The Snakeroot demon lurched from where he’d been perched, on a nearby chair, and beelined for me.

“What is this?” Raksha shouted, standing.

I couldn’t look to see what Lucifer had done, or what Raksha’s reaction was, but I heard his words and saw them both leave the room in my peripheral vision.

“You are dismissed, Raksha. Come, I’ll walk you out,” he purred.

Oh shit. This was payback for attacking him last week. I was totally going to get jumped in three… two…

“Ahhh!” I screamed as acid splashed across my back. I’d been so worried about the Abrus demon and his black bees, that I’d forgotten about the little shit at my feet.

With a running kick, I punted the Snakeroot demon across the room. Hearing his body smack against the wall gave me great satisfaction, but it was short-lived.

I positioned myself quickly, my back to the brick wall behind me so I only had to worry about the two fighters advancing in front of me. Make that three—the Yew demon was definitely joining the fight.

Shit, make that four.

Oh God, I’m going to die.

‘Fly, you idiot!’ Sera’s voice ripped through my skull.

Suddenly remembering my wings, I pushed up from the ground and took flight, my head grazing the ceiling, while the Dark Mage and Abrus demon tried to figure out how to bring me down.

‘What now?’ I’d forgotten how skilled Sera was with fight strategy. She was the next best thing to Lincoln.

‘Don’t get killed,’ she offered.

The buzzing sound from below pulled my attention to a moving black cloud that was coming my way.

‘No shit!’ I yelped, as the bees pressed in on me.

They surrounded my body so I couldn’t see; I flew frantically to try to avoid them, but to no avail. Little stings pressed in on my arms, and coupled with the acid burn on my back, I was in a fair amount of pain.

Then out of nowhere, a purple spell sank into my stomach and I fell, dropping like a stone as if my wings had been frozen.

As I fell, I thought about how much I needed Shea, Raphael, or Lincoln.

My people. I need my people.

With a thump, I landed on my ankle wrongly, and it twisted, sending a sharp pain up my shin. A quick head count told me there were eight angry assholes waiting to jump me for messing up their master.

‘Don’t look weak. No matter what, you take this like a warrior or they’ll keep doing it,’ Sera coached me.

If I was being honest, I was scared. Was I kind of a badass after all my training? Yes. Did I want to piss myself right then? Definitely.

Raksha was right. This was like a prison, except there were no guards breaking up this fight.

If I was going down, I was going down kicking and screaming, fighting and clawing, taking as many of them with me as I could.

Pulling from deep down inside of me, I felt for that magical reservoir that was always hidden just beneath the surface of my skin. I thrust my hands out before me, and then I opened the floodgates.

With a cry, I pushed every ounce of magic I had at the advancing horde. White light poured from my left palm while dark inky blackness poured from my right. Before me, they collided into the largest Celestial orb I’d ever seen. It must’ve been six feet tall, swirling with black and white energy, mixing together, and making gray in the very center.

“What the hell is that?” The Dark Mage reeled back.

“A nuisance,” her Abrus demon cried, then ran for me.

I sucked in my wings and dropped to the ground, causing him to fall over me. I popped up just in time for the Dark Mage to wrap her hands around my throat. She squeezed and I lashed out wildly, trying to punch her in the face, but someone came up behind me and pinned my arms down.

Meeting the Dark Mage’s gaze, I saw so much hatred there. “You think you’re so special because you have black wings and his power. You’re nothing, and he’ll see that.”

Psycho.

I needed to do something, or I was going to run out of oxygen.

‘Agreed,’ Sera added.

Without thinking, my wings burst from my back, knocking the Abrus demon away, and releasing my pinned arms. With as much force as I could muster, I slammed my face forward, head-butting the Dark Mage in the face.

Pain exploded in my skull upon contact, and I immediately regretted my decision.

‘They make it seem painless in the movies,’ I told Sera.

But it worked. She let go of my throat to grab her forehead, and I dropped to the ground. Pain scratched at my throat while a hacking cough took hold of me.

‘Get up,’ Sera barked.

There was no time to gasp for air. I popped up onto my feet, staggering backward a bit, and fell right into the Abrus demon’s arms. He reached out, grabbing the tops of my wings, and tore them downward.

Pain like I’d never felt in my life lit up my body. It was like every nerve ending in my back had been set on fire. With the acid wound still there, and my wings hurt, I was definitely going to pass out from the pain.

‘Not an option! Fight back!’ Sera barked, and I could hear the panic in her voice.

Had the Dark Prince told them to kill me? At first I’d thought they were just going to rough me up a little, but now it seemed death was a valid option.

The Dark Mage stood, a glowing green crackling ball growing between her hands.

The heaviness of sleep dragged at my limbs. Leave it to me to conjure a freaking Celestial orb while I was getting jumped.

