Chapter 56
The scream that escaped me was something inhuman. All my fear and rage let loose. And as I did, something clicked. That ball of power Dash’s spell had unleashed in me shot outward.
The fire blasting from my palms intensified to an inferno, blasting through Damien’s force field. His head jerked up, releasing Colt from his jaws. But it was too late. The silvery fire hit Damien center mass.
He screamed, writhing in agony as he fell to the ground. But I was already running, trying to get to Colt, praying he was okay.
Trace let out a curse as venom nearly hit his side.
There were too many. My eyes burned, that fury rising again. I shoved that magic out of me. As hard as I could.
I felt it pulse along the tethers that connected me and the guys.
Fire rained from the skies, making the dark ones shriek in pain. It was working, but I could feel the tax on my body.
I dropped to my knees next to Colt, my hands in his fur. “Are you okay? What do I do?”
His breathing was labored, but he struggled to his paws. He licked the side of my face and then pressed his head to mine. He was okay. Breathing.
Damien reached out a hand as if trying one more time to reach us. With his last breath, hoping to cause us pain.
I thrust out a hand, sending a stream of purple fire this time and ending him altogether. Some part of me thought I should feel guilty. But I didn’t. Not for a single second.
Damien had taken me. Tortured me. Tried to steal me from the people I loved most in the world. And he never would’ve stopped.
Saoirse ran over to us, out of breath. “I just got word, there are more dark ones coming. At least another hundred. Our allies are on their way, too, but it’ll take time for them to get here.”
Panic licked through me as I checked the reserves of my new power. It was waning. I could feel the drag on my body, my heart. But I didn’t have any choice.
I closed my eyes and pushed again on that well of power. Declan and Ronan sent flames soaring from the sky, and Trace and Dash did the same from the ground. More shrieks and howls of pain sounded.
“Behind you!” Delphine shouted.
I whirled to see another dozen or so dark ones coming from the other side of the house.
Trace turned, taking off at a run to try to fend them off, but he wouldn’t make it in time.
One of the dark ones made a move on Darius that he barely avoided. We were outnumbered and outgunned.
A laugh caught on the air, and I caught sight of Patrick gleefully walking toward us, wanting a close-up view of the carnage.
“You should’ve listened to me when you had the chance,” he snarled. “We could’ve been on the same side. But now I’ll get to watch you all decay from the inside out.”
That now-familiar rage surged somewhere deep, stoking that magic Dash’s spell had unleashed. The power swirled within me as if it had a mind of its own, as if it were begging to be set free.
I thrust my hands into the air and watched in wonder at the swirl of greens, golds, silvers, and purples that flew from my palms. Each stream of magic struck one of my guys, and then a deafening boom sounded.
A wave of magic pulsed out of each of us, sweeping over the ground and taking out dark one after dark one. They fell into a pile of ash as the magic hit them. Light, I realized. Not in the form of fire, but in the form of magic.
The dark ones couldn’t withstand the force of true light. It was more than their forms could take.
The world swam around me, and I stumbled to my knees. Colt pushed in next to me, letting out a worried mewl. I pressed a hand into his fur, trying to assure him I was all right but the words not coming.
Declan and Ronan landed on the lawn, shifting back into their human form and grabbing swim trunks from the pool stack. Ronan prowled toward Patrick. “You’re done. Turn yourself in, and maybe The Assembly will show you mercy.”
Patrick’s eyes turned silver. “I should’ve killed you the moment you were born, you devil’s spawn.”
He opened his mouth, and silver fire spewed out in a targeted shot.
I screamed for Ronan to duck, but the flames were too fast. At the last second, Declan tackled him out of the path, taking a direct hit to his chest. And then he was falling.