With her other hand, Lilith held my father back with magic.
“Don’t do this, Lilith,” growled my father, struggling against his bonds. “Leave her alone. It’s me you want.”
She turned her obsidian eyes on my father. “Oh, but I want you to feel the pain of seeing your offspring tortured before your very eyes, Azaren.” She clicked her tongue and a lash of dark power speared through me. “You may have lasted through years of torture.” She struck again, and her power sliced through me. “But can she?”
I couldn’t stop the scream that tore from my throat as the pressure of darkness built all around me. I pushed at her magic with my own, but the Dark Queen was too strong; mage magic could barely harm, let alone kill, a demon as powerful as her.
“Vivienne,” I pleaded, trying to get through to my best friend. “I know you are in there somewhere. Please fight it—fight her.”
Suddenly Lilith let go. The pressure waned, and the darkness in her eyes flashed momentarily. I could see a kernel of surprise on the Dark Queen’s face. Vivienne was fighting her. She was still in there somewhere.
I fell to the ground shaking, panting, trying to gather my strength.
But when I looked at Vivienne again, it was only the Dark Queen who looked back. “Vivienne’s gone,” Lilith said, smiling as she curled her fingers into a claw. “And she’s never coming back.”
Her dark power lashed out again, and a wave of blackness enveloped me. An agonizing pain whipped through my body, and I screamed. Wave after wave of darkness washed over me. I writhed on the ground. I heard my father’s voice shouting for Lilith to stop, but I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe as the crushing darkness shattered my body and I fell back into dark oblivion.
When I awoke, I found myself on the floor of a dark chamber.
Burning braziers of red fire flickered menacingly on the walls over a stone altar—Dragath’s tomb. Intricate grooves ran through the floor beneath it, carved out in the runes that had helped bind the demon lord so many years ago. The Dark Lord’s evil power pervaded every stone, rotting them from the inside. The stench of twisted magic clung in the air. The cavern pulsated with dark power.
My father was chained to the altar. Dragath was standing in front of him, reading from the Book of Abraxas, his arm outstretched, the Dagger clutched in his hand.
Skye stood beside him, her eyes fixated on the book. The ritual had begun.
I pushed myself up slowly. I had to get my father away from Dragath.
But a swift kick in my ribs sent me back down to the floor.
Lilith stood over me, her dark power pulsating dangerously as it lashed toward me, lifting me up and pinning me to the wall. “Watch!” she hissed with a hateful smile. “I want you to see Azaren die at last.”
Bile rose in my throat, and I gritted my teeth against the pain as I tried to push her off me. But her magic was too strong. Dark spots flashed before my eyes as the pain in my chest grew.
Just then, a blur shot past me and barreled straight into the Dark Queen.
I fell to the ground as her dark bonds dissipated.
I turned to see Rafe holding Lilith by the neck. Magic rolled off him in waves as he held the Dark Queen back. “Go,” he growled, and his eyes flashed like a roiling storm.
The sounds of swords clashing filled my ears. Penelope raced toward me.
My relief was evident when I saw her. “How did you get past the Drakaar?”
“Tristan.”
I nodded. It was all the explanation I needed. “We have to save my father,” I whispered. “Please.”
Penelope’s sharp eyes took in the situation swiftly. I could almost see her mind whirling with possibilities. “Whatever magic you have left.” She flicked me a quick look. “Now is the time to use it.”
I called forth my magic and built up mage fire within me, blasting it at Dragath. I needed to keep him distracted long enough to save to my father.
But Dragath had created a shield around himself and the book.
He looked up, and his eyes flashed in anger at the interruption. His gaze moved over us. “So, your friends came for you. How sweet. Now they can watch me destroy you.”
He glanced at Skye. “Kill her.”
Skye grinned. “With pleasure,” she murmured and stalked toward me, twirling her sword in her hands. In Elfi, Skye and I had been friends; I had trained with her almost every day. She was good, one of the best fae warriors, and I had no fae powers whatsoever.
Instinctively I moved back, creating a shield as Penelope threw me a sword. I knew it would not help me against Skye. She was Andromeda’s daughter and a Princess of the Day Court. Even though she wasn’t fire-fae, she was a formidable warrior.
Skye’s sword flashed as it arced toward me.
Out of nowhere, another sword clashed with hers, pushing Skye back.
Aiden stood before me. A shadow crossed his face as he regarded Skye. “I’ve been looking for you, sister.”
Skye backed away. If there was anyone who could best her in a fight, it was her big brother. I could see something akin to fear flash in her azure eyes. “Aiden. What are you doing here?”
“You took something that doesn’t belong to you.” He pointed his sword at her. “And I’m here to take it back to Elfi.”
Skye’s eyes narrowed and froze to ice as she regarded her brother. “Still the fae queen’s loyal dog,” she spat and lunged at Aiden.
They crashed together in a fury, both powerful fae-warriors almost evenly matched.
Dragath looked up, his eyes glazed, still concentrating on the magic he was trying to perform. “The ritual has already begun. There is nothing you can do to stop it.”
Dragath lifted the Dagger and sliced it through the air
