Page 29

Maxine

“Leah? Leah?!” I spun in circles, scanning the airstrip. Rain lashed my face and my breath came out ragged, fear clawing at my gut. “ Leah, where are you?! ”

The wind snatched the words from my lips and my gaze darted across the slick tarmac. The gloom of storm clouds pressed low, washing the scene in shades of grey. Panic battered at my chest. Leah was missing, and if Gregor or his wax puppets somehow got hold of her…

My stomach lurched at the thought. Then, in the corner of my eye, I spotted movement near the private jet parked across the runway. My breath caught. A stream of those wax model minions were scaling the short stairway, gliding aboard the plane, an undulating hoard of bodies.

Why would they be heading there?

Realization struck me like a lightning bolt.

If the wax puppets were swarming inside the jet, that had to be where she was.

Panic and fury surged in equal measure. I tipped my head back, straining to catch even a glimpse.

And then I saw her, and Addison —a flash of their silhouettes against one of the cabin windows, lit by the faint glow inside.

I bolted across the rain-swept tarmac. My mind reeled with images of them pinned down by lifeless eyes and plastic smiles. Not happening.

Gregor had been seemingly swallowed in the swarm but I kept my head swiveling, on the lookout for any sign of those bloodshot eyes. A group of four wax minions noticed me, their movements stiff as they lurched off the stairs to intercept. Fine.

I snarled through clenched teeth, adrenaline spiking. For an instant, fear prickled at my skin, but I forced it aside. I’ve come too far to lose now.

I barreled into the first minion, shoulder-checking it so hard its waxy torso folded over. The second lunged for me, but I dodged and slammed a kick into its side, sending it sprawling with a wet smack. My arms ached, muscles exhausted from the earlier tussle, but sheer desperation kept me moving.

The third and fourth advanced in tandem, arms outstretched like ghoulish dolls.

A growl tore from my throat as I hammered one with a hook punch, the other with a swift elbow strike that crumpled its waxen face.

They went down, limbs contorting in unnatural angles, but I didn’t wait to make sure they were down for good.

I surged forward, weaving among the wax minions that closed ranks on the plane’s narrow stairway. But the swarm kept coming. Wax arms, stiff and unnerving, reached for me. I lashed out, elbowing one across the face.

Another seized my sleeve and I snarled, ripping free with a burst of speed. The battered steps became slick with rain and waxy sludge, and my boots nearly slipped out from under me.

My breath hitched as two more grappled me from behind, fingers clutching at my hair, snagging my ankles and clothes.

I snarled, desperation firing my limbs, but they dragged me down a step, then two more.

A roar of frustration tore from my throat and I forced my weight forward, ignoring the tearing pain in my scalp where a minion yanked a handful of my hair.

My boot collided with one minion’s chest and it folded backward, limbs tangling with another grasping creature. Freeing myself, I lunged higher, almost at the entrance.

But there was a commotion up ahead.

All of a sudden the surge of wax models swelled down the stairs, some forced right over the edge of the staircase as something battered them from above. One toppled over the metal railing with a wet smack , another was flung through the air, crushing into the tarmac below.

I stumbled back, losing my footing, and my body tumbled down the rain-slick steps, hitting the tarmac with a bruising thud. I pressed a hand to my aching ribs, then lifted my gaze. Through the dim light I saw a figure standing in the doorway of the jet cabin.

My jaw fell open. “Jordan?”

She wore that signature smile, lips curled up in smug triumph.

Sky and Hunter stepped into view behind her, supporting Addison, who had a few nasty scratches marring her face and arms but looked otherwise alive.

Addison’s gaze swept the carnage, then locked on me with a tight-lipped smile of relief.

And lastly—Leah. My pulse hammered. Despite the rain, wax, and exhaustion painting every inch of her, she lit up the moment our eyes met. Her hair was tangled and pasted to her neck and her hand shook when she waved to me, but she was alive.

“How–” My voice stuttered out when the wax minions on the tarmac slithered to their feet and I braced my fists in the air. But there was movement at my elbow, a tall lanky figure in a red coat.

“Of course you’d pull a stupid stunt like this.” To my left, River stepped up beside me, flexing glinting talons as she eyed the wax creatures. “It’s a good thing we got here in time. You think Jordan wouldn’t have guessed exactly where you were going when you up and disappeared?”

“Yeah, enough with the self sacrifice. You’re getting predictable, Maxine.” To my right, Dylan appeared like the grim reaper, decked out in black and unblinking as she surveyed the collection of wax models slowly regaining their footing.

“ All right! You can bully me later.” I glanced around. The wax minions, battered but not destroyed, were struggling upright, limbs creaking as they rose once more. “Now help me kick some ass.”

On the staircase Jordan cracked a smile, though her eyes narrowed as the minions collectively turned their attention toward me. Or, more accurately, toward something behind me.

I turned and felt a streak of grim satisfaction upon seeing the state of my fiancé.

Gregor looked haggard, blood staining his bared teeth. His once-pristine suit hung in ragged, fuel-stained tatters, rain slicking his hair tight against his skull. He leveled a venomous stare at me, and I felt a small thrill of triumph at the sight of his blood. He was not invincible.

