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“Let go of her!” Juniper raced forward.

He tore Adriel’s clothes away, choking her into silence as he prepared to mount her. His head drew back on a hiss, and those viper-like fangs dripped with what Juniper feared was venom.

She staggered back in horror. “What the fuck are you?”

“Run!” Adriel choked. “Go?—”

Her words silenced as he sank his fist into her stomach and laughed.

Those blood-red eyes locked on Juniper as he sneered and punched into the earth, but Juniper was prepared. She dropped to her knees and pulled the energy of the falls into her, then used the force of the gorges to ricochet the earthquake back at him.

His features twisted with malevolent intent ashe suffered the consequences of his own attack. Adriel tried to escape, but he dug his claws into her leg, wrenching her back to him. He snarled at Juniper with palpable wrath, and she only had a split second to protect herself.

“No!”She threw her arms upward, pulling the energy of the moon into her battered body. The lunar force ripped through her, surging into a vortex of energy that propelled Cerberus off of Adriel and slammed him into a tree.

Adriel disappeared in a blur of motion.

Juniper held the energy, plowing Cerberus’s body deeper into the woods until her entire body vibrated as if being electrocuted. The air cracked, and time screeched as her body convulsed.

Her bones screamed as her weight crumbled, her muscles giving out as she hung suspended in the air, wavering in the centrifugal force radiating around her, and then she dropped. Her wasted body smashed into the earth with lethal force and pain exploded through her back and skull as all went black.

CHAPTER 22

Juniper gasped and jackknifed upward, her arms bunching into a defensive stance as she prepared to defend her life.

“You’re safe! You’re safe!”

Breath sawed in and out of her lungs as she scanned the bedroom. Dane stared wide-eyed, his hands held out in a calming gesture.

She was in bed, in her room, at Ruth’s. Flecks of mud and debris still speckled her hands and arms. As memories rushed back, her panic spiked. “Where’s Adriel?”

Regret flashed in his eyes.

“Dane,whereis she?”

“She’s in her room—wait.”

She threw off the covers. When she tried to stand, her balance betrayed her. He caught her by the arm, saving her from falling to herface.

“You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.” That was a lie.

Her legs were barely stable, and her insides felt like they’d survived an exorcism. She gritted her teeth as she tried to find her bearings, gripping the bed and swatting Dane’s hands away.

“Damn it, Juniper, let me help you.” He caught her by the waist.

Resigned, she steadied herself on his shoulders and caught her breath.

“There you go,” he said, voice low and eyes creased with concern. “Now, take it slow.” His hands slid from her ribs to her arms, giving her space to move.

Sunlight filtered through the pea-green curtains. “How long have I been out?”

“Two days.”

“T-two days?”How could that be? What happened in the woods? How did she get back to the house? And if she’d been resting for two full days, why did she still feel this shitty? “I have to check on Adriel.”

“June, no.”