Chapter 46

CHAPTER FORTY-SIX

FRANKIE

I screamed and tried to kick my legs, but whatever held me had a firm grip. It was ice-cold but was burning my skin. Sharp shards of glass sliced into my arms and legs where my clothes weren't covering my body. I hugged the book tighter to my chest and looked for help, but everyone was being dragged across the house with me. We all struggled and cursed, throwing magic into the smoke gripping our legs, but nothing was working.

We flew up and out the windows only to slam into the concrete patio before being dragged again. My whole body burned. I couldn't release my grip on the book to grab ahold of anything. Grass and dirt slid up my jeans and up my back. Esther screamed. I looked up and choked on a gasp. Unseelie fae were hovering in the night sky above us, looking like dementors in silver body armor.

It was all happening too fast, yet somehow in slow motion.

Golden light flashed to my right as Tenn summoned Archangel Michael's sword to his hands. Even while being dragged across the lawn, he sat up and swung the glowing blade through the smoke dragging us. He shot straight up into the sky with his white angel wings. The Unseelie swarmed all at once. But there were too many of them. Even with dozens attacking him, we were still being dragged—we lifted into the air.

Tegan screamed and threw her arms out. White magic shot out of her in every direction. The grip on my legs vanished, and we crashed back onto the lawn. We all scrambled back to our feet. The others pulled out weapons and charged into battle. I needed a weapon. My dagger was on my phone in my pocket, but my sais were back in my room. I was such a stupid rookie. I hadn't brought them with me. My dagger would have to do. I reached for my phone when five Unseelies dove for me at once.

I somersaulted, then leapt back to my feet. Shit, shit, shit. Cooper lunged in front of me and swung his sword. The clash of metal on metal made a sharp hissing sound that hurt my ears.

"Get to Holy Ground, Francelina," Everest's voice growled in my mind.

I gasped and froze, looking for him in the chaos of the night. Everest. EVEREST. Where are you? I spun in a circle, looking for that head of white-blond hair. I searched every shadow, but he wasn't there. EVEREST! WHERE ARE YOU?

Kessler jumped in front of me and plucked one of the Unseelie right out of the sky and then ripped his head clean off. Purple blood splashed all over us as Kessler tossed his body aside.

"They want the book!" Cooper shouted and swung his sword again. "TIM!"

Tim raced over with a gnarly sword covered in ice, the three of them surrounding me in a protective bubble. But it wasn't going to hold them off long. I tried to look for Tenn or Tegan, but they were just glowing spotlights shooting across the sky.

" NOW, FRANCELINA! " Everest shouted in my head as if he were right next to me. " PROTECT THE BOOK! "

I cursed and looked around, but nothing screamed Holy Ground. No one had told me this was even a thing or what it would look like— wait. HOLY. As in Heaven, as in angels . . . like Angelic rune stones! I stretched my arm to press one hand to my rune stones still wrapped around my wrist in the bracelet. The blue stones glowed to life, instantly answering my call. My heart was pounding.

Show me Holy Ground!

The glittery gold runes flashed and then my pink flames flickered out of the stones and into the air above them. At first they were a tornado, then an arrow formed, pointing diagonally to my left. I cursed.

" Come with me! " I whisper-shouted to them. Nothing new to them. " No new tricks! "

We ran full speed, following the compass that was my arrow. The others didn't even question me. They just followed me and attacked every Unseelie that came near. But they just kept coming. They swooped down like seagulls trying to steal food off my plate at the beach. We weren't making any headway.

An Unseelie dropped down right in front of me, his silver body armor sparkling under the glow of Tenn and Tegan. I saw his black eyes through the opening in his helmet—and the world changed around me. Gone was Granny Irit's front lawn. I was suddenly in a desert with the sun still clinging to the dark-red sky behind me. But the Unseelie was still coming for me at full speed. My heart stopped. I dropped and slid under the Unseelie's feet, then jumped back to mine.

I was on the front lawn again.

What is happening? I looked around, but everything was the same. Still a dark navy-blue sky with Unseelies dive-bombing us. Granny Irit's house shone like a beacon.