Across the water-lashed runway the wax minions tottered—misshapen, but continuing to rise at their master’s summons.

River cast a glance over the ragged man, snorting a quiet chuckle as she muttered in my ear, “Took you long enough to show your true strength. It’s about goddamn time.”

There was a knowing glint that lit her dark eyes, and I realized with a start that she must’ve foreseen this moment.

She’d known I would finally stop hiding what I was truly capable of.

All those early years in a gilded cage, living under my family’s thumb, had shaped me. Even after I had escaped them, that small voice in the back of my mind had stuck around. It told me I had limits, that I had to make myself small.

It told me that I was incapable and no matter how hard I tried, I would never be strong enough.

Even when facing my family and my bloodthirsty fiancé back at the powerplant, the voice had remained. It told me I would never escape them, that it was futile trying. That if I were to unleash myself, it would still not be enough.

Now, that voice was silent as the grave.

The notion that I had to be what they expected me to be—weak and delicate—was dead in the water, crushed under my heel.

Now, there was only stark, crystal clarity.

And a roaring fire in my chest that told me I was capable of more than any of them could ever comprehend.

I clenched my fists, locking eyes with my fiancé who slowly stalked toward us. “Yeah well, better late than never.”

“Then let’s get this over with,” Jordan said grimly, stepping up behind me.

Hunter limped beside her, while Addison hung back, sheltering on the wax-splattered staircase with Leah. Dylan was a silent specter at my elbow, her gaze locked on the incoming tide of nightmares.

A fresh wave of them poured from the hangar entrance, marching across the tarmac with that same eerie synchronization.

“ Enough ,” Gregor snarled, yanking my focus back. His fangs bared in a cruel sneer. “Your coven can’t save you from me. Nor can they keep you from your duties, wife.”

I bristled, stepping forward. “I already told you, I am not your wife. And I never will be.”

At that, Gregor raised a hand, fisted it, and the wax model minions jerked into motion, heading straight for us. Gregor himself lunged with a guttural roar, but I met him halfway, slamming into him so hard he staggered.

Around us, chaos erupted as the Leyore women clashed with the wax minions in a frenzy of fists, fangs, and curses.

Through the tempest of rain and violence, I caught glimpses of Dylan, half-transformed, knocking two minions’ heads together, River slashing with glinting talons, Jordan tackling a horde of mannequins single-handedly, shifting into her true form to tear them apart.

Gregor circled back, hissing, and lashed out at me with lightning speed. My forearm ached as I blocked his blow but I shoved him back, pounding a fist into his ribs with enough force to send him skidding across the soaked tarmac.

He spat blood, fury etching new lines across his face.

“You’re nothing!” he snarled, lunging again. My claws snapped out and I slashed as his own sharp talons grazed my jaw. With the vampire man momentarily off balance, I twisted around and drove my elbow into his sternum. He stumbled, breath ragged.

From the corner of my eye I caught Sky and Jordan, back-to-back and locked in battle against a trio of wax minions. The wax models buckled under their assault, but more were rising behind them.

I had to end this.

Summoning every shred of power left in my battered body, I rushed Gregor, fangs flashing. He tried to dodge but I was faster this time, hooking my leg behind his knee and forcing him down.

He landed on his back with a wet smack , and I wasted no time straddling him, unleashing blow after blow, raining my fists down as he writhed and spat. Pain thrummed through my knuckles, but I refused to stop.

I drew my claws, slashing and raking at his chest, his face—releasing every swallowed scream I had clamped down since the moment I’d been promised to him.

Blood spattered across the drenched pavement, Gregor’s eyes glazing over with shock. His lips pulled back in a final, hateful sneer. “You… worthless… child,” he choked, spitting scarlet in my direction, a final pathetic insult.

My chest heaved, rain and blood mixing in a bitter cocktail on my tongue. “That’s quite enough out of you,” I hissed, lifting my clenched fists in tandem. With a vicious crack, I landed the final blow.

Gregor’s body went limp, and a split second later, so did his minions.

The moment his breath left him a shudder rippled through the swarm of wax models. In eerie unison, they collapsed, limbs folding in on themselves. The hush that followed was deafening, the only sound the relentless rain and my ragged breathing.

I staggered to my feet, clenching and unclenching my fists, claws digging into my palms, reeling as one single thought rang through my head. He’s gone. He’s finally, finally gone.

The others stood among a sea of fallen wax bodies, drenched and shaking from exertion. Addison sprinted over to Hunter, catching her in her arms as she stumbled and staggered, kicking at the oozing wax mounds with residual rage.

The others surveyed the mess, shifting back into their regular bodies and tattered clothing, exhaling in relief.

“Maxine!”

I looked up to see Leah running toward me.

She locked eyes with me through the rain and I reached out, arms trembling. She flung herself into my embrace and I pulled her tight, oblivious to the bruises and the aches. Her body was so warm, so alive .

“You’re okay,” she breathed, voice cracking. Her tears mingled with the downpour on her cheeks.

I cupped her face, my own eyes stinging.

And then I crushed my mouth to hers, a kiss of victory, of survival, of a promise that we’d never be separated again. The storm roared on, but nothing mattered in that moment. Nothing except the two of us.

Alive. Together. And at long last, free.