Chapter Thirty
Seraphina
My baby sister’s engagement turned the rave into a wild celebration in seconds.
I was so fucking happy for her, I thought my heart might burst. We needed something like this.
The energy running through the crowd tasted like hope and happiness.
It was so strong that I almost missed the dark mind slithering through the throngs of people.
It was strange, I’d never had the ability to sense minds outside of my mates, but something about this one stuck out, like I met this particular beast before. Scanning the masses, I stepped away from my sister and the line of people forming in front of her and Morax.
“What is it, Sera?” Dev asked, pressing his hand to my back.
My brows furrowed, and I shook my head. “I’m not sure. It’s like I can sense something or someone in the crowd. And they feel…vile.”
Dev frowned, craning his head around to get the attention of the other Princes. Within seconds, all five of them were at my back.
You can’t trust them. They’ll never take you back.
“Something isn’t right. This creature is not one of ours,” I murmured, knowing the superior hearing of the Princes would pick up my shaky tone.
Someone else crept through the throng of people, but Ty stopped her before she could get close to me. I grabbed his arm, tugging it away from the female. Partly because I trusted her, and partly because it irked me when any of my men touched another woman. “She’s not the one I’m sensing, Ty.”
Deccaria frowned, her gold dress shimmering in the lights as she moved to my side. “What are you sensing?”
I shrugged. “I’m not sure. It feels…familiar.” There was a tiny voice in my head that screamed at me for not telling them everything.
Andras arched a brow and reached for me, but I stepped back. His eyes widened slightly, but otherwise, he kept his emotions hidden. The others didn’t notice while they scanned the crowd for an enemy, but Deccaria saw the interaction. Her eyes darted between me and my dark prince.
Only the true leader of the daemons can give you what you seek.
“Fuck this,” I snarled, closing my eyes and grounding my power within. Whoever the fuck you are, I’m coming for you.
As if you could fight me. I felt your lust for power. The voice was laced with desire, but I shoved the feeling away. It wasn’t my own. Someone’s fingers brushed across my back, and I shivered, bile rising in my throat. I recognized that touch.
Two razor sharp daggers appeared in my hands, and I whipped around, using air to aid me, spur me on.
He was several steps away, but not far enough.
And my wrath was stronger than his. He screamed the second I slammed my daggers into his back as I leapt on him.
We fell to the floor. My uncle tried to form a block of ice as a shield, but my fury burned hotter.
Using my rage, I set fire to the daggers and stabbed again, and again, and again.
Strong arms snatched my waist, and I turned, ready to stab them too. My blade cut into Ty’s hand, and a strangled sound escaped my body when I realized what I’d done.
But he didn’t let go of me. With blood running down his arm, Ty held my waist firmly and cupped my cheek with the ruined flesh. “Seraphina. It’s all right. Come back to me.”
The others were there now, surrounding the mutilated lumen at our feet. He wasn’t dead. My blades weren’t made of stellatium, the only metal that could truly harm a daemon or lumen. And his wounds were already healing.
Soldiers were rushing in, wrapping the aforementioned metal around his wrists in the form of cuffs.
I barely registered any of it as Ty held me in his grasp. “Seraphina?”
He swiped his thumb across my cheek, and only then did I realize I was crying. “I’m fine.”
“Who the fuck is he?” Levi growled, his body glowing with rage.
Phen was at his side, looking equally murderous, but it was Nuriela who spoke first, having arrived without anyone noticing.
“His name is Halphas.” Her voice was soft, but the room was once more silent, the music cut off. “He is the brother of Adriel, Lailah’s father. I never liked him. Seems he defected to the enemy.”
“He was with Belial,” I murmured. “He…pretended to be an ally.”
Nuri sent a shard of ice into the groaning lumen’s arm, and he shouted in pain. She was cold and calculating, standing over him. “You had a hand in my mate’s demise. I’m going to destroy you.”
The lumen’s eyes widened. He attempted to reach up and touch Nuri, but she was faster. A second shard of ice slammed into his other arm, securing him to the floor. “Don’t let him touch you. He has a strange power and can manipulate your feelings once he’s laid hands on you.”
Ty’s hand on my cheek brushed away another tear, and he lowered his head, hazel eyes filled with understanding. “He convinced you to break your bonds.”
Guilt burned through my insides.
“I wasn’t strong enough to keep him out. I should have known.” The energy rushed from my body at the admission and fatigue took over. I slumped into Ty’s arms, and he scooped me up effortlessly.
“Please. Let me take her,” Phen whispered, his voice needy.
Ty nodded and passed me into his arms.
Morax stood nearby with my sister tucked behind him, shielding her. He turned to the crowd. “This incident is a reminder that even here, we are not safe. If Halphas could find us here, others will already know. Belial will come with his army and destroy this place. We are out of time.”
Murmurs rumbled through the crowd, and the energy in The Catacombs turned from joyous to dread. Morax wasn’t finished.
He pulled Michaela to his side. “Tonight’s events have shown us we must celebrate when we can, and prepare for the inevitability of war. At moonrise tomorrow, I will marry my mate. And then…let the revolution begin.”
Shouts of hoorahs and a sense of unity washed through the room. I wanted to feel the happiness and determination of the others, but all I could feel now was my guilt. He came here for me; I led the enemy to my father’s people.
I continued to fail those I cared for most over and over. Should I have stayed in the castle? Would they have been safe here if I remained Laszlo’s prisoner? If I had the power Belial promised, maybe I would be strong enough to stop this war before it even began.
Andras threaded his hand in my hair and tugged my head back to look at him. I relished the pain of his hard grip, deserved it.
“Seraphina, your guilt is written all over your face, and I won’t fucking have it.” My dark prince raged. “It’s time we got our bonds back. We’re going under that mountain. As soon as your sister is wed, we’re leaving.”
Dev nodded in agreement. “Let’s get those fuckers out of your head for good.”
“What did I say about your tears, Seraphina?” Ty purred, squeezing my calf with his massive hand. “Only I get your tears. Every one that falls from your pretty eyes because of another, I will mark their death. Starting with this one.”
Ty turned just enough to see Halphas and sent a blast of fire at him, starting at his feet. The piece of shit screamed in pain. No one moved, no one helped him. Ty wouldn’t kill him yet, not when he could provide valuable information about the enemy. But his screams made me feel marginally better.