Page 61 of Knox

"You are helping," Knox insisted, his grip tightening slightly. "You’ve helped me so much already, but if Caelen spots you, you could become a weak point."

Adrian wanted to protest, but Knox’s words shut him up.

He could be a weak point?

Did Knox really care that much about him?

Before Adrian could respond, Daniel grabbed his free arm. "I’ll keep an eye on him," he promised Knox. "You go be a bad-ass."

"Thank you," Knox said.

Just like that, the matter seemed settled.

As they entered hall 1, Knox’s hand slipped from Adrian’s as the incubus scanned the crowd.

"There," Zev said, pointing toward the far end of the hall.

Adrian followed his gaze and froze when he spotted Caelen. The Shadow King stood surrounded by a throng of admirers, smiling, chatting easily with the fans, but there was a predatory edge to his charm that Adrian would never be able to ignore.

Knox’s jaw tightened. "Stay here," he said to Adrian, not taking his eyes off Caelen. "Daniel, keep him safe."

Daniel nodded, his usual playfulness replaced by a serious determination. He tugged Adrian back, positioning them behind a booth selling fantasy art prints.

Adrian watched, heart in his throat, as Knox and Zev approached Caelen.

The Shadow King looked up, his smile turning sharp as his gaze landed on Knox. "Well, well," he said, his voice carrying easily. "Look who decided to join the party."

Knox didn’t flinch. "This ends now, Caelen."

The Shadow King laughed, the sound sending chills down Adrian’s spine. "Oh, I don’t think so," he said, spreading his arms wide. "I’m just getting started."

Caelen’s gaze swept over his admirers, a wicked smile playing at his lips. "My loyal subjects," he said, "these intruders seek to disrupt our glorious ascension. We cannot allow that, can we?"

A murmur rippled through the crowd, a mix of confusion and growing agitation. Adrian watched in horror as Caelen’s followers began to move, their eyes glazing over.

"Stop them," Caelen commanded, pointing at Knox and Zev. "Stop the unbelievers."

As if a switch had been flipped, the crowd surged forward, hands outstretched to grab at the incubus and night fae. Knox and Zev dodged the assaults, but they were vastly outnumbered.

Soon, Knox was grappling with a burly man in a dragon costume, while Zev was trying to fend off women with long fake nails that dug into his arm.

"We have to do something," Adrian whispered urgently, turning to Daniel. "They’re going to be overwhelmed!"

"No, look." Daniel pointed at Knox.

Knox’s eyes blazed molten gold. Shadows began to swirl around him, dark tendrils coiling and writhing like living entities.

The air seemed to thicken, charged with a palpable energy that made the hairs on the back of Adrian’s neck stand up.

"Stay back," Knox commanded, his voice resonating with an authority that was impossible to ignore.

And then, the illusion took hold.

The floor around Knox seemed to shimmer and distort, transforming into a red, bubbling landscape. It was as if the ground itself had turned to lava, the heat radiating off it in waves. The attackers' eyes widened in terror, their fear palpable as they recoiled from the perceived danger.

Cries of panic erupted from the crowd as they stumbled back, their aggression forgotten in the face of what they believed to be a deadly threat.

Adrian watched in awe, his breath catching in his throat. The sheer power of Knox’s magic was breathtaking, the illusion so convincing that even he could almost feel the heat of the imagined lava.