Page 62 of Love Summoned

Jett cries out behind me. I look back for a second to see him on one knee. His face contorts as he fights to stand against our warden’s power.

Nikita jumps in, grappling with a demon who tries to strike Jett while he’s down, just as searing heat lashes against my face, from my forehead to my chin. Hynde grins, holding a palm full of crackling light. That power’s new, I guess Catori rewarded his loyalty.

My scream is enough to rumble the floor beneath me as I hurl a whip of smoke back at him. He dodges as he advances toward me, veins of yellow climbing up his forearm. His arm rears back as his eyes lock on me, but before he can retaliate, glowing pink waves slam into him. His body twists and turns as it hurtles through the air before landing with a hard crack against the cave walls.

Sloane gives me a nod from where she stands just outside the mass of fighters, with Sera supporting her weight. Lennox stands behind them, ripping the door of another cell off its hinges.

Celeste pushes her powers again, slowing down the demons closest to us.

Catori is still protected by his small army of guards. There’s no clear shot to him to get the dagger.

“Celeste,” I call. She looks at me with panic-filled eyes. “Pull back until my signal, then give it all you’ve got. Pass it on to Sloane.”

“What?” she shrieks. “What are you doing?”

“Ending this once and for all.”

I hear Celeste yell out for Sloane as I take my mother’s pendant in my hand.

“I answer the call of the Seven Sisters.” My heart pounds as I recite the spell. “Let my body be your sword. My soul is your shield. In the name of Cassandra Nestor, my blood is your anchor.”

“Now.” I charge forward, one hand still gripping the talisman. Everyone’s movements grow sluggish as Celeste unleashes her power. A pink shield clears a path like a tunnel straight to Catori.

Foreign power slips through my veins like a comforting charge. A soft, lilac glow emanates from my palm as the pendant hums against my skin.

This is going to work.

I search for Catori, wanting to see the moment he realizes everything he worked for is about to end—but it’s not victory I see; it’s Sera running toward him from behind.

Catori’s arm rises, the dagger’s blade catching the light.

“In the name of Theodora Solomon, my blood is your anchor,” Sera screams the last line of the talisman spell as she reaches for the dagger in Catori’s hand.

“No!” Everything around me is washed in purple light. The adrenaline coursing through me makes my body feel weightless.

I jump, throwing my body in front of Sera’s as the blade comes down, and pain splinters through my chest.

Quickly pulling the potion from my pocket, I smash it against Catori’s chest right before I drop to my knees.

27

“Nix?” Air is trapped in my throat as a beautiful light flares around him.

He tries to smile at me, his eyes clouding with tears as a drop of blood trails over his bottom lip.

Catori stumbles back, eyes wide with terror as his body starts to split and crack, fissures of light bleeding through his body. “What is this?” he roars.

“I always knew my duty was meant to be bigger than me, bigger than this.” My eyes fall back to Nix as he stutters the words through choppy breath, the dagger protruding from his chest. “I know now why my soul went to Catori.”

“Why?” I whimper, tasting my own tears.

“I was waiting for you.”

Screams fill the cavern, and the ground vibrates as demons all splinter with light before exploding into dust.

I shake my head as uncontrollable tremors rattle my bones. “I was meant to save you.”

“No, baby. I was meant to save you.”