hunters were going to attack, were going to try to rescue Isabelle. It was as if they had planned this.
Perhaps they had. Maybe they thought the Realm of Light was no threat, that they could be easily defeated and Angelique could be taken, would do anything to be reunited with her sister.
They were wrong.
She’d kill Isabelle herself before she allowed her sister to become a part of the Sons of Darkness. The realization was like a knife in her heart. But she
Angelique just prayed it wouldn’t come to that.
Ryder and Dalton reappeared at her side. Dalton gave her a slight nod and she exhaled, taking comfort in the hunters having her back.
Now if only she could win this battle. No, she
“Isabelle, enough of this. It’s over. You’re coming with me, now.”
“She’s not listening,” Tase replied. “She’s under our influence.”
“The lady isn’t talking to you,” Ryder said, leveling his weapon.
Tase raised his hand and the demons moved forward, in front of the Lords.
Angelique shuddered a breath. She had to focus only on her sister, not what was about to happen around her.
“Dalton and I’ll protect you. You get to Isabelle,” Ryder said, then he and Dalton pulled away and began to fight.
Angelique tried to call up whatever this demon blood was within her. But could she bring it out at will? She’d tried before, and failed. If she was unsuccessful now, she’d lose Isabelle-she was certain of it.
Everything happened at once. The demons rushed, but Angelique had to focus past them. Dalton and Ryder fired their lasers, and it was like a skirmish on a battlefield. Angelique raised her weapons, positioning herself behind the hunters as they pressed forward to battle the demons.
Smoke, bodies, and the rush of warrior against warrior filled her field of vision as demons battled hunters. The purebreds were fast, but without physical contact they were no match for the hunters’ weaponry. They fell and melted to the ground. The other ones, the newer type of demons, Dalton and Ryder handled with the new guns outfitted with silver bullets. Angelique tried to stay out of the way as they fired on the creatures, ignoring their howls of pain as the three of them barreled ahead in order to make their way to Isabelle.
Angelique pivoted around Ryder and fired to his side, killing one of the new demons. As soon as she did, another came up around her and she blasted that one, too.
Now she understood what Ryder felt-this love of killing. Every time one fell, she felt a surge of victory, a thrill that she had taken one down. But more kept coming.
Anger that these creatures were keeping her from her sister made her blood run hot. And the more that fury boiled up inside her, the more the demon lurking just beneath her skin wanted out.
Which was exactly the result she wanted to achieve by the time they cleared the demons and landed in front of Isabelle again. She wasn’t even out of breath. She was charged, energized, filled with fury, and ready to burst. She tapped into that frustration and anger and let it free.
“Let her go,” she demanded of Tase.
He released his arm from around Isabelle. “Go to your sister,” he said to Izzy. “Convince her to join us.”
Isabelle seemed to float forward, her smile not connected to her eyes. Her gaze still bore that vacant look, as if the sister Angelique knew and loved wasn’t in the shell of her body.
But when Isabelle stopped only inches from her, her eyes cleared, and her smile was genuine. “Angie.”
Hope sprang. Had Isabelle broken free of their control or was it a trick?
“Is it you?”
Izzy nodded. “Of course. I’m still me.”
Angelique reached for Isabelle’s hands. Icy cold. “Please leave them and come with me.”
Izzy shook her head, her smile serene. “I don’t want to. Don’t you understand? I’m happy here.”
“You don’t know what you’re saying. They have you under some kind of spell.”
Isabelle laughed. “No, they don’t. I’m with them because I want to be here. don’t you see? This is where I belong, where I’ve always belonged.”
Angelique shook her head. “You don’t belong with them. You’re not a demon.”
“I am. I feel it inside me.” Isabelle fisted her hands and pulled them up to her breastbone. “There’s this rush of power I always knew was there, but I couldn’t bring it out. When I touched the black diamond. . it knew. It welcomed me and let my power soar free.”
Angelique fought the frustration threatening to send her spiraling into tears. She had to remain steady and calm in order to convince Isabelle of the mistake she was making. “Look at me, Izzy. I carry the same blood as you. I’m not evil. Neither are you.”
Her sister shuttered her lids and tilted her head. “Don’t knock it ’til you try it. Do you have any idea of the strength we can wield? Alone I’m powerful. Together we could be unstoppable.”
“Enough, Isabelle. You don’t want this. Mother wouldn’t have wanted this for you.”
