Page 146 of Her Blood Revenge

‘NO!’ Archie yells. ‘NOOOO!’

By the time I reclaim my sight, Archie has broken through the lines of unseelie and is sprinting towards Pixie.

She’s in Cole’s arms. Neve rests her hand on his shoulder and smiles, watching as Archie shifts and launches himself at her.

But Neve turns to blood mist.

So does Cole.

And so… to my horror… does Pixie.

The unseelie run, laughing and roaring in victory.

And all that’s left is the sound of the blood rain.

I stagger a few steps before falling to my knees beside Dorian’s body.

Archie howls at the sky.

Dorian is dead.

Hel has broken free of her manacles.

And Pixie is gone. Lost to Cole and Neve.

Lost and alone, surrounded by monsters.

Chapter twenty-five

The Wolf

Blood burns my eyes as I stare at the spot where they disappeared. Panting and with a grip-like vice around my chest, I turn.

No words come to mind, and no thoughts can form a coherent sentence when I see Shaw kneeling beside Dorian’s body. I let out a painful sob and stagger towards them both before falling to my knees at Dorian’s side.

The Shadow Master. My friend. My brother.

Gone.

Pix’s poppet doll is still in his limp hand, slowly being submerged in the falling blood rain.

Shaw is just staring at him, utterly devoid of any expression I can read.

Grief has sunk in deep and taken root. The loss is perhaps too much.

Neve has taken the only woman we have ever loved, and the earth god killed our closest friend.

I feel a little poke and look down. Poppy, That damned snake, slithers up my leg and peers up at me. Her eyes may be black and beady, but I see her soul beneath. And she is lost and desperately sad, looking for her mistress, who she failed to protect. I hold out my hand, and she wraps around my wrist.

‘We’ll find her,’ I say. ‘I promise.’

Around us, the surviving witches are helping those in need. They try to stop the bleeding from the fight with the unseelie. They try to help ease the pain of the burns and toxins caused by Athir’s plants. The great big unseelie left from the water flop and gasp as they suffocate without the water to help them breathe. Looking around, it’s a disaster zone. The earth coven witches are all dead. No amount of healing or resuscitation will undo what has been done. And any of the earth witches that came with us from the hidden coven sob and wail as they face the fact that they have lost their magic.

No trapped earth god. No magic to steal.

The leftover water from the burst dam begins to swirl around all three of us before rising up in a cyclone. I stand. It moves so fast that I know touching it will break bones or flay skin. I keep still and watch the crone and her remaining coven head towards me.

‘Shaw. Don’t,’ I tell him as he glares and growls at her. ‘This little coven is the last ally we have against Neve and our only form of help at getting Pix back alive. Killing them or making them even more of an enemy is the last thing we should be doing.’

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