Chapter 3

THREE

BASH

My throat burned like the oxygen I sucked in was acid. I felt sand coating every inch of my skin and throat. It crusted my eyes, but I couldn’t wipe at them with equally sandy fingers. Those massive thorns were impaled in my body still, causing blood to pour out and pool beneath me.

But I paid myself no mind.

Because my mother had my soulmate by the throat . . . and Collins wasn’t fighting back.

I wanted to run to her rescue. I tried. But my body would not move. I’d gotten my breath back, but now it was caught in my throat all over again. Collins’ aura shimmered that beautiful turquoise that matched her eyes, but it rippled like waves in a stormy sea. It wanted to fight. The magic of the Stone Keeper was ready to fight, but Collins’ body was worn and weak. She wasn’t ready for all this. She wasn’t trained. She’d saved me and Stellan and now had nothing left to fight. Tears stung my eyes. Please, please, please.

Bright red magic slammed into my mother’s face.

She screamed like I’d never heard her scream before. I froze in place. Savina stormed out from behind that truck with her blonde hair swaying like a cape behind her. Her aura blazed so hot and bright I couldn’t even look at her.

But I didn’t need to.

The Red Widow was a sight to see in the flesh. I’d heard stories about her gift for years. I’d even checked on her that year she hid on Megelle Island pretending to be dead. Never in my life had I met someone with even remotely the kind of power my mother had . . . until Savina. The Stone Keepers were a different story. Their power was immense, but it was Heavenly. Their magic wanted peace. Their magic wanted their power back and restored. But Savina’s power was cold-blooded and ruthless.

And right now my mother was its victim.

She writhed and trembled. Her arms were wrapped around her waist. Her eyes squeezed shut. A high-pitched scream slipped through her clenched teeth and held. It was like a ringing in my ear.

Collins lay sprawled on the street beneath her, my mother straddling her hips. Somehow Savina’s magic wasn’t touching Collins, and it gave me even more respect for Savina’s abilities. But it didn’t matter. Collins wasn’t moving to get free. That long pink and purple hair was fanned out like a halo around her head. The black bodysuit she’d put on was torn in several places. I had to get to her. I had to get her away from my mother while I had the chance. I pushed to my feet, biting down on my cheek to stop myself from screaming from the pain. I stumbled my way toward her, my balance faltering.

And then my mother roared and the ground shook, knocking me back to my knees. I glanced over to Savina and found her in a red cyclone of magic. Sand lifted off the ground. I dove down, flattening myself to the street just as it soared over my head. Collins, Collins, Collins. I need to get to Collins. We’ll be stronger together. She didn’t know she was my soulmate yet, but that didn’t matter. Stellan’s aura regained strength when Ellie got to him, so I knew I had to get to Collins. I crawled on all fours, my body screaming in agony with every movement. Every breath.

I kept my eyes on my mother, waiting for her to notice my approach. I’d heard the Red Widow could kill her target within seconds, though I knew my mother would be harder to take down. Yet still, it was pinning her in place. I couldn’t believe my mother wasn’t more crippled by this lethal power, in fact, she seemed to be growing resistant to it.

My mother was throwing her magic at Savina, slower and weaker than usual, but still lethally. Savina was on her knees, arms trembling, with sweat dripping down her face. It was taking a lot out of her to fight my mother. Both were locked in a duel neither would back out of willingly.

Finally, I made it to Collins. Her turquoise eyes glistened when I hovered over her. She licked her dry, cracked lips and whispered over my mother’s bellowing, “ I don’t know what else to do. How do I fight her ?”

I took one of her hands in mine, wrapping her fingers around the crystals hanging from my necklaces. “ Close your eyes and imagine a dome made of crystal over us. ”

She closed her eyes and squeezed my hand. I felt a spark of electricity in my palm and then light flashed all around me. I gasped and looked up—my jaw dropped. A translucent gray dome made entirely of crystal hovered over us.

And it had my mother pinned around the hips.

The top half of her was above the crystal, the bottom half below. She shrieked and fired magic at us, but it bounced off the dome and shot into the sky. I glanced to Savina and found her on all fours like me, panting and shaking.

Think, Bastien. THINK. What do we do now? I have to get that portal, but I’m too weak now.

The sky flashed with lightning stretching in every direction.

Sandra dropped from the clouds with those big, glorious, purple-tipped golden angel wings. Her body was covered in that metal armor the Nephilim all wore. In one hand, she held a menacing sword. In the other, she held a golden vial. When she was about twenty feet above us, she tossed that vial right at my mother. It whistled as it flew right for her and then exploded in the air.