" Keep moving, Francelina, " Everest shouted. " MOVE. "

The arrow was flashing to the left. I cursed and sprinted the way it said, but I was flying blind. Everything in front of me was just dark—the sky turned dark-red again. The lawn was now mounds of sand and clay. Tears burned the backs of my eyes. I glanced down at my arrow but it was gone. I held no book. There were no rune stones. Just two red, blood-covered hands and gold armor splattered in purple and black blood.

Two Unseelies flew up in front of me.

Magic flashed in my palms. Neon-blue and pink flames looked like little orbs in my hands. I charged straight ahead, then at the last second, as I was within inches from the tips of their swords, I threw my magic orbs into the Unseelie's faces. I didn't look back as they dropped to the sand. But I did glance around the desert. My heart sank. My friends were outnumbered five to one, and the sun had not yet fully set. Once it did, we would be ambushed. Magic flashed in every direction as my friends fought back. Their gold armor was dented and falling apart. We had to end this. Now.

I slid to a stop and summoned my magic to my palms, then shot it out of me like rushing rivers. It moved across the sand and clay, pulling Unseelie beneath its waves.

" FRANCELINA! "

I looked up and spotted Everest standing in the middle of a glowing pink circle. But he looked weird. He wore a white suit and no armor. I frowned.

" HERE! NOW! MOVE! " he shouted in my head.

My legs answered, sprinting right for him. The battle raged on all around me, but Everest was there. I raced for him and tried to ignore the fear in his eyes or the way his gaze bounced left and right and back again. I had to get to him.

His eyes widened. " DIVE! "

I dove for him and that strange glowing pink circle—my knees slammed into cold grass, but gravity had me crash face-first because I refused to let go of the book for even a second. THE BOOK! I cursed and flipped onto my back, then pushed up on my knees. The book was still clutched in my arms, pressed to my chest. The sky was dark. I was on the lawn again.

" —CELINA . . . "

I gasped and looked up with my heart in my throat. The desert sky had turned purple. Night was upon us. A sea of Unseelie flew up from behind the mountain on the horizon. They would be upon us in mere moments. Everest was nowhere in sight?—

A warm shadow wrapped around my eyes. I froze. But then it faded, and my breath left me in a rush. The vision was gone. I was back on the front lawn of the house with my Coven-mates, not on some mountain desert at sunset.

Cooper slid up beside me. "What are we doing here? We're out in the open?—"

"Holy Ground!" I pressed my palm to the cold, damp grass, and my rune stones glowed like spotlights.

Cooper's green eyes widened. He turned to the fight raging in-between us and the house and whistled. The others all looked in his direction, then their gazes dropped to my palm on the ground.

" HOLY GROUND, GO! " Tegan screamed into our minds.

The others bolted for us. Kessler grabbed Timothy by the shirt and threw him. He landed and rolled into a crouch like he'd practiced that move a million times. Kessler leapt to the side and grabbed Thiago, throwing him onto Holy Ground, except he was not trained for this so he rolled so hard Cooper had to catch him. Then Kessler turned and ran into the fight in the opposite direction. But I knew what he was doing. He was going back for the others. They were fighting without magic against an enemy that was just playing with its food. They were faster and stronger. The only reason we were alive was because of whatever Tenn and Tegan were doing—and because they wanted the book in my hands.

" DOWN! " Thiago yelled.

I dropped to the grass, but hands gripped my hair and pulled, lifting me off the ground. Tim swung his blade, slicing the Unseelie's hand off in one clean move. It dropped to the ground and burst into ash. But we didn't get a chance to celebrate as more dove for me and then dodged Tim's ice-blade at the last second. Thiago pushed me down onto the grass, my body weight pinning the book beneath me. He shouted something, but it was definitely Portuguese and I had no idea what he'd said. I craned my neck back to watch what was happening with my heart pounding like a runaway freight train.

Esther, her parents, and her grandmother emerged from the chaos with Emersyn hot on their heels. Three Unseelies went flying— no, wait. PIECES of Unseelie. My stomach rolled just as Kessler reappeared in a dead sprint for us. He had Willow and Chutney thrown over his shoulders, but he was dragging Easton and Lily on the ground, one in each hand. Tim and Cooper cursed and leapt off our glowing pink circle to help Kessler get the others.

The Unseelie dove for me one after another.

