Page 57 of Blood

She’s magnificent.

There are no words capable of describing the immense terror and all-consuming grief that ripped through my being when I felt my bond to Violet begin to diminish. Balor had just finished removing the rune’s power from all of us when it felt as if my chest was being cracked open.

And I knew, in no uncertain terms, that Violet was dying.

Cal’s wings turned entirely black as he took to the sky, his eyes enraged, his lips curled away from his teeth in a snarl.

Barret grew three times his normal size. The air around him practically crackles with the unfettered energy radiating off of him. With a roar, he raced from the room, not bothering to even glance back.

Then I was left with just Frankie and a sweat-soaked Balor. The latter’s eyes gleamed with an indecipherable emotion, one that had the muscles in my stomach tightening as another javelin of fear cut through my heart.

“She did it,” he breathed. “She actually did it.”

To my horror and confusion, the body housing Balor fell to the ground, limp and decaying. A brilliant ball of pure energy bobbed directly above the corpse like a buoy on the sea, rippling across the ferocious waves. The ball of light that was Balor zipped through the open doorway.

That left just me and Frankie, the human and the experiment. We exchanged an uneasy look and then took off at a run.

That was three hours ago.

When we arrived in Hell’s prison—after having a heated debate with the angry receptionist who threatened to claw the shit out of my ass with her talons if I didn’t leave the premises—it was to see the love of our lives lying in a shallow trench on the ground, the rest of her mates gathered around her.

We begged, we pleaded, we cried.

And then...

Her eyes snapped open, her fangs extended, and a look of unbridled fury paved its way across her beautiful face.

“You’re awake,” Frankie breathes now, reaching for her. Before his fingers can come into contact with her skin, he pulls away, hesitating.

I can understand the wariness distorting his features.

Violet looks...enraged. Red splotches have exploded on her normally pale cheeks, and her eyes burn with the fires of Hell itself. It’s both a beautiful and terrifying sight to behold.

My mate turns away from all of us, focusing on something over my shoulder. I turn to follow her gaze, my brows arching in confusion and more than a little trepidation. I instantly jump to my feet and reach for the sword I always keep strapped across my back—before remembering Zeus confiscated it when he captured us.

I desperately glance around the barren room, searching for a weapon. It almost reminds me of a large cave, with stalagmite dangling from the ceiling. Every surface appears to be carved out of brimstone. A huge gray boulder, covered in glowing red runes, sits opposite us, serving as some sort of makeshift tomb.

“What the fuck?” I ball my hands into fists. I may not have a weapon, but that doesn’t mean I’m useless. I’ll fight tooth and nail to protect Violet and my family.

Barret roars and moves to stand beside me, so tall that his green hair brushes against the ceiling of the cave. Cal moves to my other side, his teeth bared, with Hux beside him. I only know it’s Hux and not Jack, because he’s muttering repeatedly about fucking some monsters in the asshole.

“The Fomorians,” Frankie breathes, remaining beside Violet behind me. “They’re free.”

A blinding white light coerces me to shut my eyes and turn my head away. It seems to radiate off the huge boulder.

I force myself to turn back toward the threat, only to see that the boulder has disappeared, leaving behind a cave-like entrance.

“What the fuck?” Violet screeches suddenly.

I turn, just barely ducking in time to avoid the ball of light hurling toward the prison’s entrance. I recognize that light...

Balor.

He disappears into the inky expanse, the darkness swallowing him whole.

Silence reigns. I can’t even hear my own breath. It takes me a moment too long to realize I’m holding it.

I’m not one to fear things easily. I’m a monster hunter, for fuck’s sake. I’ve spent my life slaying creatures that would give even the strongest men nightmares. But something about this pitch-black hole in the wall unsettles me.

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