Page 59 of Crown of Blood and Vengeance

A boom like heaven’s wrath shook Balthazar’s mansion to its foundations, making black blood rain from the ceiling. Screams of pure terror echoed outside, not the usual wails of the damned, but something deeper—the sound of demons facing their worst nightmare. For the first time, Balthazar’s smirk crumbled, revealing something close to fear.

Poison threw back her head and laughed, the sound ringing with dark triumph. “Demon, did you think Dracula could open the gates of hell without the archangels knowing? You designed all this to have Raphael come here...” Her wings flared wider, casting holy light across her fierce expression. “But did you think he would come alone?”

“Well, isn’t this just perfect.” Dimitri twirled his sword with exaggerated casualness, though his eyes never left the door. “An archangel crashing our little hell party. Should I break out the holy water cocktails?”

Poison’s smile turned razor-sharp, her eyes blazing with unholy delight. “The Archangel Michael.” The name itself seemed to make the air vibrate. “He’s coming. How do you think Lucifer will feel with his fiercest enemy entering his domain?”

Balthazar scrubbed his face and turned around, his arrogance finally shattering under the thunder of Michael’s approach. It was the moment I’d been waiting for—his guard down, his attention elsewhere. I launched forward with vampire speed, my sword raised high, centuries of rage behind the blade.

“Angelo, no! He’ll kill you!” Serenity’s scream tore through the air, raw with terror.

Balthazar whirled around, his eyes widening with shock, but for once, the demon lord wasn’t fast enough. My blade struck true, slicing deep across his throat. Black blood erupted between his fingers as he clawed at his neck, the prince of hell dropping to his knees. His mouth worked, trying to form words, but he only managed a wet gurgle.

“This is our chance. He’s immobilized for the moment, but not dead.” Vlad snatched Julienne’s hand. “We need to get back to the doorway.”

Poison flew out of the living room, her wings creating a cyclone of plaster and dust, the air thick with sulfur and ash. The heat of hell pressed against us like a physical wall, making even vampire flesh feel like it might melt.

Poison could fly, but I wasn’t sure how well Serenity could do it, and I wasn’t going to wait to find out. Panic surged through me as I pictured her falling into whatever hellscape was opening beneath us. I tossed her over my shoulder, her wings condensing into her back with a sound like thunder that reverberated through my bones. Enzo and Dimitri ran alongside me, faces twisted with the same desperate fear that clawed at my insides, our feet burning against the hellish ground. Each step was agony, but the thought of losing Serenity to this inferno hurt far worse than any physical pain.

We burst out of the mansion into an inferno. A white light blazed above us like a thousand suns, so pure it hurt to look at, so powerful it made the very air crackle with divine energy. I didn’t want to run into the Archangel Michael any more than Balthazar did. I wasn’t on his favorite people list—centuries of blood and darkness had made sure of that.

Vlad had opened the door. Through it, I could see decrepit St. Christopher’s Church, a beacon of salvation in this nightmare realm. Trystan’s massive white wolf form commanded the entrance, his pack fanning out behind him like living shadows. Their hackles rose in perfect unison, fangs gleaming in the candlelight. A wall of snarling fury stood between us and freedom.

The alpha’s golden eyes blazed with primal warning as he lowered his head, muscles bunching beneath his snow-white fur. His pack responded instantly, dropping into attack positions,their growls vibrating through the broken church foundations. Whatever was coming behind us had the wolves ready for war.

Keir and his harpies tore through the opening first, followed by Enzo and Dimitri, leaving trails of demon blood in their wake.

Enzo’s face drained of all color as he lifted his sword. “Behind you!”

Serenity squirmed over my shoulder. “Angelo, he’s coming!”

White-hot agony shot through me like liquid fire. I arched my back as blood erupted into the sulfurous air. My legs betrayed me, knees crashing into the scorched ground. A spear had torn straight through me, the holy weapon burning worse than hellfire. Anguish ripped through every nerve. Serenity slipped through my fingers like water.

“No,” I gritted through teeth clenched against the pain. “Enzo... get her.”

But then strong hands grabbed me under my arms, lifting me as if I weighed nothing. I looked up, expecting to see another angel or Enzo, but instead saw Serenity, her wings beating against the infernal air, casting a warm white glow that pushed back hell’s darkness.

“Hurry!” Vlad’s voice cut through my haze of pain. “They’re coming!”

Serenity held me tight as we passed through Vlad’s doorway. The portal slammed shut behind us with a sound like the world ending.

She lowered me onto the floor with trembling hands, the spear still embedded deep in my flesh. My body turned ice cold, frost crystallizing across my skin like a deadly lattice. The shadowweavers’ poison was spreading—I’d felt this before, this creeping death.

Beads of sweat broke out on my forehead as my body fought against the supernatural cold. “Get it out,” I gritted through chattering teeth, each word a battle.

Enzo examined the weapon, his face grim. “It’s got small spikes,” he said, jaw clenched. “It will rip your flesh.”

“Just do it,” I gasped as another wave of agony gripped me, the shadowweavers’ poison burning like ice in my veins.

“Brace him,” Enzo commanded.

Dimitri clasped one arm, his usual cocky expression replaced with raw concern. Keir took my other arm, his Unseelie strength steady and sure.

Serenity knelt before me, her eyes bright with tears as she placed her palms against my cheeks. Her touch felt like sunlight breaking through eternal night. “Focus on me and only me.”

Her healing power flooded through me, melting the deadly chill, pushing back the creeping darkness. For a moment, there was only her—her warmth, her light, her love.

“Make it quick, Enzo,” I gasped, bracing for what was coming.

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