Page 39 of Crimson Skies

The captain drew her sword and backed her soldiers across the park.

A light flecked with gold and crimson flickered into life where Theo stared.

He blinked. “Oh.”

Cassius sagged, relief rendering him weak when he recognized the energy his brother had just detected.

“What?” Morgan said in a strained voice.

Theo relaxed. “It’s the Shadow Empire.”

“Loki,” Cassius mumbled. “It’s Loki’s portal!”

Atropos grasped his shoulder gently, her eyes bright. She knew how worried he’d been about the friends they’d sent to the Shadow Empire.

The glow expanded to form a doorway.

Loki stepped out first. His face lit up when he saw Cassius. “Cassius!”

The imp shifted into his demon cat form, bolted up the slope, and jumped into Cassius’s waiting arms.

Cassius hugged him tightly and stroked his back with a trembling hand. “I missed you, you dumb imp.”

Loki purred and licked his face affectionately.

Eden came out of the portal next. The Magus leaned on her staff, her face pale. “Ugh. I’ll never get used to those things.”

Cedric flushed. “Eden!”

He dashed down the hill.

Eden brightened. She gasped as the Dryad lifted her in his arms, whirled her around, and kissed her with wild abandon. The devilwood staff hovered dejectedly to one side when she let go of him so she could wrap her arms around her fiancé’s shoulders and return his enthusiastic embrace.

Bostrof emerged behind them. The Lucifugous observed the armies gathered around him with a faint frown before meeting Cassius and the others’ gazes.

“We’re gonna need a bigger park.”

17

“They finished making the artifacts?!”Orena’s hand trembled as she covered her mouth, her eyes wide.

Eden swallowed and nodded. “One of his alchemists confirmed it. I destroyed what remained of your blood, as well as the fortress where they created them.”

Morgan’s stomach knotted at the mage’s downcast expression. He could sense Cassius’s dread across their bond and in the demigod’s darkening eyes.

Cedric took Eden’s hand. “This isn’t your fault.”

Eden closed her eyes briefly. “I know. But it sucks that we were so close.”

“If we’d gotten there a few days earlier, we might have been able to stop them,” Bostrof explained bitterly.

Loki frowned at the demon. “It took us over a week to find that place. And we wouldn’t have done so without bumping into Izaran first. I don’t think getting there a couple of days sooner would have made a difference.” The imp turned to Atropos. “It is as you foresaw. There is no stopping Elios now. He will most likely succeed in freeing Chaos.”

His stiff words echoed in the fraught silence.

“But we must still fight,” Eden said quietly.

“Yes,” Tenebra concurred in a hard voice.