his chin toward Verena and said to his mother, “She is yours.”
I tensed. Holy fuck. He was really handing over the Queen of Envy, not that Verena would willingly let Kali take her crown. It would be a fight to the death, but a fight nonetheless, and with the prince keeping Verena’s guards at bay and the army outside battling, it looked like it was going to be queen against queen. May the best bitch win.
Or not.
Was it too much to hope that they would kill each other off?
The Queen of Envy leveled Kali with a cool stare, her eyes still glowing white with power. “You sent your son to double-cross me, and yet he offered me an alliance—a blood oath.”
Ashor’s mother snickered as she glided past Verena’s guards, disregarding them. “I don’t care what my son offered you. His mate has a way of clouding his better judgment. Can’t blame him. He is a male, and it’s in his nature to protect what is his.”
Ashor snarled a warning. “We can do this the hard way if you prefer, or you can just hand over your crown before I paint your pretty white halls with your blood.” Wings of midnight tore from his back as Ashor released that part of him born of Hell. Whether he did it on purpose or not, those feathery wings became a shield at my back. Knowing Ashor, he never did anything that wasn’t strategically thought out.
“If you touch my queen, I’ll kill—”
Before Colin could finish, Ashor slapped a patch of darkness over his mouth, cutting him off. “I’ve had enough of your insignificant baby demon.”
“Clearly,” Verena replied. “It’s a shame your mate couldn't complete the test, but I can’t say I’m surprised. I’ve seen her soul, and even with the stain of your darkness, she isn’t one of us. She never will be.”
Well, thank fucking god. The last thing I wanted to be was a demon queen. All I wanted to do was retrieve my mate and get the hell out of here.
“Surrender your kingdom and your crown before things get messy. I wouldn’t want you to lose your head,” Kali warned, a twisted sinister grin on her bold red lips.
Verena threw her head back and laughed. “You think you can storm my castle and demand I hand over my throne? Don’t disappoint me, sister. At least have the respect to fight me for it.”
“You can’t possibly win. Don’t disgrace yourself,” Kali spat. Lightning lanced across the dark sky outside the castle windows, and when it struck the ground, flames born from night erupted, devouring everything in its path. Demons. Trees. The land itself, leaving behind a gaping hole of nothing.
Verena finally stood from her throne, her eyes shining pure white, brighter than I’d ever seen. “And why should you be Supreme? Why shouldn’t it be me who takes your throne? I am a better queen, after all.”
“You are weak. Your court is weak. And it will crumble under my rule,” Kali replied. A phantom wind blasted through the room, sending her black hair and gown flying behind her. Her voice echoed, carrying an authority that shook the walls.
Ashor reached for my hand, squeezing it tight. A signal for me to stay close. He backed up a step, taking me with him, which put the two queens at center stage.
Verena did not like Kali’s response. “You don’t deserve to be queen of any kingdom.” Her bold statement was followed up by a lash of power that whizzed through the chamber, a strand of sparkling light that fizzed like a firecracker.
The two strands of power collided and exploded, shooting fragments of Hell magic through the air. Ashor’s wings engulfed me, shielding me from the assault.
That was the signal. War on, bitches.
From outside the window, the first clash of battle rang out. Metal against metal. Demon against demon. And the winds howled in a death-kiss shriek.
Ashor sprang into action, hurtling toward the Queen of Envy. I couldn’t decipher if he meant to defend her or kill her; his emotions were locked down. Even from me, not that I had a whole lot of time to weed through and analyze what was going on inside me.
But he failed to see one fatal flaw in his decision. Leaving me.
The Queen of Darkness whirled her attention away from Verena and turned those utterly black eyes on me. There was something spiderlike in her movements that made my skin crawl.
I dared to take a step away while watching her with