pushes in toward me like the blade in his gut is nothing.
“You are mine!” he bellows at me, and he presses even closer. He pulls his other clawed hand back, and it’s clear he’s going to try and gouge me into pieces. I immediately let go of the handle of the sword in his abdomen and call a short sword into my palm.
I scream out in pain as even more fire fills my limbs, but I shove through it. I stab up, and the blue of my blade disappears into Adriel’s throat. Claws rake down my left side, but Adriel releases my wrist and clutches at the magic forged blade in his neck. I release my hold on the magic and the blade disappears. I pivot and complete the downward arc of the katana still in my left hand, and Adriel’s neck and head separate from the rest of his body.
I stand there, panting through the pain, and watch as Adriel’s body disintegrates into dust. The collar around my neck suddenly crumbles, and I tip my head back and exhale a deep, relieved breath. I was fully prepared that this metal choker was going to be a part of my look until we could figure out how the fuck to get it off. Each of the guys are still fighting, and I look around at Adriel’s almost unrecognizable throne room. I send a pulse of Sentinel magic out, and all the lamia in a twenty-foot radius instantly turn to ash.
It feels so fucking good to use my magic again without feeling like I’m melting from the inside out. It’s been awful being cut off from the power that’s always been a part of me. It’s like there’s been a wall keeping me from being whole, and I just took a mace and shattered that fucker.
“Awwww, Killer, what’d you do that for? I was two moves away from ashing mine,” Knox whines, and a laugh bursts out of my throat. I drop my katana, and it clangs to the ground. I crack up, and I can’t tell if I’m laughing or crying. I think it’s both, which seems like a solid indicator that I’ve just officially lost my fucking mind. Tears stream down my cheeks, and I bend over, my hands on my knees, to try and rein in the hysterical laughter pouring out of me.
“By the moon, Knox, what did I tell you about breaking the Sentinel?” Aydin chides, and it makes me lose it even more.
Tears drip off my chin and fall to mix with the inches of ash covering the floor. I shake my head, my tears speckling the ground, and I try to get a grip on everything that’s just happened. My mother, Talon, Lachlan, Keegan, the twin’s parents, the blood slave, they’ve all been avenged. And yet, I stand here oddly empty with no idea where to go from here. I look up, and everyone is sort of just looking around with the same what happens now stamped on their face.
Sabin snaps out of the shock first. In five quick strides, he wraps his arms around me and lifts me off the ground. He shoves his face in my matted, dirty hair, and it takes me a minute to hear what he’s whispering over and over against my neck.
“We did it,” he celebrates quietly, squeezing me to him.
His repeated words against my skin break through the numbness I’m feeling, and I’m flooded with relief. I look around, and I can’t help but feel so proud of the guys and in awe of the skill I just witnessed. All of the training and their hard work made this possible, and I’m so fucking grateful that they’re marked and mine. I hug Sabin tightly, and I look up at the faces of my guys as they all move closer, needing their own hugs and reassurances.
“Where’s Ryker…and Siah…and Sorik?” I question when I don’t spot their faces around me or anywhere in the room at all. Worry constricts around me like a python, and I push away from Sabin’s hold.
“It’s okay, Bruiser, Ryker and Nash are helping the injured. Sorik was hurt protecting Vaughn, but they’re both okay. Siah took him to feed so he can heal. Ryker and Nash took your dad and some injured wolves to a different part of the caves,” Bastien tells me. He pulls me in for a hug, and I wrap my arms around his torso and squeeze him hard.
“Silva?” I mumble against