press myself harder against the stone, pulling my wings back in to make myself smaller. The heat of the wall hurts a bit—a human would definitely be getting burned, but I think my angelic nature protects me from the worst of it.
It’s too late for me to run. I brace myself for a fight and hope that there aren’t too many demons. I’ll have to try to kill them quickly, before they can make too much noise or sound the alarm.
My stomach churns a little at the thought of having to kill, but I don’t have any choice. And when I think about what Salinas and Anderson and their henchmen took from me, hot anger burns through my veins again, filling me with battle rage.
I draw my angelic blade from the ether as the sound of footsteps grows nearer, my heart thudding heavily in my chest.
Wait until they’re close, Trin.
Wait…
Wait…
When the footsteps are right around the corner, I suck in a deep breath and leap out, my blade flashing as I swing it in a wide arc.
“Fuck!”
The noise doesn’t come from the man I attacked, but from the one behind him as he stumbles backward.
My blade whistles through the air, just missing the man in the front of the group. But he stays silent like always, staring at me with wide dark eyes.
Knight.
Chapter Sixteen
Trinity
We stare at each other for a long, frozen moment.
I can tell my eyes are like saucers, and Knight’s face blurs in my vision as tears well. Behind me, all is silent. My sword vanishes back into the ether, leaving me with my arms raised, holding nothing.
Then Knight reaches out and pulls me toward him, dragging me into a tight hug. I cling to him, my heart hammering against his as my fingers dig into the lean muscles of his back. I breathe in his familiar scent, choking back a sob.
My heart feels like it’s soaring, like my whole body is made of air. Like I might float away if not for his hold on me.
They’re alive. They’re not dead.
I didn’t destroy them.
Anderson lied about that too.
Knight is trembling against me, little shudders going through him as he grips me like he might never let me go. But a noise behind him catches both of our attention, and we finally release each other. He takes a small step back, revealing all six of his brothers behind him.
Just like I did when I saw Knight, I stare at all of them, my heart and mind overloaded with a rush of feelings. I’m smiling and crying and laughing softly, all at the same time.
They’re okay. They’re alive, and we’re all together again. It feels like a freaking miracle.
“Trin?” Remi says softly, and Knight shifts to one side so that his brother can pull me into an embrace. I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck, breathing him in. His presence is so comforting, even in the middle of a powerful demon’s lair.
“Holy shit. Holy motherfucking shit,” I hear Nix whisper, and then he’s hugging me too.
I feel a kiss on the top of my head, and I know it’s Sawyer. I just want to sink into these men, absorb their presence and relish the fact that they’re still whole and alive…
But we can’t do that here.
We’re not actually safe, we’re still in this demonic fortress, and we have to get out.
As if he’s reading my mind, Ryland grabs my hand and pulls me away from the others.
“I’m glad that you’re all so happy to be reunited,” he says. His tone is as dry and measured as always, but I can’t help but notice the way he grips my hand tightly, his fingers tangling with mine. There’s something possessive and protective in the gesture that warms my heart. “But we’ve got to go. We’re in a bit of a time crunch if we don’t want to be caught and killed.”
Ford glares at him like he’s miffed that he didn’t get a chance to really hug me, and that makes more warmth blossom in my chest.
Then Ryland tugs me along, striding quickly as he leads us all down another corridor. He keeps holding on to my hand, and the connection between our skin feels like an anchor. His darkly handsome features are set like stone as his gaze scans our surroundings. There’s something predatory and animalistic about his focus, about the way he seems to take in everything around us.
“Do you know the way out of