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The shadowguard are clearly visible now. I count them—twelve. What were they doing here? Waiting for us? Watching?

The shadowguard are really, really nasty fuckers. The first time we met, they nearly killed Zayne. A bite from them is what turned him into a shifter.

Zayne spreads his wings, ready to launch, but I call out, “Wait.”

He turns to me, glaring with piercing yellow eyes. Green venom drips from his ivory fangs.

“Let them get a little bit closer,” I say. “I’ll do the summoning spell. I’m not sure how far it works, but I want to make sure we kill these fuckers dead.”

He blinks, then nods, yellow eyes blinking.

I turn back to the shadowguard. Every muscle in my body screams to act now, but I wait until I can see their crimson eyes. Then I whisper the words of the calling spell:

“Through veils of darkness, spirits rend, shadows of Hell, to me ascend.”

A shiver ripples through the shadowy mass.

“I’ve got them,” I say. “Go!”

There’s a rush of air as Zayne flaps his wings and rises. At the same moment, Fury hurls himself forward and streaks back across the grass. I hug Josh closer. I consider turning him away, so he doesn’t have to watch, but maybe he needs to learn. Zayne reaches the shadowguard first. For a second, he circles overhead, and I wonder again: Can he do this?

It’s hard to kill.

Okay, notthathard—it depends on who you’re killing. There are a few I could probably put an end to without hesitation. Pete’s face flashes in my mind.

Then Zayne dives, just as Fury reaches the group. The wolf leaps for the first shadowguard, ripping out its throat before moving on to the next. Zayne picks one up in his talons and tears it apart. At the same time, he lunges for a second, obliterating the creature’s head before dropping the body to the ground.

I watch in amazement as they decimate the shadowguard. I have a swoony moment. My men. Ahhh.

And then it’s all over.

When the bad guys are all lying motionless on the grass, I tell Josh to wait with Stella, then hurry across, pulling Nightfall from the scabbard. The only way to ensure a shadowguard is dead is to separate its head from its body. Zayne has already done a lot of that, literally ripping heads from necks.

The three remaining I dispatch myself.

Should I feel bad? Nah.

I wipe Nightfall on the grass and slide her back into the sheath, then turn and jog back to where Josh waits. Zayne lands beside us, and a moment later, the basilisk is gone. My brother is back.

“You did good,” I say.

“Yeah, my basilisk likes killing things.” He looks at Khaosti. “Maybe it’s a shifter thing.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Thereareother similarities between the two of you,” I say. “Maybe it’s an asshole thing.”

Josh giggles. At least someone thinks I’m funny.

“Hah, hah,” Zayne mutters.

I look from Zayne, in his human form, back to Fury. He’s lying on the grass, his head on his paws, his sides heaving. I’m guessing this is the most exercise he’s had in a long time.

“Do you want to change back?” I ask, hopefully.

He raises his muzzle and looks at me, then puts it back down.

I guess that’s a no. Maybe he’ll never shift. But I want Khaosti back so much, it’s a constant pain in my chest.

Still, I won’t put pressure on him. Yet.