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No response.

Someone had stabbed him. The amount of blood?—

There was too much.

And he was hardly breathing.

Loren screamed and screamed and screamed?—

And then Ivy was there beside her, stopping her from doing it—from healing him.

The female Devil grabbed onto both of Loren’s hands. “Loren, you can’t,” she said. She was crying, too.

“Ihaveto save him!” Loren sobbed.“I have to!”

Behind her, Jack swayed and grabbed onto the desk. Lace and Kylar and Finn were saying things, but she couldn’t hear them over the silence in her head and the sound of her own screaming?—

“We will,” Ivy was saying. She tightened her hold on Loren’s blood-slick hands, forcing her to look her in the eyes. “Loren, listen to me—we will. We need to get him out of here. He’s going to live, okay? He’s going to live, but we need to get him out of here.Now.”

The alarms in the prison were still going off. Those red lights continued to flash.

Loren didn’t know how they made it out—she was too focused on Darien to pay attention to anything else. Somehow,though, they did it. They made it out of Blackwater Penitentiary and the utter pandemonium that had broken out within its walls and yard.

She didn’t really become aware of anything else until she was back in Ivy’s jeep, Darien’s head cradled in her lap. A few of the people in their group had caught a ride with Finn; there wasn’t enough room for everyone to fit in one vehicle, not with Darien sprawled out and bleeding on the seat.

It was silent in here. Too silent. Loren ran her fingers through Darien’s soft hair, his blood soaking her pants. Mortifer was in her lap, hugging her waist while she held on tightly to Darien.

As they drove back to Heaven’s Gate, her eyelids slid shut, and the tears began to fall.

116

I-5

STATE OF KER

“Come on, Travis,”Roman murmured. “Come on, Travis. Come on, Travis. Come on, Travis.”

He stood behind Paxton in the middle of the highway, his hands resting upon his brother’s shoulders. Together, they watched with bruised hearts as hundreds of people, stumbling and weeping with relief, emerged from the ruins of Yveswich.

Taking down the Control Tower had unleashed what could only be described as a storm of absolute, impenetrable darkness—one that had swallowed the entirety of Ker’s capital in one fell swoop. Already, it had spread beyond city limits, slicing the I-5 and the surrounding land in half with a massive black wall. The temperature had plummeted below freezing, turning his toes and fingers numb and his breaths into small ghosts.

Yveswich had once been a great city, its population standing proudly in the millions. Many citizens had already evacuated, sure—but Roman knew, just from watching as this small trickle of people staggered into the arms of family and friends, healthcare workers, and military personnel, that far more lives had been lost than saved. Those who were alive had, without a doubt, been closer to the outskirts—closer to where the shadow was thinnest and the oxygen had not run out.

As Roman waited, he scanned the faces of everyone who passed. Looking for anyone he recognized.

Looking for Travis.

Minutes ticked by, and there was still no sign of him.

Roman felt like he was going to throw up. He slid his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans—ripped and bloodied from the crash—and checked the screen for messages, calls—any indication that he might need to grab the swords and head in there.

But there was nothing. And so he was forced to wait. To wonder. Worry.

Around his neck, he wore a new Avertera talisman—his very last one. He had no idea where the fuck Donovan was, but?—

Keeping his aura exposed was a bad idea. Don already knew where he was, yes—he’d made that clear with that absurdly realistic illusion he’d cast. But the last thing Roman needed was for that psycho to still be tracking him and decide to show up before they had a chance to get away from here.

Paxton pushed up onto his tiptoes, craning his neck to see through the crowds.