His chest was healing rapidly, but the poison in the magic would stay in his body for many hours to come. The next time the Fae threw magic, Thorn dodged it, but took the sound of the bubble and used his dragon magic to amplify it a hundred times over. Then he focused it directly at the Fae.
The Dark fell to his knees holding his ears as blood ran from them. Thorn drove the blade of his knife in the dark’s temple and twisted.
He kicked the Fae off his blade and stepped over him. There was an opening ahead. Thorn reached it and stepped into the foyer as five Dark appeared.
* * *
As always, Balladyn was in awe watching Rhi with her sword. She moved fluidly, sinuously. Almost erotically. Her body was supple, her movements both beautiful and deadly.
For long moments, he stared at her before he noticed who fought beside her. Constantine.
Balladyn was about to teleport to Rhi before he thought better of it. Rhi would assume he was fighting against her instead of with her. All he could do was watch her beside the King of Kings.
“Bastard,” he murmured.
Con’s day was coming. Balladyn had no doubt Ulrik would win. Vengeance and hate were powerful tools that could overcome insurmountable odds.
Balladyn took a step toward the estate as Rhi was hit with Dark magic. She stayed on her feet and ducked another blast. But a third shot of magic hit her square in the chest and knocked her off the roof.
Just before she hit the ground, she vanished. Balladyn released the breath he had been holding. A second later, she was next to Con again, albeit moving slower than before.
Her wound didn’t heal as quickly as the Dragon Kings, but it didn’t diminish her sword arm in the least. In minutes, she and Con dispatched the Dark they were fighting.
As soon as the last Dark fell, they headed to the entrance that led inside the house. Rhi was running ahead of Con when the door opened and a massive bubble of magic came hurtling out of the shadows.
Balladyn yelled Rhi’s name as the magic barreled into her. She once more flew backward, landing hard upon the roof. He waited for her to get up and shake it off as she had before. But she didn’t.
“No.”
Balladyn couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move.
“Rhi!” Con yelled as he dodged more magic coming from the doorway.
Balladyn tried to see who was responsible, but it was too dark within the doorway.
Constantine used his own magic to deflect the bubbles coming at him. He made his way to Rhi and checked her, only to leave her lying there as if she were dead.
“No. No, no, no, no, no,” Balladyn murmured in disbelief.
CHAPTER
FORTY-FOUR
Lexi stood against the wall and listened to the sounds of battle. She knew those sounds well. The grunts of pain, the gurgles of the dying.
They were forever imbedded in her mind after her encounters in Edinburgh.
Her gaze was on the door, waiting to see if anyone would burst in. Seconds turned to minutes as no one came. She didn’t know if it was Thorn or someone else attacking. Truth be told, she didn’t want to wait around to find out.
With the way her luck had been unfolding, it was going to be someone much worse than the Dark Fae or her new captor, Ulrik.
Lexi made her way to the door and tried the knob. It held fast. She turned the handle with both hands, squeezing her eyes shut as she gave it everything she had. When it didn’t budge, she beat her hands against the wood and screamed in frustration.
Through it, she heard a slight click.
Lexi quieted and looked down at the knob. Had someone just unlocked it? What if it was Kyle on the other side? What if it was Ulrik? Worse, what if it was the shadow?
A chance at freedom stood before her, or she could remain in the room waiting for something to come for her.
She grabbed the knob and turned. The door opened. Without a second thought, she flung it wide and rushed out of the room.
Lexi tried to ignore the dimly lit hallway and the numerous shadows throughout—or who might be hiding in them. She ran down the corridor searching for stairs.
Suddenly, she was grabbed and thrown to the floor. Her head slammed against the wood, dazing her. It took her a moment to get her bearings. That’s when she realized something heavy was on her, preventing her arms from moving.
Her eyes came into focus again. That’s when she found herself looking up at Kyle’s face.
“Just how did you get out?” he asked in a condescending tone, his lips twisted in annoyance.
Lexi tried to shove him off her, but he was too strong. “Get off me, jackass.”
He leaned down until his face was next to hers. She turned her head to the side.
“Better get used to it. I’m going to be on top of you for a while.”
She was not going to be raped. Lexi made her body go limp. It was the hardest thing she had ever done, but the only chance she had was to catch Kyle by surprise.
A chuckle rumbled Kyle’s chest. “By the time I’m done with you, you’ll be praying for death.”
Every instinct clamored for her to fight, to struggle against his hold. But Kyle wanted to dominate her. He wanted to prove his strength and that he was somehow better than she was.
“He’s not here to stop me now,” Kyle continued as he pulled her arms above her head and held them with one hand.
Lexi bit her tongue to keep from screaming in revulsion when he cupped her breast and squeezed. She kept her focus on a marble statue of a lion.
* * *
Thorn held his left side as pain radiated from the repeated hits of Dark magic. He leaned against the wall and looked at the dead Fae around him as he breathed heavily. A glance up the stairs showed that no more were coming, but he had no idea how many more were in the manor.
The sounds of battle continued to come from above on the roof. He hoped Con and Rhi had already made their way inside the house.
Thorn pushed away from the wall and ran up the stairs cautiously. He reached the second floor without incident. He looked both ways and decided to go to the right.
Every minute that passed without finding Lexi, his anxiety grew. With each room he looked into and found empty, a pit of despair began to knot painfully in his gut.
He finished his search of the second floor and went to the third. Thorn looked up and saw a Dark waiting for him on the landing.
Thorn jerked to the side to miss a blast of magic. Thorn bared his teeth and barreled into the Dark, crashing them through a door.
* * *
Lexi didn’t know how many minutes passed as she lay there limply and let Kyle rub and grind on her. She bit her tongue to keep from gagging, blood filling her mouth.
His grip on her hands hadn’t loosened in all that time, and his other hand was getting bolder. Already he had shoved her shirt up her stomach.
It was the crash that jerked his attention away. Lexi used his diverted attention to rise up and head-butt him at the same time she brought her knee up into his balls.
He cried out in pain and rolled off her, holding his nuts. Lexi jumped to her feet and ran to the marble lion sitting on an accent table. She hefted it up and turned to see Kyle on his knees trying to stand and come for her.
Lexi slammed the statue down on his head. He fell to the side, a huge gash spilling blood onto the wood floor.
* * *
Thorn had his hand blasted with Dark magic, knocking his knife out of his grip. He gritted his teeth and peeled back his lips in a growl as he slammed his other hand into the Dark’s chest and yanked out his heart.
He tossed the heart aside and climbed off the Fae so he could grab his knife. His head whipped around when he heard Lexi’s scream. Thorn rushed from the room and saw her across the hall standing over Lily’s brother, Kyle.
The son of a bitch was supposed to be dead, and the only way Kyle was alive was because of Ulrik. Just one more reason for Thorn to hate Ulrik. The bastard did one good deed. Then in the next breath did something foul and evil like bring Kyle back from the dead.