nodding. None of us looked okay—bloodied, battered, barely upright. But we'd survived.
Keir clasped Morden's arm gently. "It's time to bury our dead. The battle is over."
Was it really over? Every time I’d thought we were safe, something worse happened. The queen was still out there. Ari had escaped. I wanted out of here. I buried my face into Enzo’s shoulder again, inhaling his masculine scent.
“Pascal…” A soft male voice brought my attention to the present.
Angelo had pulled out his phone. “Bring the limo to the Lumina Glade. Have Elena make something for us to eat. We’re coming home. The battle’s over.”
He put his phone away as he focused on the remaining Dark Demons. “You have a choice. Get the fuck out of here and never come back to New Orleans again, or I’ll fucking rip your throats out.”
The Dark Demons rushed past us, white as ghosts. They were leaderless now, and the fight had left them. I doubted any of them would set foot in New Orleans again. Not with the threat of the Vampire Mafia King hanging over them.
Maybe it was good that there was a monster in New Orleans that terrified the other monsters.
Enzo carried me out of the cathedral and headed through the bayou, not putting me down.
His arms were solid, warm, safe—everything I’d been denied for so long.
For the first time in days, I let myself truly relax against him.
I gave into my exhaustion, and the next time I woke up, someone shook me gently.
“Joy, we’re home,” a husky voice whispered in my ear.
I opened my eyes and looked up into Enzo’s dark gaze.
“Home?”
He smiled. “Crescent Manor.”
I yawned as I looked around the empty limo. “Where’s everyone else?”
He brushed a hair off my face. “You were so tired. We dropped Valentin and Rose off at their home and then dropped off Gunnar and Ebony off at their hotel. We left Zoe at the hospital. She’s healed, but Serenity felt like she needed more observation. You can see her later.”
My body was heavy, sluggish, like I’d been dragged through hell—which I had been. But beneath the exhaustion was relief. Everyone had made it. We’d survived. “I can’t believe I slept through all of that.”
“I can. You were exhausted.”
Pascal opened the door and held out his hand. I put mine in his and noticed it was shaking badly, but I wasn’t sure if it was from excitement or fear.
"Joy!"
Steve's voice cracked on my name. Then he was moving—a blur of motion as he reached us. His hands locked around my waist, lifting me effortlessly, and suddenly I was airborne, spinning, the room whirling around me.
Then his arms wrapped around me like steel bands, crushing me to his chest. "You're back. You're finally back." He was shaking—my strong, stoic brother was shaking. Sobbing. "I thought you were gone. I thought I'd never—"
Tears streamed down my face as I clung to him, my fingers digging into his shoulders. "Steve," I choked out. "I'm here. I'm okay. I'm home."
Steve released me and looked at Enzo. “You did it. You brought her home. Thank you.”
"She's the one who did it," Enzo said, clutching my hand like a lifeline. "But I always knew she would. She's powerful."
Angelo approached, his face grave. "Enzo, you need to get yourself cleaned up. Detective Flanagan is here." He turned to Steve. "Take your sister upstairs and get her cleaned up."
My stomach dropped. It wasn’t over. Of course it wasn’t. Just when I thought we were safe, the next threat arrived. "Why are the police here?"
"Because they think I'm a serial killer," Enzo said grimly.
My face drained and dread rolled up my throat. No. After crossing dimensions, battling demons, surviving torture—we couldn't be torn apart by this. By human police who had no idea what we'd been fighting. I'd just gotten him back. I couldn't lose him again.
Not like this.