Chapter 4

FOUR

COLLINS

“You can’t kill her.”

“ What? ” Nickel yelled from where she stood about ten feet away. “What the hell, Bastien?”

Weston groaned as he pushed up on his hands and knees, then spit blood onto the pavement. “ He . . . did not . . . just . . . do . . . that.”

Shylock rolled onto his side to face us, his skin ashy and pale. Except for his throat, that was bright-red. He opened his mouth, then closed it and frowned. His aura rumbled with confusion.

I forced myself to sit up, but then the world spun. My breath left me in a rush. I pressed my fingers to my temples and waited for the nausea to settle and the world to stop spinning. Because I could have sworn I saw nine angels standing there behind my mother. Then again, one of those was Zuriel, so it probably wasn’t my imagination.

“We had her,” I said softly. “Bash?”

His gaze slid to me. “I know.”

“She was trapped.” I gestured in front of me to where I’d had her pinned inside of a crystal dome. “We had her.”

I didn’t understand. We had her. Savina’s magic may not have killed her, but it had crippled her enough to give us the chance. And thanks to Bash’s idea with the crystal dome, I’d had her pinned down by a material she couldn’t control. Between me and Savina holding her, someone else could have taken her out for good. Mom was there and ready, sword in motion.

“ I know, ” Bash whispered. He hung his head and cringed. The blood dripping from his wounds had my pulse flying.

None of the angels spoke. They merely glared at us like we were misbehaving toddlers.

A gust of wind carried Ellie, Stellan, and Maren over, then they stopped beside me. Maren had her wand pressed to the gnarly wound in Stellan’s chest where that palm tree had impaled him. He was sitting up and holding Ellie’s hand, so that gave me hope. Savina stumbled over and sank to her knees beside her brother and wife.

“I’m sorry,” Bash breathed. “I’m sorry you’re all hurt.”

“Never mind that,” Stellan growled between clenched teeth. “What the hell?”

Ellie sighed and pressed her forehead to Stellan’s blood-soaked shoulder. “She could be dead right now, not planning another attack.”

Savina shook her head. “Bash, explain yourself. Please.”

I reached out and took his hand in mine and squeezed. “Why did you stop us from killing her? You want her dead as much as we do.”

“I do. Of course I do.” He cringed. “But we can’t kill her yet.”

Everyone grumbled out the same question.

WHY?

Bash licked his lips and let his gaze sweep over the entire group, including the angels. “Because . . . my mother has bound herself to Third Realm. If she dies, Third Realm dies with her, instantly, along with anyone inside.”

Silence.

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

Stellan scowled. “Zuriel . . .”

“Prince Bastien is correct,” Zuriel said in his typical surly voice.

Mom looked down at the sword in her hand and shuddered. “I . . . I did not know this.”

“I know you didn’t. Any of you. It’s new. She did it recently, like as in after Ellie and Stellan left Third Realm. I guess the arrival of the first Stone Keeper made her nervous.” Bash was taking much more labored breaths now. He needed a healer and fast. “We have to sever that bond first, then we kill her. Once the bond is broken, I will not hesitate to eliminate her.”

Savina cursed. “That explains why I wasn’t even capable of killing her. I can kill anyone else with my magic.”

“And why my magic wasn’t hurting her much.” Ellie nodded. “The realm’s strength must have given her power.”

“She is unlike any of the others,” the angel with sharp cheekbones and beautiful black skin said. He had glorious Viking-style braids, his hair as white as snow.

“Sashael is right. This will be a battle unlike one you’ve experienced before.” The angel who looked identical to Nickel pressed her palm to her chest. “I am Hecca, an angel for healing. Your injured will remain stable for half an hour. When that ends, they will need immediate medical attention. That is all I am able to give you. I suggest you move with haste.”

All at once, the angels flapped their white wings and shot into the sky.

Except for Zuriel, who stood there glaring at all of us. His gaze focused on me and Bash, then swept over all the others. He shook his head. “No. Here together? No.”

Silence.

Mom nodded. “I’ll handle it. I promise, Zuriel.”

He inclined his head once. “Twenty minutes and three days, Sandra.” He snapped his fingers again and every inch of Las Vegas went right back to normal, like nothing had happened tonight.

And then he was gone. For a second, none of us spoke.

But then Savina stood and brushed sand and blood off her black pants. “We have to go. Now. You heard Zuriel. He doesn’t want mages and fae in First Realm together. Plus, Hecca said she’s stalled the injuries for thirty minutes, so we need to be in an infirmary before that timer runs out.”

“What did he mean?” I looked to my right to where my mother stood in all her Nephilim armor. Bash was holding my hand, and I did not miss the way my mother’s eyes seemed locked on that. “Mom? Twenty minutes and three days?”

“The Watchers—the angels—have strict rules set upon them by both Araqiel and Heaven. For each Stone Keeper, the angels are allowed to intervene once . This was that once.” She sheathed her sword. “They are locking the portals down for three days. No one in or out. Whichever realm you’re in in twenty minutes, that’s where you’ll be for three days.”

“That’s what we had. Three days, remember Stellan?” Ellie pressed her hand to his cheek. When he nodded, she turned back to me. “Araqiel gave us a special ring that granted us entrance to each of the other realms once. We needed to collect elements for our potion to make the Astral Stone. So if he’s giving you three days, then it’s for a specific reason for you. ”

“So I can train.” I looked down at my hands. “He knows I need to train and master my abilities so I don’t get myself killed by using too much too fast. Like tonight.”