Something white in my peripheral vision pulled my attention, and I glanced to the side to check it out quickly.

My wings. My wings were now half white, half black. What the…? It must’ve been from when I’d conjured the orb.

Even though I knew it was going to cause me immense pain, I retracted my broken, black-to-white ombre wings into my back. The burning sensation ripped along my spine, but it shook the Abrus demon off me. Now that I was free from his clutches, I hunched forward and ran at the Dark Mage like a linebacker. Putting my own hands forward, I called up my magic, unsure which type would present itself. I was moments from passing out, and this was my Hail Mary.

My light magic showed up then.

Thank God.

A cocoon of snowy light shot out, surrounding the Dark Mage’s green glowing ball, and protecting me as I crashed into her. I heard the wind rush out of her as I connected with her stomach. Our magic collided, then disappeared.

Grinding my heels into the ground, I pushed her back before chucking her into the huge Celestial orb. Her body crashed into the white-and-black spinning mass, while I pivoted to the left, falling to the floor. I was unsure what would happen if I were to touch that thing, but by the hissing and screaming sounds coming from the Dark Mage, it wasn’t good.

“Enough playing!” one of the demons hissed behind me.

The moment the extreme nausea hit me, I knew it was a Larkspur.

Where the hell did he come from?

Rolling onto my back, I stared up at the four or five people who looked like they wanted to kill me.

“He said to teach her a lesson,” the Abrus demon purred.

Exhaustion and nausea were slamming into me one by one, and I was delirious with pain and the need for sleep.

“Lincoln,” I whimpered.

Then they started to kick me. It felt like a dozen steel-toed boots rained into my side, kicking and stomping for what seemed like an endless amount of time. I think I blacked in and out, because I could no longer feel the pain after a certain point, like I was out of my body and experiencing the attack from a far. Everything was cold and numb.

“Enough,” Lucifer’s voice commanded from somewhere off to the side. The beating stopped immediately.

Pain danced along every part of my body, and my eyelids felt like they were weighted. From my place curled in a ball on the floor, I looked up at him. The Devil. A name he had earned.

Crouching down, he met my gaze and grinned. “Welcome back to the group, Brielle.”

I couldn’t do this. I couldn’t play this game and keep my sanity.

“Go to Hell,” I croaked.

The last thing I heard before the darkness enveloped me was his evil laughter.

Chapter Eleven

For what seemed like forever, I went in and out of consciousness, only vaguely aware of Raksha, and sometimes Sera. The exhaustion was like nothing I’d ever felt before. Neither was the pain. My entire body hurt, from head to toe, right down to the bone.

Finally, I awakened to full consciousness one morning. My eyes blinked open, recoiling at the harsh light, and then snapping to the chair in the corner of the room.

Raksha.

She was knitting, something long and gray.

“I’m alive,” I croaked. My voice was so deep and my throat so dry, I wondered how long it’d been since I’d drunk anything.

Raksha dropped her knitting needles, and sprang from her chair.

“Brielle!” she shouted, running to my side. Her eyes were rimmed red like she’d been crying, and her hair was a mess. It was haphazardly gathered in a side ponytail that was sticking out all over.

I felt like I’d been pulled in half, and then hastily stitched back together. A painful moan flew from my lips, and Raksha frowned. “He said I wasn’t permitted to give you any meds. I’m so sorry. I… I tried to stop him, but—”

I clasped her hand to stop her rambling. “He can’t be controlled,” I managed to say.

I realized that now. He was a certified lunatic, and there was no controlling or tricking him.

She pulled at the hem of her shirt, chewing on her bottom lip. Something else was worrying her; I’d known her long enough to see that.

“What?” I asked point-blank.

She sighed deeply, and tears filled her eyes.

Jesus, it was bad. I’d never actually seen her cry, and we’d been through a lot of shit.

“Lincoln? Shea?” I gulped.

If he hurt them, I’d die. I would literally stop breathing right now, and never regain my will to live.

She waved her hand as she shook her head. “No. It’s… it’s about you.”

My heart jackknifed in my chest, and fear trickled down into me.

Am I paralyzed? I quickly wiggled my toes for good measure.

“Just tell me!” I screeched.

Raksha leaned closely, taking my hand in hers. “I… I overheard the Dark Prince saying he wanted… to make a baby with you.”

What. The. Fuck. Did she just say?

I was pretty sure my heart stopped.

“He said you weren’t obedient, and that you were tainted by the Celestial magic, but that a child born between you could be endowed with all of his power,” she rambled.

That sick bastard.

“The powers we received on the day of the falling weren’t passed down to our children. We were made, not born like this. That doesn’t make sense.”

She nodded. “He said your fighting spirit would be passed down, and he could take care of the rest.”

Bile rose in my throat, and my eyes fell to my crotch. Did he…?