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I understood now how the Earth chose which pair for which position.

The north required fierce protectors to initiate and hold the line while the others took their stations.

East needed a strong presence to stabilize the spell while the rest onboarded.

The southern pair had to be a calming influence to keep things steady.

Whoever came last needed to take the disparate pieces and make them one.

Together, the four guardian pairs anchored the Ward at cardinal points. At least, that is what everyone thought.

Satisfied the pieces had all slotted into their respective homes, Cinaed and I let go of the magic.

We watched in awe as magic raced outward in all directions.

A shockwave of golden-white energy visible only to the guardians who’d created it.

In one heartbeat, the Great Ward spread to every place on the planet, sheathing the world in a seamless, protective shell.

The magic settled into the Earth itself, becoming part of its natural rhythm.

Cinaed and I exhaled together, like our bodies were now in total sync.

The experience had entwined our souls at an accelerated pace.

Though we were denied the chance to explore our bond naturally, I didn’t feel cheated.

My soul was finally complete. Cinaed’s too.

It was as if forty years of waiting hadn’t mattered now that we’d bonded.

In the process, we’d done what we’d been born to do. The world was safe again.

“You did it,” Malachy said, his voice thick with emotion. “And you’re still alive.”

“Grandfather did it.” Cinaed shook his head, tears still streaming down his face. “It was his gift that saved everyone.”

The chamber was quiet as everyone processed the full extent of what had just happened.

In a handful of minutes, we’d all lived a lifetime of events.

Above everything was Ailpein’s sacrifice.

His gift not only allowed Cinaed and me to survive, but it also allowed me to change the lives of my brothers and their mates.

I closed my eyes to allow Cinaed’s essence to fill me. We’d found the calm resonance we’d been denied for so long. I planned to live in this moment forever, joined to his kind, beautiful soul.

Cinaed still glowed with residual energy. We hadn’t needed everything Ailpein gave us, but we already knew how to use it. Ailpein’s legacy would not only be the new Ward, but Cinaed and I could use the power we had left to undo much of the damage Blackstone had caused in our world.

The thought of James Blackstone reminded me he was still alive.

We might have created a new Ward, but he could cause untold suffering if left unchecked.

As if that thought flipped a switch, a wrongness tugged at the edges of my awareness.

It was subtle but insistent. At first, I hoped it was just the lingering presence of all the foul beings Blackstone had allowed into our world, but the sensation persisted, growing stronger rather than fading.

“What is that?” Cinaed looked at me, his brow furrowed. “Did we miss something?”

Focusing on the disturbance, I used our connection to the Earth to search for the source. The Ward functioned perfectly, but something had either slipped through before we sealed the breach, or had resisted expulsion. Whatever the cause, this presence was powerful. Extremely powerful.

“It’s a demon,” I said, trying not to sound as worried as I felt. “Somehow, one managed to avoid the Ward’s prohibition.”

“That’s impossible,” Cinaed said.

“If it exists, it is possible,” Malachy said. “What matters is figuring out how to defeat it.”

Using our connection to the new Ward, I traced the demonic presence. Directly above us, trapped in the medicine wheel, was something ancient, powerful, and malevolent.

The true scope of Blackstone’s planning knocked the wind from my chest. Every time we thought we’d countered him, we found ourselves three steps behind.

Blackstone seemed to have prepared for every contingency.

He didn’t care if we’d saved Ailpein, he had other ways to destroy the Ward.

A new Great Ward? No problem, he’d found a way around that too.

“I think it’s a demon prince,” I said, the words like ash in my mouth. “Blackstone used the wheel to summon it.”

“Rod?” Bart’s mental voice filled my head.

The timing of his call confirmed my fears. “How did we miss this?”

“I think Blackstone protected the medicine wheel from the banishment spell,” he answered. “We need you up here right away.”

I had a lot of questions, but none of them mattered. “We’re on our way.”

“How?” Cinaed asked. “None of the demons escaped the removal spell, and they haven’t breached the new Ward.”

The how didn’t matter. Blackstone circumvented the Great Ward and did it big. A demon prince trapped in a summoning circle nearly killed Bart, Cael, and Jan. If Blackstone controlled this one and unleashed it on the world, he might be unbeatable.

“Bart asked us to come up and help,” I said. “We can figure out how Blackstone summoned it after we defeat it.”

We exited the door Bart, Cael, Eldwin, and Hro had used. The others had been busy once they left the chamber with Ailpein’s cell. Dead mages, their stones lying on the ground near them, lined the corridor. In my mind, I saw a furious Bart taking out his rage on anyone who stood in his path.

“Now that the new Ward is active, can it escape the medicine wheel?” Malachy asked.

It was a good question. “The wheel was designed to contain and control,” I said. “Unfortunately, the person in command of the demon is Blackstone.”

No one needed me to explain the implications of Blackstone in control of a demon prince. If we didn’t stop him, Blackstone would wreak havoc across the Earth.

As we approached the exit, I steeled myself for what we were about to see. Next to me, Cinaed also prepared for the worst.

“Hold onto the excess energy from your grandfather,” I told him. “Unless I’m wrong, we’ll need it once we arrive.”