“Clearly, we are not going to Third Realm to train.” Bash glanced around. “This is your home. We could stay here and train you?”

“Come with us.” Savina gestured to Ellie. “There’s no one better to train a Stone Keeper than a Stone Keeper. But also, I am Queen. You will be safe in my realm. And because it is a realm full of mages, no one will blink at the type of training Collins requires.”

Stellan sat up straighter and cursed. “She’s right. We can help you train in a safe place.”

My nerves were screaming in panic inside of me, but there was no denying I needed to train, and they made smart points. “May I bring Bash with me?”

Savina grinned. “I do suspect you’ll need him for this too.”

Bash sighed with relief. He sank down on his heels a bit farther. “Thank you.”

I looked to my mother. “Mom? Is that okay with you? You’re my Nephilim protector?—”

“And I do not have the ability to train you as they do.” She smiled. “I trust them to keep you safe. So, yes, I’m okay with this. However, I do have one condition.”

We all nodded and waited.

“The Nephilim are all to stay here in First Realm. Granted, the twins need some time to heal, but I’d feel a lot better if Nickel and I were here just in case. And Phillip is on Megelle Island.”

Nickel nodded. “I’m in for that. Thanks to my mother, I’m a good healer. I can get these two trouble-twins back on their feet by the time those portals open again.”

“Make . . . plan . . . ” Shylock gritted out.

My stomach turned. “Make a plan for when the portals open?”

He nodded and it seemed to take all of his strength.

“We will. We have three days to train and come up with a game plan.” I flexed my wings and let them lift me to my feet. “So, where’s the portal?”

Mom smiled wryly. “The Venetian.”

“Right.” I chuckled as I remembered our mad dash to The Venetian hotel just a few days ago. I couldn’t even have said just how long ago it was. That’d been a different life. I turned to my mother and felt tears pool in my eyes. “Mom.”

She smiled and pulled me in for a hug, her armor gone by the time my chin landed on her shoulder. “I am so proud of you, honey.”

“I’m sorry you got hurt and almost died. I’m sorry I didn’t realize that was Tephine pretending to be Jada.” I stepped back and wiped my eyes. “I was so worried about you.”

“Well, fortunately, Tephine needed me alive for you to trust her as Jada. Zuriel got me right to the infirmary. I’m just glad I’m back on my feet.” She took my hands in hers. “Go to Second Realm and trust the mages to train you. Don’t hold back. I’ll be here prepping for your return.”

“Go see Phillip and the boys.” My voice cracked. “I saw him on Megelle Island, and he about had a heart attack when I told him what happened to you. Vic said they’d go to you, did they?”

“No, but he sent me a message.” She smiled sadly and tapped on her forearm. “It was too dangerous. But now that the portals will be locked, I will go to Peggy’s and find them. I promise. You just need to focus on you right now. Got it?”

I nodded and fell into her chest again. “I’m worried about Tallulah.”

“The best news is that Tallulah is entirely safe from Tephine right now, so try not to worry.” She tipped my chin up. “But we will follow up on her. I promise.”

I took a deep breath, then sighed. “Okay, but before I go, I need to use your phone.”

She frowned and pulled it out. “What for?”

“I need to call the Vauntero Hotline. Please, just dial it for me?'“

“Okay.” She quickly dialed a number, then put it on speakerphone and held it out to me. “There you go.”

“ Thank you for calling the Vauntero Violence Hotline. If you’d like to report violence by a mage, ” the recording said through the speakerphone, “please press two.”

I felt everyone’s eyes on me, but I had to ignore it.

“If you’re reporting violence by a fae, please press three,” the recording continued.

I pressed the three button on my screen, and a ring instantly followed. Butterflies danced in my stomach.

“ A member of the Vauntero family will be with you in a moment. Please remain on the line, ” a lovely robotic female voice said through the speaker, followed immediately by instrumental music.

“ What are you doing? ” Bash whispered.

I opened my mouth to tell him when the phone clicked and the music stopped. “This is Constantine Vauntero. What violent act do you have to report?”

“Constantine, this is Collins Elliott. Do you know who I am? Or what I am?”

“The Stone Keeper for Third Realm. Of course.” His voice was low and surly. “Why are you calling? We told you that Realm business remains in the realms.”

“Listen, I know you’re ancient. I know in First Realm you can’t get much higher rank than you, but the truth is I’m pulling rank here. Please don’t misunderstand my rush here as disrespect, but I am running short on time.”

“Tell me what I can do to assist you, Miss Elliott.”

“Get every single supernatural in First Realm to Megelle Island within three days OR have them lock themselves underground.”

“What’s going on?” he growled. “Talk to me, Miss Elliott. It’s best if I know more details.”

“Details?” I sighed. “Well, I killed Princess Cleopatra. Bash beheaded Princess Helena. And Queen Tephine just destroyed a huge chunk of Las Vegas—don’t worry, Zuriel put it all back to normal. In about twelve minutes, the angels are locking all of the portals for three days. Tephine is a raging lunatic. We expect chaos when they reopen. I will come to Megelle Island and explain everything to the whole damn island. Just trust me and get them there and prepare for attack. Because she will come for all of us.”