Page 60 of The Blood Crown

His smile flashed through the haze as her lightning flickered and sputtered.

Dread threatened to smother what was left of her power as she dredged the well of her magick, sending wave after wave crashing against the demon prince. But the arrogant smirk on his face never left as he remained completely unharmed, taking a final, battling step forward.

He stumbled.

And something shifted in his expression as he glanced down. Something that looked like . . . fear.

Cracks formed along his alabaster skin, and the white of his chest began to splinter. His steps faltered—shock etched into the cruel slash of his mouth as he gritted his teeth and fought to reach her. But Aurelia dug and pulled at her power, sending an unrelenting wall of magick into the demon prince's pale chest.

His white skin cracked and fissured, a black hole spidering out from the center of his chest where she concentrated the flood of blinding white. She couldfeelthe last dregs of her power as she clawed and tore at her magick. Heat seared her neck, evaporating the sweat gathering there as everything was bleached pale gold around her.

Asmodeous fell to one knee, clutching at his chest. “Wait—” the prince shouted through the haze, desperation bleedingthrough his cold voice. “Don’t you wish to know what you truly are?” he rasped.

And for a moment—just a moment, her attack wavered. The charged air going stagnant as she considered his words.

To find out what she was.Whoshe was . . .

She looked at the scene unfolding around her.

Tanis’ body lay a dozen feet away. Valea’s arrows were spent, her clutch empty as she stabbed and kicked at the horde of demons circling where Karro fought at her back.

Aurelia spun wildly, searching for Ven.

She nearly fell to her knees when she caught the flash of his dark hair, slicked with sweat and grime as he fought Maloch. The graceful arc of his blade met the prince’s scythe with a resounding ring, the deafening blow bringing him to the ground.

She could say yes. She could end this. Here. Now.

Asmodeous’ eyes glittered with promise, his lips curving into a cold smile.

And she shoved him from her head, sending a final blast of lightning surging through her fingertips and straight into his Fateforsaken soul.

The smirk fell from his lips as his chest caved under her searing, scorching power. Her skin blistered, the ring turning white as it burned her, melting, fragmenting as Asmodeous let out a final, deafening scream.

White flame engulfed the prince, his kneeling form crumbling into black ash as the ring finally fell from her finger, nothing more than dust blowing away in the frost-coated wind. And it was as if a weight had been lifted from her mind. Like a sodden cloak lifted from her body as she looked at what remained of the demon prince.

An inhuman roar reverberated through the trees, shaking the very ground as Maloch looked at the pile of ash that had been his brother. His heavy blade came crashing down on Ven, theblows crushing with their power as Karro stepped forward, the two Wraiths battling the dark prince. With a sweeping blow, Ven was knocked a dozen feet across the ground, rolling to a stop as Maloch turned all his fury on Karro. His massive blade sliced down as the Wraith raised his arm to block the attack.

A sickening crunch ripped through the night air.

Karro’s shout was guttural as Maloch raised his blade once more—shining wetly in the moonlight with blood. And a heap of white fell to the ground between them.

Valea.

Blood seeped through her white gear, staining the snow crimson. Her bright red eyes fluttered open as Karro shielded her with his body, raising his blade to meet Maloch’s as the ragged circle of demons began to close in on them.

Aurelia reached for her magick—but it was nowhere to be found. With the ring destroyed, her power had dissolved, too.

Sulfur coated her mouth. The edge of the fray was in sight. Just a few more yards of fighting and they would have been free of it. She could nearly smell the cool, crisp winter air outside of the clearing.

They’d been so fucking close . . .

Maloch’s onyx arm rippled with muscle, his blade raised above Karro for a killing strike as the mountainside beneath them shook.

The heavy ring of metal on metal echoed through the snow-dusted pines as the demon brought his massive blade down. And a lithe, dark form stood between Karro and the prince—white teeth gritted as she shoved Maloch back.

Ink black hair whipped across Nira’s face as she turned. The sutures across Maloch’s mouth stretched vulgarly in reply as a dozen more Wraiths emerged around them, cutting through the demons that closed in. And Aurelia sent up a silent thanks towhoever watched over them—the Unnamed, or Fate, or some other god who had chosen benevolence for them this night.

Ven regained his footing, pressing an attack on Maloch once more—the prince seeming off balance now that he faced both of the Wraiths.

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