Page 83 of Kiss of Magic

Blake didn’t say anything. He watched silently as the stewardess set up a champagne bucket on the table and poured them both a glass. He downed his in two long gulps. Dani raised a brow.

“Easy tiger. We’ve got… how long is the journey, precisely?”

“Seven hours,” the woman smiled. “Seatbelts, please. We’re about to take off.”

She walked back to the galley, leaving Dani and Blake alone. The plane began to travel along the runway, picking up speed.

Blake toyed with the empty glass, rolling the stem between his fingers back and forth. He couldn’t get rid of the idea that had taken root. He shouldn’t even be thinking about it. It would damage his reputation, his career, his life. Dani sensed his preoccupation.

“Ethan?”

The engine noise reached a crescendo and the jet’s nose tilted up. Blake stared out of the window until the tarmac fell away and the landscape became a distant map beneath them. Until he glimpsed the blue of the Atlantic. Then he turned to Dani.

“Listen,” he said. He paused, aware of the enormity of what he was about to suggest. But he knew if he didn’t, he’d regret this moment for the rest of his life.

“Ethan, what is it?”

“What if…” his voice was hoarse and he cleared his throat. “What if we don’t go to England? What if we go somewhere else? We can go anywhere. Anywhere you want to.”

Dani stilled.

“Together?” she said. “You and me?”

He nodded.

“Fuck the contract. Fuck Nush’aldaam. Let’s just run.”

Thirty Eight

Arjhan

The demons overran everything. In the hours that followed, they slaughtered whole companies of soldiers. Men and women who fought bravely, but who didn’t stand a chance.

Hovering above the carnage, Kam felt sick. He’d failed his troops. He’d promised them weapons and he hadn’t delivered.

At least he could take comfort from the fact that for now at least, the plan to contain the carnage to Arjhan appeared to be working.

Witches and sorcerers had been positioned to the north, south and east of the city, where they threw up energy barriers to stop the demons breaking through. The gods only knew how long they could keep it up. They’d been working in shifts for several hours now and they’d lost their most powerful sisters in the first onslaught.

The goal was to drive the demons down the only remaining route to the west, towards the Vulcani. There, the powerful elementals could target them from both on the ground and in the air.

Not as many Vulcani had been able to manifest wings as Kam had hoped. Besides Raya, only five others were strong enough to manage it. It was better than nothing, he told himself.

If only Raya could replicate her wall of fire again. But her reserves were just too low and Kam knew it was taking everything she had just to wield fireballs.

A handful of Ifrit had also managed to manifest wings using their shadow powers. Flying in tandem with the Vulcani, theyacted as lookouts and pinpointed demons getting too close to Arjhan’s boundaries.

Between them, fae and jinn were keeping the battle within the city. But it was becoming increasingly difficult. Demons didn’t need rest. And as the hours wore on, those facing them were beginning to flag.

“Where the hell is Darian?” panted Raya. “We need those weaponsnow.”

“They’re on their way,” said Kam. “We just need to hold the line a little longer.”

“They’d better get here soon. I don’t know how long we can keep this up.”

Raya aimed a fireball at a demon as it skittered through the streets in that unsettling way. Her powers were depleting. Her flames were barely hot enough to fry the bastards. It was taking all her concentration to muster up enough heat. She grunted with effort and watched in relief as the demon was incinerated.

She scanned the skies. Her birth-mother Aelah was hovering a few miles to her left, and to her right she could see Loris sending down flames in the distance. They must be as tired as she was. If they could keep going, so could she.

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