as I marked them each in turn. Little beacons of heat. Tiny lanterns in the dark. A flick of my wrist, a click of my fingers, and they’d be gone. Snuffed out forever. Wait, no…They’d all burn for me. Fools.
A vast wave of heat crashed over me from my left where the building sat. I staggered, blindsided by the rush of power that wasn’t mine. Another wave crashed over me, almost toppling me to my knees. I swayed, stumbling, and turned to regard my enemy. Ah, yes… Mammon was mine. He emerged from the building, first as Akil, then morphing, twisting, revealing the huge lava-veined wings and obsidian, muscle-bound body. His roar shook the earth beneath my feet. He pinned me under his glare and stalked forward. Behind him, the vacant-eyed half-blood twins followed, and behind them, dozens of lesser demons spilled onto the grounds. He’d raided the Institute’s cages and stolen himself a platoon of demons. But not Dawn. Had he already killed her?
I planted my feet, spread my arms, stretched out my wing, and bared my teeth. He thought to stop me? He would fail. “I am fire, Prince of Greed. You cannot quench my flame. We are the same. Equals.”
People scattered, sirens and alarms wailed, and still the bullets came, but they were insignificant compared to the sight of Mammon and his followers. His proud demon face bore a generous grin. “Magnificent.” The word implanted in my mind as much as I heard it. “But flawed.”
Wrath barreled into me, sending me sprawling to the ground. Fire spilled from my flesh, rippling over the earth, seeking fuel to burn, to live. Stunned out of my madness, I felt panic quickly rush back in. Wrath planted a huge paw on my back, pinning me still. Drool sizzled against my skin. What had I done? What had I been about to do? I could have killed them all.
“Wrath, let her go,” Akil ordered.
I lifted my head as much as I could with a gigantic hellhound on my back and saw Akil a few strides away. He still wore the Institute pants, making the rest of him all the more extraordinary. His ruffled hair and fire-filled eyes declared him untamed. Bathed in heat haze, he commanded enough power to leave me breathless and half-mad for chaos. The young half bloods stood motionless behind him, eyeing their jailors, the enforcers. I had no doubt Akil had tamed them with sweet lies. His lesser demons snapped and bickered among themselves and yet stayed together, as though compelled to.
Wrath leaned his weight into me. I cried out, expecting my back to break under the strain.
Akil sighed at the sight of me and lifted his gaze to Wrath. “Let her go while you still can.”
He was right. The panic subsided, and with its retreat, my lust for the hunt rose. Without Stefan, I couldn’t fight it back. Fire licked higher, forcing Wrath to lift his paw. He growled as I rolled over and met his furious glare. “You should have killed me,” I said, tone flat. He snarled and backed up, body low, submissive.
“Muse.”
I flung my glare back to Akil. “I can’t stop it. I’ll kill you and him and everyone here. Kill me, Akil. Do it now. You know what will happen, Val told me you know what I’ll become.”
“It wasn’t meant to be like this.” He looked sorry, as though he didn’t want this, as though he hadn’t always known how my story ended. I sprang off my feet and lunged for him, but he dodged with ease. “Muse… Stop.”
Turning to face him once more, I moistened my lips and smiled. “Don’t let me destroy everything I’ve ever loved.” I reached for his element. I would drink him down and leave him spent. He had power, more than before, but he wasn’t a half blood. I had two worlds of power at my beck and call. He couldn’t best me.
My brother’s presence crawled over me like a fever. He shimmered between Akil and me, not yet tangible, but his power was. The remnants of humanity clinging to my mind responded to his intoxicating magic, and I forgot why I was there. Val became my whole world, my every thought, every sensation. I’d have gladly fallen at his feet had Mammon not loomed behind him and swiped a clawed hand through my brother’s ghostly visage. Val hissed and whirled. Mammon straightened and stretched his wings, gathering every degree of heat from the earth. He