with pain and rage. Peri’s eyes followed the direction of the female’s progress and saw why she looked as if she was going to kill anyone in her path.
Cypher, king of the warlocks, was standing, but his head was not where it was supposed to be. Behind him stood a fae warrior, every bit as tall as the warlock king, and in his hand was the sword that had just completed the arc that had come from behind, severing Cypher’s head from his body. The king had never even seen it coming. A second later, his body fell to the ground, his knees collapsing under the weight of his huge form. Lilly was there a moment later. Her hand flew out, and what looked like a bolt of lightning shot from her palm, straight at the fae’s neck. It cut through the flesh like a laser, and his head rolled off his body, landing a few feet from where the warlock king’s head rested in a sick form of justice.
Peri’s head whirled back around at the sound of laughter. The warlock holding Alina’s body cackled like a deranged lunatic. He suddenly released Alina, and Peri flashed. She was on her knees a second later, catching Alina before she hit the ground. Peri’s arms shook as she held the lifeless body of the woman who she’d known for over two centuries, who had become a trusted friend and a respected leader. She couldn’t get her mind to grasp what had just happened. Alina was gone, which meant Vasile was gone. Cypher was gone. From one breath to the next, their lives had been ripped away. There was no sound coming out of Peri, but in her mind, she was screaming.
She heard a ferocious roar, and when she looked up, a massive white wolf soared over her and crashed into the vampire who’d just murdered Alina.
“Lucian,” Peri whispered. It was the only thing she could get her mouth to say. She was afraid if she said anything more, the screaming that was going on inside of her head would come out of her mouth and never stop. She could feel her power growing inside of her. Her skin was glowing and getting brighter by the second. She had to keep it locked down. If she didn’t, she would level the forest around her and everyone in it.
A moment later, her mate knelt down across from her in his human form. In his hands, he held Alina’s heart. As carefully as if he were handling the most precious thing in the world, he gently placed it back in the gaping hole in Alina’s chest, where it belonged. “A female with a kinder heart I have never known, and she should not go into the afterlife without hers,” Lucian said quietly.
At this point, Peri lost control. It was too much. Too much anguish, too much loss, too much emotion coursing through one as mighty as her. An explosion of power coursed out of her. She felt the pulse and saw her mate brace himself as her magic burst out. She could feel him pulling it into himself, attempting to mute the damage it might do. Peri didn’t care what it was doing. She didn’t care if she burned the whole damn forest to the ground. Peri leaned over her friend's body, wrapped her tightly in her arms, and pressed her face against Alina’s forehead and wept. She let go of the constant hold she kept on herself and gave it free reign. There was no suppressing the screaming. “NO!” Peri bellowed over and over. All of the loss, destruction, evil, depravity, torment, and grief she had experienced over the thousands of years was one thing, but for the past two-plus years, she’d grown to love the family that she’d somehow become a part of. It made the rest of her existence seem easy. This was the culmination of every ounce of that desolation, and it was more than her heart could bear.
Somehow, she knew that there would be no miraculous return for Alina, her mate, or Cypher. Not like there had been with Jen or Sally. There was no sacrifice to be offered, as Cynthia had given for Thia. There would be no bargain with the Fates. This was just death. In all its ugliness, bleakness, and finality.
Peri rocked back and forth as she grieved with every cell in her body. The pain radiated from her head to her heart to the very marrow