Page 76

Harvey lunged forward with a haunting cry, nearly sending me to my ass, but any words I might have snapped at him died on my tongue when I realised a shadow cast over us—and over Haley. Cronus walked towards her, his giant foot raised to crush her, to kill her like he did Hera.

A wordless scream poured up my throat.No. This wasn’t happening. No!

I launched across the road, too weak and my body too fucked to walk in a straight line, but Harvey raced for her. I choked on relief. He'd get her, he'd—

He'd die right with her.

Cronus's foot drove down towards them, and a sob twisted my throat as I staggered as fast as I could to my mate, knowing she was dead and refusing to stay alive without her again.Never again.

Harvey screamed a bestial cry, skidding across the last bit of distance between them to shield her prone form with his body.

I wasn’t breathing right, wasn’t functioning. Cronus's foot blacked them out entirely, until I couldn't see either of them, and a sob choked off the last of my air.

Never again.

I threw myself into that void of light, my pained body slamming into Harvey’s. I moulded myself around both of them, hands shaking, death wrapping like arms around me.

At least I wasn't alone. This was better than dying in Alphaven, trying to kill my family, not remembering the lives we’d lived together. At least I was dying as myself. With the ones I loved.

Blackness pressed around us, choking all life from the world, but my whole being jolted when light tore through the darkness. For a second I thought it was the white light at the end of the tunnel. But I could still feel my body; I wiggled my fingers just to check. Yup. Still alive.

Harvey—it had to be. But … this light was moon-white not sun-gold.

Run,Harvey growled, his body shaking against me.

"What the fuckisthat?" I hissed, stumbling to my feet and pulling Haley up with me. Harvey shielded us, a broken growl in the back of his throat.

Haley came to life all at. once, and one sob was followed by another until I couldn’t choke them back. She scrambled to her feet, wobbly but alive, gasping, shaking. And wiping the tears from my face. She was touching me.Alive.

A voice cut through the silence, too far away for me to hear, but Haley jerked forward a step, a small sound in her throat. I reached for her frantically, but I was still drained, still in pain and weaker than I’d ever been before.

Haley shook her head, tears sliding down her ash-covered face, and then she tore away from me and down the broken street.

Back into danger.

CHAPTER32

HALWEN

One second, Cronus was bleeding with my dagger buried in his thigh, the next his leg was swinging through the air. His foot slammed into me and sent me careening through the air and—Wane!

I slammed my wings out, beating backwards to stop my fall, and frantically scanned the ground, my heart drumming in my throat. He'd been just below me, wrapped in shadows as he went for Cronus's ankles, but I couldn't see his darkness anymore. Pain throbbed through my chest, each pulse as sharp as a spear. He'd been struck.

"Wane!" I yelled, my ears straining for a reply.

Please, please…

Silence.

Where was Lucifer? He'd been just beside me, flying on a swell of dark magic and—

"I'll move your mate to safety," he said urgently, appearing at my side and making my jump. His tawny face was drawn and a shade paler than usual. "You can kill Cronus, Halwen. Use your magic."

I nodded. Right. Easy. Just kill a titan. No problem.

"If Wane's hurt," I breathed, giving the devil a vicious glare, "I'll end you."

If I wasn't mistaken, he gave my daggers—my god-killers—a wide berth as his inky magic carried him to the ground. To Wane.