My demon’s message finally clicked. She wanted me to do a massive explosion of magic to distract our enemies and get the surprise back. I relayed the message to my mates, and they took care of telling the rest of the faction so I could focus. We did all of this while engaged in the fight.

Sweat dripped off my brow from the heat. The trees assisted us, sending wind swirling around and using their branches as weapons. They even grew tiny when dodging fireballs. Most of the people around us were Nati Demons, so we were doing well.

The last of the council fell except for Lucifer and Anton. Anton ran off when the others were defeated. Maybe because hethought he’d be a target, or he just wanted to leave. Either way, it was annoying. We could have used his help.

The only people left on the stage were my people and the traitors who spied on us, but most of them had run. A spike of worry for Lilah distracted me. I shoved the feeling down, growling at myself for caring.

Other demons came for me. I had to get closer to the stage, so I dodged their attacks. I didn’t want to put too much effort into a fight that wasn’t with Lucifer. The moment I got close to him, Lucifer’s fist went for my face.

I dodged but was hit with a power ball. The fucker could use energy and throw it around. I fell to the ground with blood trickling down my lip. My demon healed me, so I stood in seconds, not going back to him yet. My magic needed to be in order.

My faction’s battle lust and the pride coursing through them meant we were winning. We could do this. Just as that thought hit, my magic buildup was ready. Trigger flashed a bright light to blind Lucifer for a second as his warning signal to our people.

I let the building energy out in a massive wave. It destroyed the maze Lucifer had created and gave us more room to fight. My faction had dug their blades into the dirt, so they weren’t flung around like rag dolls. When I saw Lucifer flying through the air, I swear I pissed myself with excitement. We took the advantage, charging the nearest demons, killing them easily in their distracted state.

My mates and I fought with all our hatred and desire to end this once and for all, but Lucifer was a damn force. He moved and shot spells at us left and right. But if we could kill his army, all my faction would help us kill him. He was good, but a one-man army he was not.

A roar from one of my people gave me a boost of adrenaline. It was the signal for all clear. Lucifer’s last man had fallen!

I opened the bond with my faction and yelled,We fucking did it! Now, let’s focus all our wrath on Lucifer.

Cheers went up around us. The excitement filled me, but I couldn’t get distracted. The others were too happy to care. Some danced, others made out, and others screamed. There were smart people that got close to Lucifer, not willing to let him get away, but the cheerfulness filled the air. I’d celebrate fully when the Devil was gone to, but the first step got a big check mark next to it.

I was foaming at the mouth with my desire to kill the bastard. Lucifer’s forehead wrinkled as his eyes darted around. The first sign of fear on his pretty face. I smiled wickedly at him.

He took a step back, but as soon as victory seemed certain, Lucifer’s fear turned to humor. I paused and so did my mates. All the good feelings seeped out of me as if I’d sprung a leak.

“This was a cute effort. I don’t know how you disabled the shocking mechanisms in everyone’s communicators. Or how you got my brothers to betray me and go into hiding. He meant the Sins that were still alive. “However, since you played dirty, so will I.” He glanced toward the left, beyond the academy.

I could barely see but saw a shock of pink hair next to a male figure in the far distance. A small wave of relief that Lilah still lived smacked me in the face, making the hurt of her betrayal hit me again too. If she didn’t have pink hair, I wouldn’t have seen them. They were at the wall that surrounded the Academy.

I glanced away noticing how happy Lucifer was. I wanted to just keep fighting him, but the ace up his sleeve could be a killing curse or something. Trigger had spelled all of our clothes to deflect killing curses, but magic wasn’t infallible. Thankfully, curses were extremely difficult to make and doing so was a long process, so there hadn’t been many flying around. Lucifer had been too paranoid of who he could trust to have people make spells for him.

Lucifer giggled. Fucking giggled like a child. My throat went dry when I saw why. Slowly, the academy wall went incorporeal like it did to let new demons in, and there were a fuck ton waiting to come through. I stepped back and grabbed the closest of my mate’s hand.

Trigger squeezed my fingers.

With salivating grins, monstrous forms, and tar dripping from their fingers, they slowly stepped onto academy land. Their hungry eyes narrowed in on my people and picked up speed once the wall didn’t stop them. The ground shook as the army of both Potens and Nati Demons charged toward us. There were no more celebration noises.

Fear turned my limbs to ice. I couldn’t move even as I wanted to run away. Yet, gradually, I chipped at my restraints as my mates sent me their love through the bonds.

If we ran, we’d die anyway. There was no option but to fight. I lifted my middle finger to the two assholes who opened the door. The people I thought were my friends. My other finger faced Lucifer. His smile fell. Good let him know that he couldn’t shake me. I opened the bonds wide in my mind, even to Demarcus, so he could hear my fury.

“No mercy!” I yelled. The battlelust rising in me. I wanted their heads.

“For our freedom!”

“To the death!”

“Let’s kill these fuckers like we did the others.”

The words from my mates lifted the spirits of our fighters back up. This was going to be an unfair fight. The army kept pouring through the opened gates like a scene from my worst nightmare. All I knew was my faction wouldn’t last long now with the numbers and power like Lucifer had now. I had too many lowers. Yet, I knew what I had to do… Even if it meant I wouldn’t make it.

Break off and fight with the faction groups. At least one of you with each group.I ordered my mates.I’ll take on Lucifer.There was only a little time for us to move before the army overwhelmed us.

Not a fucking chance.They all said at the same time, making my brain ring as if they had screamed in my ears.

I growled at them before responding.We’re going to lose this fight if you don’t. Move now before it’s too late.They knew I was right, and we had come too far to lose now. Our people needed them.