Page 84 of Kiss of Magic

She created another fireball, feeling the ache in her neck and shoulders as she strained to give it heat and power.

“Raya, you need to take a break,” Kam said.

“I’m fine.” She threw the fireball at another demon below her. It missed. “Dammit.”

Even focusing on keeping her wings alight was becoming a strain. She dipped closer to the ground as she struggled to stay buoyant.

The demon leapt for her.

“Raya, watch out!”

Kam’s shouted warning was too late. Raya screamed as she was borne down in a welter of claws and tentacles.

He shot after her but as soon as he was within reach, he too was smashed out of the air. Teeth settled into his shoulder and bit. The bones of his clavicle splintered and warm blood spattered over his tunic. He’d never felt such pain in his life.

His vision blurred as he fought to stay conscious. Jinn and demon thudded into the ground and rolled. The demon’s grip loosened and in desperation, Kam sent a blinding shaft of light straight into its unblinking arachnid eyes. The thing yelped and sprang away.

Kam lay in a pool of his own blood searching for Raya. When he saw her, his heart froze.

Gods, no. No.

She was unconscious, her face a bloodied mess, pinned to the ground by a razor-tipped tentacle that had stabbed straight through her abdomen.

Kam tried to get up. He held out his hand and manifested a sword. He knew it wouldn’t penetrate the demon’s hide but he didn’t know what else to do. He crawled forward, determined to reach her.

The demon raised its head.

Too. Late.

“Fuck you,” Kam snarled. “Fuck all of you.”

The demon turned back to Raya. It opened its mouth wide and a secondary jaw full of teeth protruded obscenely. The drooling fangs nuzzled into Raya’s neck and prepared to bite down.

“Hey, ugly.”

Startled, the demon jerked up. It barely had time to react before a bolt of flame lifted it bodily off Raya. Its face couldn’t display emotion but Kam could have sworn he saw astonishment. Its eyeballs melted a split second before it evaporated.

Kam turned to see where the shot had come from. Tala stood cradling a weapon on her hip.

“Seven hells, this thing’s heavy,” she said conversationally. She swung round to fire on another demon that had got too close. “Get your butt off the ground, your Majesty. Cavalry’s here.”

Kam turned to see a row of armoured vehicles forming a wall around the ruined palace. Troops were flooding out, positioning themselves behind a phalanx of weapons mounted on tripods. He saw Darian giving orders. They began firing.

A cheer went up from the rag-tag fighters as it became clear that at last, they had an effective weapon against the demons. Kam felt his shoulders sag in relief. He grinned gratefully at Tala.

“What took you?” he said.

“We didn’t want to stealallyour fun. Now get to the healers and take Raya with you.”

Raya.

Kam staggered over and dropped to his knees next to her. There were deep cuts on her face and neck, but the most serious wound was the puncture through her stomach. Kam caught the glisten of organs that were never meant to see daylight.

“Shit. She’s in a bad way.”

“Then you’d better get her mended or Shade will kill you. I’m not joking on this.”

Tala lay down covering fire while Kam unfurled his wings and carefully gathered Raya into his arms. He flew to the bunker in the east of the city where the healers had been set up.

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