A pillar of fire shot straight up into the sky. The ground rumbled under my feet and the earth split open. A valley of fire and shadow screamed as demons climbed their way out and into the battle.
The sea of monsters and men fighting parted and a man covered in gold body armor emerged with two long golden swords in his hands. He screamed and dove for the valley of fire, ducking and slicing his weapons through demons like they were made of air. Silvery wings popped out of his back as he spun in a vicious circle. Black demon blood sprayed in an arch. His back was to me so I couldn’t see his face, but I saw long pale blond hair swinging with each of his steps. He threw his hands out and silver magic shot out of his palms in every direction.
I gasped.
I knew that magic.
Heat filled my body.
Demons burst into black dusty clouds the second the silver magic touched them.
A shadow passed over me — and two dozen spider demons landed on the other side of my dome.
The man spun, his blond hair flying like a cape, and I saw his face.
It was Riah.
I frowned and shook my head. No. No, something’s not right here.
But Riah lunged forward and decimated demon after demon, shooting silver magic while slicing heads off with his two swords. Nothing was even getting close to him, yet his face and blond hair were stained with dirt and blood – both red and black.
He half-turned and yelled. “PROCTOR!”
I gasped and sat up straight. Me? I was a Proctor…but he hadn’t even seen me, had he?
Bright white light shined from the left. I looked toward it and my eyes widened. A tall man with jet-black hair and light eyes emerged from the sea of demons holding a six-foot-tall sword that glowed like sunshine. He swung the sword through the belly of a wolf-demon beside him and my gaze landed on the black IV Mark on his left forearm. The Emperor? Had to be, that was a Coven Mark.
Except that was not Tennessee.
This Emperor grinned as his glowing sword annihilated half a dozen demons. He glanced over his shoulder to Riah and shouted, “Where’s Henry?”
“I’ll get him,” Riah screamed and impaled two scorpion-demons at the same time. “You cannot wait.”
The Emperor shook his head. “But—"
Riah’s face flushed. “To Lilith NOW!”
I gasped. My body went cold. I knew where I was. This was the Hundred Years’ War, the war between Earth and Lilith. This was Riah from the past. He’s THAT old?
The Past-Emperor looked off in the distance and his face paled. “I’ll never make it, she’s too far.”
Past-Riah growled and leapt over to the Past-Emperor. “You are the son of Uriel, yes?”
“Yes, why—”
“Tuck and roll on landing,” Past-Riah said with a wild grin. With one hand he grabbed the Past-Emperor by the armor and threw him in the air.
The Past-Emperor soared like a shooting star across the massive field of battle and there was something about it that reminded me of Tennessee. Past-Riah watched until he dropped to the ground, then he turned back to the battle around him.
Demons surged. Nothing was touching me inside my rainbow dome but my heart was lodged in my throat as I watched Past-Riah destroy them one by one. He was incredible. I needed to find my way back to the tunnel and get home, yet I couldn’t stop watching. Even amidst blood and death he was mesmerizing.
Golden light sparkled from my left hand side but when I looked I found it was another man— no wait. This man wore the golden armor of the fae. Of the Knights. The very ones chasing me now. He hurried to Past-Riah’s side and the two moved in perfect synchronization.
“Malachi. Now,” Past-Riah yelled.
I heart stopped. Malachi. I know that name. That’s his brother’s name. His brother who died…I looked back up at the two and I saw the resemblance. They had the same facial structure and gold eyes. Same silver wings. Their hair was different shades, but they were the same long length. Oh Goddess. This is his brother. I hated how much my heart hurt for him.
“Lancaster, the time is now,” Past-Riah shouted.
Lancaster? Wait. I know this. I’d learned about this. Every arcana did. Henry Lancaster VI, King of England, fought in the war against Lilith and then lost his entire family’s magic. I tried to look for him, to see his face, but all I saw was