know why. Pure primal terror flooded me with adrenaline, as if the demons could deposit absolute panic directly into my mind. Horrific images of torture and death battered my mind as I ran. Those demons wanted to tear me open with their fangs and eat my liver while I was still alive.
I couldn’t let myself suffer that fate, not only for me but for my family. I was the last line of defense my siblings had. I wouldn’t abandon them to be orphans.
The crashing of steel and the sickening sound of claws tearing into flesh rose behind me, nearly drowned out by my rushing heartbeat and labored breathing. I ran out of the meadow, sprang up a narrow trail, and darted into a courtyard surrounded by Victorian-style brick buildings. I blinked at the abrupt change of scenery. It was as if I’d come to a London market, only this place felt like a supernatural London market.
I panted hard, my mind still reeling in icy fear and confusion. I didn’t hear the brutal battle sounds from here now, yet I didn’t feel safe. Instead, shame washed over me.
I had run away like a coward.
When the demonca appeared in my dining room, I had faced it. When the assassins pursued me, I’d fought back. But when a horde of demons poured out of the Veil, I’d left the Fae kings behind. All of them had protected and helped me. Where was my honor? My loyalty?
I might not be much, but I was still my parents’ daughter. They’d taught me better.
I had to go back and help them. I had to close the Veil.
What Rowan had said about the demon invasion proved to be not farfetched at all. If I didn’t find a way to close the gap in the Veil, more demons would flood into the human world, and innocent lives would be lost, my family included. If the entire demon horde fell upon Earth, the disaster would be unimaginable.
Baron, Rowan, and Rydstrom must have known that, so they’d stood their ground to fight. They were better males than I’d thought.
I squinted my eyes and commanded, Take me back to the Veil.
I’d done it once—dragging all three powerful Fae to the Veil with me. I could do it again, especially now that I felt such a strong connection to it.
Vertigo hit me and then eased. I landed perfectly this time. Instantly, battle roars, screams of pain, and clashing steel assaulted my hearing. I flashed open my eyes, pulled the dagger from my boot—I’d almost lost it in the woods fighting the assassins—and threw it into the eye of a one-horned demon that snuck up on Baron from his blind side.
When another green-skinned demon swatted his blade-like claws at me, I dove, rolled on the ground, and yanked a wicked-looking dagger from a demon corpse. I slashed the blade across his claws before they bore down on my face.
Nasty things!
The demon dagger was too heavy for my taste. I weighed it in my hands, debating if I should keep it. I might stumble under its weight in a fight and cut my own toes.
“What are you doing here, Eve!” Rydstrom barked furiously as he pierced his blade through a demon’s throat and fought toward me. “I asked you to hide in a safe place.”
“My days of hiding are over,” I said. I knew clearly now there was no safe place for me to hide, so why not take the fight to my enemies? “Can’t let you boys have all the fun.”
Then I blinked. Wow, I sounded badass. I should have brought a recorder, so I could play it later for Indira. She’d called me a barking sheep. But then, none of these Fae males thought much of my potential as a warrior either.
“Protect my mate!” Baron shouted, also noticing my reappearance, and fought toward me.
See what I meant?
“My mate!” Rowan snarled, stabbing two Hell creatures like a fiend himself to eliminate any obstacles between us.
Demon corpses piled around the Fae kings in pools of black blood. The kings were all wounded as well, their clothes tainted with their own red blood. And with the Veil staying open, more demons streamed out, besieging us.
I tossed aside the heavy demon dagger and spread my arms, summoning either my shadow fire or vines—whatever was available.
C’mon, I pleaded with the dark force coiled in my chest. I know now I have you in me. If you don’t want to see me be impaled by the demons and