Page 20

“Get down!” my father bellowed, a moment before the Beast dropped his stream against me and thrust both his palms up into the sky above.

The sky rumbled then screamed as bolts and bolts of his black fire rained down all over us.

At the same time, he forced the darkness back again and the full force of the sun came into being.

Ryker cried out as Lucian’s pendant activated and pulled a mass amount of his power.

From what he’d told my father, he’d been able to withstand it last time without damage because he’d temporarily stored some of my angel magic.

“Lucian, get inside!” Gabriel called.

Before Lucian could do that, Draco’s bolts became missiles much like Gabriel’s from our previous battle, and they rained down like heavy magical artillery all over the castle,decimating it in moments. My father fired his magic, trying to alleviate some of the damage and destroy the missiles before impact, but there were too many of them.

Before long, we were all standing in a pile of ruins, the sun blazing down on us, Ryker doubled over, Gabriel and Warlow hastily trying to conjure shelter for Lucian to alleviate the burden on Ryker.

“Teleport him home,” Gabriel ordered.

“Cornelius, grant him the ability to walk in the sun,” Warlow called out. “Break that ridiculous rule. Now.”

My father actually looked pained. “I can’t.” He held his palms down, his magic now sputtering in and out. “I’m sorry.”

“Argh!” I screamed at the injustice of it all, that I’d come so close to ending the Beast and now this had happened. I spun and fired my magic with absolutely everything I had, pulling completely on what the Celestial Plane had given me, and gave myself over to it.

Draco reacted, eyes wide, and ducked and rolled.

I fired again, but he used the momentum to reach out and snatch up his sword.

My magic slammed into it and he grinned as he angled it so it was deflected right back at me.

I shrieked as it burned like a bitch, cutting me right down to the bone as it tore through me and blasted me onto my back.

I heard the collective bellows of my men.

Draco’s heavy footsteps sounded, coming toward me all too quickly as I lay prone and burning from the magic ravaging my body. I could feel my leathers melting into my skin.

My head lolled to the side and I watched Gabriel, Warlow, Jaxon, and my father firing at Draco. But he deflected their attacks with his sword, spinning it rapidly and creating a form of a shield, while also sending their magic back at them, forcing them to duck out of the way and take shelter.

Lucian bolted forward, only to be batted away brutally by the Beast.

And then the demon stood over me, victory shining in his eyes.

He brought his sword down and I braced myself.

It never made contact, halting halfway through the arc.

Green fire surrounded it and I blinked through my rapidly blurring vision to see Ryker on his stomach, one hand outstretched and shaking wildly, fighting to hold it back.

The others resumed their efforts to bring Draco down.

But it wasn’t enough.

It never would be.

The rise of Draco had been so feared for a reason.

Because he was so incredibly difficult to put down. My father had honestly gotten lucky the last time he’d managed it. Right place, right time. Those circumstances were long gone now. Draco had learned far too well and spent all those years trapped in my father’s spelled confines deep within the earth preparing for every eventuality.

All except one.