Page 31 of Shadow Fall: Part Two

"For the record," I said, catching Verena’s gaze, "I'm thrilled you're accepting your fate so easily; the thought of you being anywhere near Cronus again makes me want to kill someone."

"Kill Cronus," she suggested dryly, green eyes glinting.

"But," I went on, "we're not leaving you in Hell because you're incapable of fighting. We need you here because we can't handle you being in danger."

Haley walking headfirst into certain danger made me want to scream, my instincts howling at me to protect her even louder than usual. Verena being there too was unthinkable. "You were amazing on the island. You realised none of it was real, and you helped us break it apart. We only got out of that illusion because of you. So don't you dare think we're leaving you behind because you're weak."

She nodded, gnawing the inside of her lip. "Then why?"

"It's not going to be a simple fight, Verena. It's not Kai starting shit with a guard or breaking into a bar fight. A battlefield is no place for a teenager." I tugged a lock of her red hair, wanting to say something meaningful but uncertain if she'd even want to hear it. I wasn't her father, wasn't even her brother. But we were family now. "We need you safe. Okay?"

She made my whole body jolt in surprise when she threw her arms around me. "Don't die. I'll bring you back just to kill you all over again. So don't die."

I exhaled a rough breath, folding her into my arms, kicked in the gut by such a simple gesture as a hug. "I have no plans to die, Verena."

"Good," she muttered, and let go abruptly, glancing away so I didn't see the tears lining her emerald eyes. "I'll be fine here."

"I know you will." I gave her a genuine smile and turned away, but her hand shot out, curling around my wrist so tightly that her fingernails bit into my skin.

"Keep Haley safe. Protect her. Okay?"

"Of course I will," I promised, my instincts howling at me even louder, like a storm inside my chest.

"Don't let her out of your sight. Don't let anyone hurt her."

"Verena, you're scaring me now," I said, my voice tight. Dread dripped down my spine like ice water.

She bit her lip, casting a glance down the hallway like any of the demons rushing past with arms full of supplies would intervene to spare her. "I shouldn't tell you, it's obvious she doesn't want anyone to know. But she needs to be careful, and it's not right that she's running off to war like a crazy person when she should be in this palace, safe, with me."

"Verena," I said, my heart tripling. "Tell me."

"She's pregnant," Verena whispered, a wince tightening her round face. "And I know why she doesn't want you to know, you just lost Kaida, and it's obvious you're not dealing with it so great, and this is just going to fuck with your heads even more but … you need to know. You need to keep her safe."

Wind howled through my head like a scream.

"You're saying," I breathed as everything inside me ground to a halt, "my mate, who is standing on a battlefield as we speak, waiting for the command to march on Cronus, is pregnant."

Verena swallowed. Avoided my stare. Nodded.

I didn't have words, didn't even have a suitable curse. I flicked my tongue over my lip, my mouth suddenly dry. She was pregnant. It wouldn't just be her that perished fighting Cronus this time. Our baby. Fuck. We were having a baby, and Haley was to terrified to lose it, so wrecked with grief over Kaida, that she'd march into war.

"Go," Verena urged, but I was already running.

I slashed the corridor with a beam of magic and threw myself into it, white light flashing past me as I sprinted through it and out the other side. My feet skidded on tarmac, sending me forward three steps until the toe of my shoes caught on a chunk of shattered stone.

I lifted my head, a band of dread winding tighter around my chest. I swore when I saw the ruined city around me, and the black, glossy blades that thrust up from the ground in the place of older buildings. Cronus's new city, seething with dark magic. With Wane's stolen shadow. But none of these buildings felt anything like Wane's power; they oozed a warning, a low, hungry pulse.

I stumbled forward another step, scanning the crowd in front of me with a growl in the back of my throat. I was at the back of the army, miles from the front.

"Fuck!" I snarled and slashed another flare of light in front of me, leaping through it, then another, and another. I scanned every face, but none of them were familiar. This army was full of demons and gods, angels and immortals, and all of them were strangers.

Where was my mate? Where was she?

I sank deep into my bond with Haley and adjusted my course, jumping into another beam of light. I paused when a huge, furry red body caught my eye, and I leapt through another ray of magic, landing beside Tali.

"Where is Haley?" I shouted, my chest so fucking tight. Haley was carrying a baby, and she was here, in this melee of noise and violence.

A low beat went through the crowd in a ripple, distant and then closer, louder. Like a heartbeat. Like a war drum. It swallowed my yell, until Tali didn’t even hear me.

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