to the floor, taking form and shape. Bambi appeared as a snake the size of the Loch Ness monster—a baby Loch Ness monster.
The familiar shot toward Roth, its rear waving like a puppy’s tail did when it greeted its owner after a long absence.
“My girl.” Everything about the demon prince’s face softened as he placed his hand on her oval-shaped head. Bambi’s forked tongue flickered in response. “Layla is going to be so happy to see you.”
Bambi wiggled joyfully.
The two of them were oddly adorable—
Hands slammed into my hips, rocking me backward. I tumbled off Faye as she scrambled to her feet, breathing fast. Her eyes were wild as she whipped toward the Crone. The two silent witches had moved to block Faye. She took a step back as I rose. She spun again, clutching something in her hand.
My dagger—she’d swiped one of my daggers. I braced myself for her attack, but she didn’t come for me, and the second I realized what she was about to do, fury exploded within me.
Faye threw herself at Bambi, her arm arced high, dagger poised to sink into the thick back of the familiar. It was iron, deadly to demons, and I didn’t stop to think.
Letting the grace finally rush to the surface, I welcomed the burst of strength as I snapped forward and gripped a handful of Faye’s hair. I tore her away from Bambi and Roth, throwing her to the floor as golden-white flames exploded along my right arm. My hand curled around the heated handle forming against my palm. The weight of the sword was welcoming as fire spit and hissed from the sharp edges of the sword.
“You know what you need to do, Trueborn.” The Crone spoke, her voice carrying high. “It is what you were born for.”
The words landed like a punch. What I was born for. A weapon from birth. I was not the child of my father. I was the Sword of Michael.
I lifted the sword and swung it down, catching Faye at the shoulder. It was like a knife slicing through air. The sword met no resistance, burning through bone and blood before it could even spill into the air. It took seconds.
And Faye was no more.
The grace recoiled, flowing back into me as the flames around the sword flickered and then extinguished. Wisps of smoke and golden, glittery dust danced in the air as the light seeped back into my skin.
I stumbled back, breathing heavily as I stared at my dagger, lying inches from a pile of ruddy brown ash. There was silence. Nothing outside or inside my head. Just vast emptiness in this moment of quiet, and all I felt was...
Anger.
The anger was still there, muted and a little more hollow, but present.
“Thank you,” Roth spoke, shattering the silence. Slowly, I looked at him. “Thank you.”
“It had...it had to be done,” I said, my voice sounding thready.
Amber eyes met mine. “It did.”
“It was unavoidable,” the Crone stated. “We do not choose sides, and Faye’s repeated actions could be perceived as such. While her aid favored you in the past, self-serving deeds cloaked as gifts always turn. There’s always a price to be paid,” she said to Roth. Then to me, she said, “Do you know what she could’ve done with just a quarter’s worth of blood from a Trueborn?”
I shook my head.
“She would’ve been able to overthrow me and acquire another wanted item without earning it. Greed for power is one of the most dangerous things, as volatile as a loss of faith.” The Crone lifted her sharp chin. “You have nothing to fear from the coven. Your identity is safe.”
I nodded my thanks as my gaze flicked back to Faye’s remains. I bent down, picked up my dagger and then sheathed it as I rose, thinking of the Crone’s words about what Faye had led to her coven. Something worse than demons.
“May I ask you a question?” I asked.
The Crone’s eyes were shrewd. “You may ask one.”
Did she mean that literally? I didn’t want to ask in case she did. “Do you know who or what the Harbinger is?”
Those ancient eyes fixed on me and then shifted to Roth. “What did I tell you the last time you were here, Prince? That what you seek is right in front of your own eyes.”
Roth stiffened but did not respond, and I had no idea what that could mean since the Harbinger wasn’t right in front of us. I didn’t get a chance to