The others wouldn't let me up. They wanted me protecting the book, so I was helpless to do anything but watch. I hated it. Every muscle in my body yearned with the need to pull my weapons and fight. We were all on Holy Ground now except for Tegan and the power siblings.

Tegan's hair was snow-white.

I didn't quite know what that meant, but I knew it was bad news. She'd gone all white that one night, and that was why she'd been unable to prevent us from getting kidnapped by vampires the next day. This was bad news for us. We needed her strong.

"DOWN!"

I braced myself for pain, but none came, only pressure from my friends pushing me down and the splash of purple blood around me. I cursed. "Why doesn't Holy Ground have a roof!?"

"BETTINA!" the rest of them shouted in perfect unison.

I looked up just in time to see Tenn swoop down and grab Bettina. He dove for us, dropping Bettina at our feet and shooting back up into the sky faster than my eyes could even track. He was too fast. Not human fast.

Bettina slid to her knees in front of me. She swung her arm in a perfect arc, then slammed her gold-hilted sword into the grass two inches from my face. A glowing, light-pink dome spread over our heads, enclosing everyone inside and on Holy Ground. Two Unseelies slammed into her dome and burst into dust and ash. She jumped to her feet and held her right hand out to her side. A second later, Tenn's long black sword slammed into her palm. She nodded to us, then spun on her toes and raced back into the fight.

"We have to do something."

"We can't just leave them out there?—"

"But we can't stay in here all night?—"

"We won't last the night, look!"

I looked up and my stomach sank. More and more Unseelie were flying in from somewhere out of sight. I didn't understand where they were coming from. I didn't understand enough of anything yet. But they were right. We couldn't sit here in this bubble until dawn. That was too far away. There were too many of them, and we weren't one-hundred-percent sure it wouldn't fail and leave us exposed. And the three of them couldn't keep fighting at the speed they were.

Tegan dropped to her knees and threw her arms out. White lightning slammed into Tenn's back, but it was like he didn't even feel it. Michael's sword lit up like a supernova, glowing too bright to even look at. Not that I could see him, Tenn was moving faster than he had been a moment ago. Now he was literally just a blur of white against a dark sky. Unseelie bodies were bursting into dust in his wake. Tegan turned and threw lightning into Bettina. The golden bands on her fingers glowed like Michael's sword, then white lightning coiled around Tenn's black sword.

Timothy cursed and dropped to his knees beside me. "She turned it into a Holy weapon. How ?"

Unseelie were dropping into glowing, severed pieces on the lawn.

Suddenly I was flipped onto my back, like the book itself had thrown me. The book was shaking and trying to wiggle out of my hands. It lifted off my chest and pushed against my arms. I screamed as my fingers were slipping—Kessler slammed his hands into the book, forcing it back down against me. My breath was knocked from my lungs, but I still had the book. And then my whole body lifted off the ground, taking Kessler with me. The others tackled us, piling on top to keep us down.

"Oh my God." Esther paled from the top of the pile. "Someone has to get her."

"We can't. We can't get through the dome?—"

"TEGAN!" Esther screamed. "NO!"

We all jumped and craned our necks around to search for her, then all cursed in chorus. I felt everyone's panic building right along with mine. Tegan was on her knees facing us, facing away from most of the fight, throwing magic into Tenn and Bettina. Her eyes were open but definitely unseeing. It was almost like she was in a trance.

And a few Unseelie were charging for her.

"TEGAN!"

"TWIN!"

Everyone around me was shouting. Emersyn tried to get off the pile, but Cooper and Thiago were above her and not budging. The fear in Cooper's eyes would haunt me forever. And then Esther leapt off the pile and ran.

"NO!"

Esther charged right through the dome which made the others gasp. Tegan was only about ten feet away from us, but the Unseelie were moving in fast. They swung their swords—Esther dove and tackled Tegan, lifting her off her knees and slamming into the grass. The Unseelie drove their swords right into Esther's back. She screamed and her back arched, blood pouring out of her wounds instantly. Tegan's body flopped lifelessly beneath her, that white lightning streaking across the sky like it was waiting for her to call it again.

Cooper gagged. " No, no, no! TEGAN! "

"Did they get her too?!" Emersyn screamed.