Blood fell like rain from the explosion, covering my mother from head to hip. Little rivets slipped between the crystal dome and her body and ran down her legs. She screamed. Everywhere the blood touched her it smoked and sizzled like it was acid, like it was burning flesh from bone.

“Release the dome,” I yelled to Collins and peeled her hands off my necklaces. “Drop the dome!”

The dome vanished.

I dragged Collins away from my mother, then swept her legs out from under her. She crashed to her knees and blood splashed over me. Except it didn’t burn me. I looked up to Sandra and gasped.

The angels were behind her. They were glorious in their all-white outfits that matched their perfect white wings. Each one was just as imposing as the next. Power rolled off them in waves and their auras were nearly blinding with how bright they shined.

All of them.

All of Araqiel’s Watchers were here. My jaw dropped. There were ten of them in existence, including Araqiel and Zuriel. The other eight were rarely seen. They lurked in the shadows. Watching. Waiting. Judging. I swallowed through a hot lump in my throat. It did not bode well that they were here. My heart was pounding against my chest.

The nine of them hovered in the air behind Sandra with their arms crossed over their chests. In the middle was Zuriel, but as a general rule, because I wanted to live, I didn’t like to look in his direction for too long. They all just stared at my mother shrieking and hissing in pain. I knew this moment was only a matter of seconds, but it was frozen in my mind. The Watchers were here. Most of them I’d never seen before, but my mother made it our jobs to know their names and faces.

The red-haired guy with dark-green eyes on the far right was Adimus, father to Collins’ stepfather. His green eyes were cold and lifeless. It was the kind of look I’d seen before a death blow was made. I was glad I wasn’t at the end of his sword. Beside him was Forfax, the blond father of a shifter Nephilim. His blonde hair looked like he’d just combed it in to place. He was clean shaven with sharp features that looked like they belonged on a magazine not a battlefield.

Mendrion and Tabriana, the vampire Nephilim’s angel parents, were total opposites in appearance. He had a chiseled face, high cheek bones, bow shaped lips and a layer of scruff that only enhanced his brown skin. His hair curled back from his face in true angelic fashion. She was petite with eyes that were almost too big for her doll-like face. Her long blonde hair fell in soft waves all around her heart shaped face.

On the far left, hovering just above Nickel was her mother Hecca. A tall curvaceous beauty, with dark skin, dark brown wide set eyes, and full lips. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun on top of her head that made her look more stern. Beside her stood Charmeine, a thin willowy women with chestnut hair that flowed from the top of her head down past her elbows. Her pale skin held a silvery glow that was almost ghostly and reflected in her light blue eyes. Weston and Shylock’s mother shared their physical traits, and I knew she was struggling to not scoop her severely injured sons up and take off. She wasn’t even looking at Tephine.

And then there were the two angels who were parents to the fae-Nephilim. Sashael was Jada’s father, and the way he glared at me while cracking his knuckles made my stomach tighten into knots. His square jaw barely ticked when he ground his teeth together. His dark skin stood out against his stark long white hair. It fell from the top of his head and blended so well with his wings and outfit I didn’t know where it ended.

Sandra’s mother was the only angel I’d actually ever spoken to. She had full lips, red hair, and almond shaped eyes. Eloa lived in New Orleans and liked to get her hands dirty. She didn’t follow rules as well as the others, which was why I liked her. Like always, she was dressed in leather, looking like the hard-metal rocker version of Sandra. She wore leather bracelets on one arm and silver bracelets on the other. She pursed her lips and nodded like she approved of the carnage.

Their arrival had stolen all of my attention. And by the look of awe on Savina’s face, I knew she understood the gravity of this moment as well as I did. The last time all of the Watchers had gathered was at the end of the war that separated all the realms.

But then Sandra pulled her sword back and dropped down to my mother. She started to swing.

NO! I panicked and spun to Zuriel and yelled, “OPEN IT!”

Zuriel snapped his fingers and a portal opened up right in front of me. I gripped my mother’s blood-soaked arms and threw her as hard as I could. Sandra froze mid-swing, her eyes widening. My mother screamed my name with a curse as she flew into the open portal. There was a flash of light and then the portal slammed shut—and vanished all together. Like it was never there.

I sighed and sank onto my heels.

Everyone turned on me.

I shook my head. “You can’t kill her.”