to be focused on Levet.
There was a momentary bafflement on Brigette’s face, then she pressed the trident against Levet’s neck.
“Stop.”
“Everyone stay back,” Inga commanded.
Chaaya sent the queen a warning glance. “We can’t let her escape, Inga. If she has been in contact with Zella, then she’ll spread the darkness like an infection. The mer-folk will be destroyed.”
She saw the wrenching fear that flared through Inga’s blue eyes. The female was clearly distressed by the thought of choosing between Levet and her people. Before she could answer, however, Brigette called out.
“Do anything stupid and I’ll kill him.”
Chaaya turned her head to watch the female back toward the corner. She swung Levet back and forth like a pendulum, her trident still pressed against his throat.
“Don’t be an idiot,” Chaaya snapped. “You can’t kill a gargoyle with that tiny weapon.”
“That is true,” Levet agreed, his tail dragging against the marble floor. “I have had many demons attempt to be rid of me, including my own mother. I am really quite difficult to destroy.”
Brigette took two more steps back. “Not after I feed you to the beast.”
Inga stiffened, clearly intending to attack. “Don’t you dare hurt him.”
“Stay back, Inga,” Chaaya warned. “We have her trapped.”
“Never!” Brigette released a shrill laugh. “I’ll never be caged again.”
Chaaya started to roll her eyes at the female’s hysterical proclamation. There was nothing worse than a drama queen. But even as she was about to mock the female’s fierce assertion, a shimmer of darkness captured her attention.
What the hell?
It was Inga who was first to recognize the danger. “A portal.”
Chaaya cursed, realizing that they they’d been manipulated by the female Were.
Brigette had obviously known the portal was about to form there. Or maybe it’d been there all along and hadn’t opened until Brigette was close enough to trigger it.
Whatever the case, they’d been idiots. And now the world was about to pay the price for their inability to stop the Were.
“Levet!” Inga cried out, charging toward the portal as Brigette stepped through the opening and disappeared with the gargoyle.
The ogress moved with surprising speed, but Chaaya easily passed her as she headed into the portal. She had to get in before it closed, or they’d never manage to follow Brigette. She was diving into the darkness when she felt icy fingers wrap around her upper arm.
Turning her head, she sent Basq a glare of disbelief. How had he managed to catch up to her? And why?
“Seriously?” she hissed between clenched teeth, the world dropping away as they were sucked through the swirling tunnel.
His gorgeous face was set in lines of grim determination. “You’re not going anywhere without me.”
* * * *
Brigette tried to shake off the stupid gargoyle that clung to her like an oversized leech. She hadn’t intended to take him into the portal, but even as she’d let loose of his horn, he’d reached up to grasp her wrist. Now they were locked together as they hurtled through the strange portal.
Dammit. Nothing was going right.
After leaving her cell she’d been led on a merry goose chase through the castle, heading ever upward. The unknown merman had at least left a weapon for her before he urged her into the secret tunnel. She’d paused, searching the shadows to make out who was helping her, but it’d been impossible to catch more than long hair and the delicate features of all mer-folk. At last she’d grabbed the weapon and scurried through the narrow tunnel.
The last thing she’d expected was to burst into the throne room, which was filled with her most hated enemies. Chaaya, the bane of her existence. Inga, Queen of the Mer-folk. The strange gargoyle named Levet. And a leech who vibrated with a power she could feel from across the long room.
She’d instantly known she was a dead dog. Literally.
Then she’d caught the shimmer of power in the far corner. That was her exit. It had to be. She just had to stay alive long enough to get to it.
Something easier said than done.
Knowing the only thing that might keep the demons at bay was the fear that she still possessed the power of the beast, she’d babbled about Zella as she’d covertly circled toward the corner. Next she’d grabbed the tiny gargoyle. By then she’d been close enough to make a dash for the portal.
She’d intended to toss the creature aside as she entered the darkness, using him as a distraction to keep anyone from following her.
A mistake she was paying for as Levet weighed