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The first lesson in defensive magic was never bargain with a demon. “I didn’t come here to make a deal or give you promises. When you leave, you get nothing that will give you a way back to our world.”

“It was worth trying,” the demon smirked.

Negotiations had gone on too long if the demon was confident enough to attempt to trick me.

“Here’s what’s going to happen. I’ll open a portal from Earth to hell.

Nothing can come through. No reinforcements, no energy.

You’ll have one minute to leave. After that I close the opening, and you and Blackstone stay inside the wheel until you both die. ”

“Don’t be a fool, Roderick,” Blackstone hissed. “You need me if he ever returns.”

Blackstone was truly desperate if he thought he could appeal to me for a reprieve. “We don’t need you, James. We’ve created a new Great Ward. The world is safe.”

“Is it?” F’dreg tilted his head. “What if I choose to fight? Do you really think you could stop me?”

It was another empty threat. He couldn’t defeat Blackstone, let alone get out of the wheel.

“One mage bonded to an elf, assisted by an unbonded mage, killed your sibling in a summoning circle far less powerful than this one. And if you were interested in who betrayed your kin,” I nodded toward Blackstone.

“You’re holding him. He used that summoning as practice and to harvest the death energy when that demon was killed. ”

Blackstone’s face contorted with hate. He was staring at me and missed the same expression directed at him from the very angry demon holding him.

“He’s been collecting dark energy for centuries.

” I continued to drive the knife further into Blackstone’s chest. “Your sibling’s death was just another power source for him.

But if you’d rather take your chances fighting your way out of the wheel over going home with Blackstone, that’s your choice. ”

F’dreg’s expression shifted. He’d no doubt been planning to invade our world for centuries. The prize was within arm’s reach. If he left, it would be centuries before he had another chance. Blackstone’s struggles grew more desperate, and that seemed to make the demon’s decision.

“I will leave,” F’dreg said.

A good answer, but not good enough. “I need your oath that you will leave and take Blackstone with you.”

The red eyes fixed on me, and a low growl built in his throat. “I swear I will leave and take the human Blackstone with me. I make no other binding agreements.”

“I expected none,” I said. “We have an agreement.”

“You’d better hope I never make it back in your lifetime, mage.” His voice lowered to a deadly whisper. “I would kill you slowly.”

The demon prince had taken my calm negotiations for weakness.

So long as he left, I mostly didn’t care.

Mostly. “You’re welcome to try and return to Earth, demon.

” Deal in hand, I dropped the pleasant talk.

“If you ever set foot on this world again, however, you will not leave. We held back because we didn’t want the mage to get your full power.

Next time, you will find out how deadly we are. ”

F’dreg nodded once, the gesture strangely formal. “Open the way, mage.”

“No! Wait, F’dreg!” Blackstone abandoned all pretense of dignity, thrashing wildly in the demon’s grip. “You’re making a terrible mistake!”

“My only mistake was trusting a human,” F’dreg said, his attention no longer on me but on his captive. “A mistake I will not repeat.”

A kernel of pity formed in my chest for what I’d agreed to do, but it was smothered under the memories of what Blackstone had done. “Now,” I told Anso and the other guardians.

Anso and Percy worked through Cael and Ignatius’s links to the Earth. Power pulsed inside and around the medicine wheel. The black magic covering sigils seeped into the ground. Some glowed, while others stayed dark. Other runes Blackstone hadn’t activated blazed with greenish-blue earth magic.

The bindings around the wheel shuddered, and F’dreg watched intently, doubt flashing across his face. If I were a kinder being, I’d have reminded him of the immense power the Ward commanded. Instead, I let the question linger, hoping the frustration of not knowing would haunt him for centuries.

Reality fractured inside the wheel. The air split open with a sound like tearing fabric, creating a jagged rift on the floor of the circle.

The line quickly widened into a round, angry doorway.

Below the opening lay a landscape of fire and molten stone.

Waves of scorching heat blasted outward, carrying the scent of sulfur and something metallic that caught in the back of my throat.

I stood silent as I realized all the stories of Hell had been true.

Blackstone’s panic escalated to genuine terror. His black hematite flared with desperate bursts of power as he tried to break free from F’dreg’s grip, tried to reestablish control over the sigils, tried to do anything that might prevent his fate.

“You fools!” His voice cracked with fear. “You have no idea what you’ve done!”

“The wheel turns, mage.” F’dreg’s perfect features twisted into a smile of cruel satisfaction. “How fitting that you should experience my realm firsthand after attempting to harness its power through me.”

“Wait!” Blackstone turned to me, eyes wild. “We can still work together, Roderick! I can help strengthen the Ward! I know secrets about demon magic.”

“Goodbye, James,” I said. “Your minute has begun, Demon.”

F’dreg dragged Blackstone toward the portal, his massive form moving with terrible purpose.

The doomed mage fought with everything he had, but it was too late.

The binding oath compelled F’dreg to leave and take Blackstone with him.

Anso and Percy deactivated the runes that siphoned his power and fed it to his captor.

Faced with the demon prince’s full might, Blackstone’s shield buckled.

With each step, Blackstone’s struggles grew more frantic, more primal.

“You’ll regret this!” Blackstone shouted, his composed facade completely shattered. “When I return?—”

“You won’t return,” F’dreg said with wicked amusement. “I’ve got special accommodations prepared for you. You’re going to be with us for a very long time.”

At the threshold of the portal, F’dreg paused. His red eyes found mine across the barrier, and a chill ran through me despite the heat pouring from the opening. “Twelve seconds,” I said.

“Remember my words, anchor,” he said.

Cinaed’s strength surged through me, propping up my battered will. “And you remember mine.”

He stepped into the opening and dropped into the realm beyond. Blackstone’s screams followed him into Hell and then cut off abruptly.

Two seconds later, the glyphs deactivated, and the rift closed. The edges of reality silently knitted back together, obscuring the glimpse into the demon realm. As the gap narrowed to a sliver, I held my breath until it vanished completely with a final pulse of multicolored light.

We all stood staring at the restored ground. Impossibly, we’d seen the horrors of hell and survived.

The heat and smell lingered for a moment before a gust of wind swept through, dissipating the last bit of Blackstone’s evil. It was the earth cleansing itself of a dark stain,

Earth magic surged through the wheel, erasing the sigils used to create the opening. The effect spread until every rune faded and finally disappeared.

Silence replaced the overwhelming chaos of the past minutes.

It was as if no one wanted to break the silence and force us to talk about what had happened.

The tension eventually broke with a collective relief so deep it washed through our mental link.

We'd done it. A new, stronger ward protected the world.

Blackstone was gone. The threat was over.

I turned and pulled Cinaed into my arms. The solid warmth of him against my chest was the most real thing I'd felt in hours. Through our bond, I sensed his relief, his pride, his love—all mirroring my own emotions so perfectly it was hard to tell where mine ended and his began.

Of all the accomplishments of the day, this was the most poignant. The barriers to our bond were gone. A beautiful and lasting love had replaced the loneliness. And the memory of Ailpein’s sacrifice would be part of us forever. He’d made it possible.