Page 93 of Kept

Waiting.

No.

NO.

I opened my mouth—

The demons slammed into him. A shockwave burst from the collision, rippling out in all directions and knocking everyone to the ground.

Jordan held. Jaw clenched, he kept his hands aloft as the demons swirled around him in a giant green sphere. Lightning flashed within it, forking out and licking over Jordan’s skin.

Still, he held.

The green turned black, the energy growing so dense it almost obscured him. Within the sphere, his palms blazed and his mouth stretched on an agonized yell. The tendons in his neck pulled so taut I worried they would snap.

But he held.

Voices filled the air, and I recognized them as demons. They spoke in Midian’s tongue, thousands upon thousands of voices that lifted in high-pitched shrieks before dipping to feral growls that shook the ground.

Jordan held.

The light in his palms flared brighter. His voice grew hoarse as he threw his head back and roared. Slowly, he lifted his hands higher.

The sphere of demons lifted too.

He kept going, raising the black, seething sphere higher and higher until he balanced it above his head.

Then he threw it into the Rift.

Light.

Everywhere. The night turned to day. It blinded me, forcing me to my knees and bowing my head. The light blazed, but it didn’t burn. It filled the air, and it filled me up. Filled me with joy that took me by surprise and made a laugh catch in my throat.

As quickly as it came, it was gone.

Everything was still.

I lifted my head. Jordan lay on his back at the edge of the Rift.

With a cry, I scrambled to my feet and ran to him, crashing to my knees at his side. He was covered in blood. It seeped from his clothes and puddled around him. He rolled his head toward me and smiled weakly.

“Varick.”

My throat burned. “Why?” I rasped. “Why didn’t you throw the light at them?”

“I couldn’t banish them,” he said, his voice so faint I had to bend to hear him. “The Thicket fell. There was no place left to banish them to.”

“You threw them into the Rift,” I argued gruffly. “I saw you.”

His smile spread to his eyes. “You are such a grump.”

A tear splashed from my chin to his face. It ran down his cheek as if it were his own. “You sent them into the Rift,” I rasped.

“Into the Shade,” he corrected softly. “Given opened it when she bound Midian.”

My breath hitched. “Is she…” My throat closed, and I couldn’t finish the question.

“I don’t know. But your voice is loud.”

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