Tennessee was panicked. He tried to fly to them, but Unseelie kept crashing into him and grabbing him. He was totally and entirely surrounded. His mismatched eyes were wide with fear fifty feet above his soulmate.

Bettina reached up with those glowing bands on her fingers and grabbed the lightning out of the air. The others cheered as her long fingers wrapped around a literal lightning bolt and pulled. She swung her arm and flicked that lightning bolt around like it was a whip. It sliced through the Unseelies surrounding Tenn. He tucked his wings and dove headfirst for his soulmate and our friend. Esther hadn't moved but her body was twitching. Her parents were wailing. Granny Irit was praying.

Tenn swooped down in a blur of light and scooped Tegan and Esther off the ground—and then they were suddenly on the ground beside me. Tenn's hands were shaking as he reached for Tegan's throat to check for a pulse.

"She's alive. Go!" Timothy hauled his nephew to his feet and shoved him out of the dome. "HOPE!"

Tenn cursed violently but stormed in the direction of his sister who was still holding on to the lightning bolt.

"No, no—don't pull!" Tim shouted.

I looked over as Leah's hands froze on the Unseelie swords protruding from her daughter's back. "Why not!"

"That'll kill her too fast." Tim peeled her hands off the hilts. "We just need to get her to Eden, to Katherine?—"

"HOW?" Thiago pointed to our High Priestess. "She's out!"

"We need the sun," I said between labored breaths.

Lily groaned. "I can't. It hits their armor. I was trying."

"So get their armor off!"

Thiago scoffed at me. "How?"

"Cooper! You have sleep magic, right? Can't you use that here?"

He scrubbed his face with his hands, his green eyes wild as he watched Tenn and Bettina fight. "Yeah, but how can dreams help right now?—"

Emersyn gasped. She gripped the front of her brother's shirt and shook him. "PUT THEM TO SLEEP! Like you did Bettina that night the plane crashed!"

Cooper's face fell. His eyes widened. He nodded, then closed his eyes and frowned. His arms trembled. I felt his magic building. The ground vibrated beneath me. He took a deep breath, then opened his eyes and threw his hands out. Magic that twinkled like stars shot out of him.

"TENN!" I screamed.

Unseelie dropped to the ground all around us. Unmoving.

Cooper swayed but someone caught him.

Tenn landed right in front of me with Bettina draped in his arms. "Coop? Please?"

He cursed and flicked his wrists—Bettina gasped and leapt out of Tenn's arms, then relaxed when she saw it was him. She blinked over to Coop and then nodded in approval. Tenn spun around to face the lawn. Then I realized the pressure from the book had vanished. It wasn't trying to fly away from me anymore.

"Did it work?" Cooper asked softly.

Tenn nodded. "For now. Let's pounce on it."

Bettina dropped to her knees and yanked her sword out of the ground. The dome vanished. Without another word, everyone jumped off of me and raced to the lawn. Easton and Thiago were pulling helmets off and running while Lily followed them with beams of sunlight streaming from her palms.

Tenn was on his knees beside me, his hands shaking, his eyes locked on Tegan still under Esther. "Lift her off."

"Tenn, we don't know?—"

"I said lift her off ," Tenn snarled.

"I'll do it. Let me." Kessler cursed. He crouched down and slid his arms under Esther's body. "In three . . . two . . . one?—"

He lifted Esther up and she screamed. I winced and pushed up onto my hands and knees as blood spilled over the side of her body. Leah and Elijah wailed. Esther's face was contorted in pain. Her body began to shake.

"Hold on, Kiddo. Just breathe," Kessler said softly. "I've got you. We're going to get you help."

"Tegan?" Tenn checked her body for wounds, but there didn't appear to be any. Esther had blocked all of them. Tenn swayed, then pulled Tegan into his lap. He pressed his hands to her chest, right over their soulmate glyph that was still pink when I would've expected it to be red. "Babe, can you hear me?"

For a moment, we all just stared at her unmoving, unconscious body.

Then, for reasons I could not explain, I took one of Tegan's hands and pressed it to my bracelet. My pink flames wrapped around her wrist instantly. Tegan's other hand lifted just enough off her stomach to snap her fingers.

Everything went white.