Page 114 of A Hunter for Luna

Across the room, Vala staggered to her feet, her emerald gown reduced to scorched and tattered rags. Her face was a mask of disbelief, twisted almost beyond recognition.

"Blast you," Moonshifter spoke, his voice raw and ragged. "You haven’t won. Die, both of you!"

He aimed that swirling unlight at both of us.

With a strength I didn't know I possessed, I lurched upright, throwing myself between the bolt and Benedetto's crumpled form. He was still breathing, but a crimson stain was spreading beneath him with terrifying speed. My love. My heart. I would not let this monster take him from me.

I gathered the tattered remnants of my power, mine and the baby's, weaving them into a gossamer shield. It was barely more than a soap bubble, fragile and flickering, but it was all I had left. All that stood between those I loved and oblivion.

"No," I said. "This ends here. You will not touch my child. You will not hurt my husband. You will touch nothing I love."

He sneered at me, a hellish light burning in his obsidian eyes. "You can't stop me, little girl. You're spent. Broken. You have nothing left. And I have the power I took, even yet."

Behind him, the air flickered, the shifting colors of an unfamiliar magic forming. If that were Sofia and Soulrider, we had a chance. I just needed to buy a little more time…

I met his gaze with my own.

Oddly, I felt no fear. Only a calm, crystalline certainty. "You're wrong. I have something you can never understand..."

“And that would be?” he raised a brow, his voice mocking.

As I hoped, he’d hold his hand to toy with me before he blasted us.

“Love.”

He stared at me a moment, then laughed raucously. “Do you think you’re in a play, little girl? Love is the least powerful force in this world. It bends, it breaks, and you can buy it in the market for cheap, ten loves for a penny. I’d hoped you had something of interest, but I’ll give you a fast death for making me laugh.”

Vala screamed, a sound of rage and despair, and hurled a bolt of magic at him from behind.

It scattered, and the remaining force struck my shield and drove me to my knees, nearly shattering my hasty defenses. Nearly, but not quite.

Moonshifter turned and blasted her.

I held fast, pouring all that I was into that luminous barrier as they fought. I thought of Benedetto, of our stolen moments of tenderness, our dreams of a future. I thought of the tiny spark of life nestled beneath my heart, defenseless and precious beyond words. I thought of the world I wanted to make for them, for all of us.

And with that vision burning in my mind's eye, I pushed back against the darkness. I refused to yield. I would never yield, not even to despair.

A brilliant flash of light split the air, so intense that it seared my eyes even through closed lids. The ground shook with the force of a Name being invoked, the syllables reverberating through my bones like the tolling of a great bell.

They’d come at last.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

BENEDETTO

The metallic tasteof blood filled my mouth as I struggled to draw breath, each inhale sending shards of agony lancing through my chest. The strange place pulsed with energy, the very air seeming to warp and twist. Dust coated my throat, turning tacky where it mixed with the blood that seeped from my many wounds. It felt as if the ground itself was feeding on my life force, hungrily drinking in the crimson offering.

I blinked, my vision blurring at the edges as I fought to stay conscious. Pain radiated from every inch of my battered body, a searing testament to the dark magic Moonshifter had unleashed upon me. Gashes marred my skin, weeping crimson tears that stained the strange, shifting ground beneath me. Each breath was a battle, my lungs straining against the oppressive atmosphere that pressed down like a smothering weight.

Through the haze of agony, I saw Mother, her face contorted with rage as she charged another blast of energy at Moonshifter. Time seemed to slow, the seconds stretching into an eternity. Dread turned my blood to ice as I realized who stood next tome—Luna, my beloved Luna, standing defiantly with a rapidly eroding shield.

Moonshifter fell and Luna staggered as the blast of magic cracked her shield.

I couldn't let her die. The thought sliced through the fog of pain, sharp and desperate. Panic clawed at my heart, a wild, feral thing that threatened to consume me. I couldn't lose her now. Images flashed through my mind—Luna's rare smile, the warmth of her hand in mine, the stubborn set of her jaw when she faced a challenge. A lifetime of moments, precious and fleeting, all hanging in the balance.

When I tried to move, pain slammed into my chest with the force of a thousand hammers, stealing the breath from my lungs and sending me sprawling backward. White-hot agony seared through my veins, setting every nerve alight with searing torment. I tasted copper on my tongue as blood bubbled past my lips, the metallic tang mingling with the acrid smell of ozone.

A brilliant flash of light split the air, so intense that it seared my eyes. The ground shook with the force of a portal being punched through the defensive magic of the circle.

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