Page 146

Juniper screamed, and Adriel’s heart stopped.

“You must keep drinking, Mother.”

She weakly pushed Christian’s wrist away and rasped, “Help… June.”

“The witch knows what to do.”

What did that mean? Cerberus would kill her.

Adriel’s throat was a ravaged open wound, and her voice no more than a scratch of sound, but she refused to let Juniper die for her sake. “Hel—p her…Chris... Plea…” Her body convulsed with a hacking cough, and she could speak no more.

“Adriel,” the sharp command cut through the chaos as Eleazar’s tall figure appeared, his dark eyes as familiar as his authoritative tone.

“We aren’t leaving without you or the witch. But you must listen to your son and drink.”

Are you truly here?

He pressed into her mind.We are here, my friend.He crouched before her and carefully cupped her cheek.And we’re taking you home, but you must feed.

Juniper—

Is helping us. No one will harm her.

Her eyes fluttered shut as her strength depleted.

“I’ve got her.” Dane gently cradled her hand, curling his fingers loosely around hers. “We need you to drink now, Adriel. Please.”

The few drops of blood she managed to swallow hit her insides like cannon fire. There was too much damage to repair. Bile rose and her body rejected the offering, pain knifing through her intestines where Cerberus had injured her.

“Mother, please…” Christian held his wrist to her lips, but she couldn’t do it. “Eleazar, you’ll have to compel her. She’s resisting me.”

The sharp intrusion of the bishop’s compulsion came without anesthetics. Her broken jaw opened as life-giving blood flooded her ravaged throat. The agony in her belly locked into knots like barbed wire, and she screamed, but they kept feeding her.

“You’re doing great,” Dane whispered, gently cradling her head in his lap. The comfort broke her more than the pain, and she wept inconsolably as they forced the blood down.

Cerberus broke free of the scuffle with a feral roar.“You dare to touch my mate?”

He lunged at them, his claws outstretched and his face dripping blood. Something came from the darkness with supernatural speed and crashed into him head-on, plowing him back into the shadows and smoke.

The clash reverberated through the cave. Fists flew, claws raked, and blood spilled as violent hisses spattered the earth as it spewed through the wind-swept air. Whoever they were, they fought with primal ferocity. They fought without rest. They fought to kill.

The longer Juniper wove her magick, the more dark energy spiced the air, far more potent than anything Adriel witnessed her conjure before. It was too much. There would be a steep cost. She shouldn’t do this. Her strength would eventually wane, and then he would punish her.

A sharp female cry split through the chaos as the smallest immortal went down. A guttural roar ripped through the air, and the hulkingimmortal slammed Cerberus into the wall, violently scoring his claws through his flesh and choking the breath from his lungs.

He repeatedly slammed him into the rocks with the force of a meteor. Enraged beyond reason, the giant immortal roared as cracks webbed at Cerberus’s back, fracturing the stone.

Cerberus bit into the immortal’s throat, but he countered by plunging his fist into Cerberus’s chest. Slate crumbled from the ceiling, showering the cave in blinding dust and debris.

Eleazar dove into the melee, and more growls spewed from the cloud of smoke and grime. The walls deteriorated, and it became harder to breathe.

Bolts of energy shot into the brawl, taking Cerberus down, but he continuously broke free of the magick. His rage was bottomless, but Juniper always drove him back. Eleazar and the hulking immortal fought with terrifying resilience.

Adriel could not look away. A spark of hope ignited, and then Cerberus turned his fury on Juniper, his eyes promising death.

“No!”Adriel screamed, fighting out of Dane’s arms.

Cerberus sprung with lethal intent.