Page 96 of Fated for Dawn

A searing pain exploded in my shoulder as a demon’s claws ripped through my skin, hot blood dripping down my arm. I stumbled, gritting my teeth against the pain. With a flick of my wrist, I summoned a vine to impale the demon, pulling it into the earth.

We had this.

It was time to put her in time-out, literally.

“It’s time,” I said, catching Zade’s eye.

He gave a curt nod and flew to the witch battalions.

Witches and warlocks moved into position. Days of preparation came down to this moment. My heart pounded in my chest.

“Freezing spell, now!” Zade commanded.

A blast of icy magic shot towards Eris.

For a split second, I saw surprise flicker across her face. Then, stillness.

It had worked.

“Cuffs!” Zade called out.

The enchanted cuffs appeared out of thin air, snapping onto Eris’s wrists. I remembered the weight of those cuffs all too well.

Finally, the cage materialized around her, shimmering with layers upon layers of protective spells.

The battlefield fell silent, an eerie calm descending, as Eris’s minions looked lost, unsure whether to flee or continue fighting.

I allowed myself to feel hope. We’d done it. We’d actually—

A sound like shattering glass filled the air. I watched Eris break free; the cuffs falling uselessly to the ground. Her laughter, cold and cruel, echoed across the battlefield.

The air crackled with dark energy as Eris spread her arms wide, her eyes gleaming with malicious glee. The chaos around us seemed to flow towards her like a river, feeding her power.

“Enough games,” Eris’s voice boomed across the battlefield. The ground shook beneath our feet, her power twisting the air around us. “It’s time you understand what true power means.”

The chaos we had inflicted should have been Eris’s downfall. Instead, it was fueling her. The air shimmered, and reality warped as her presence swelled. Her magic fed off the destruction and funneled it back into her army.

I watched in horror as wounds closed, torn flesh knitted back together, and enemy vampires—who should have been down for good—rose again. Eris’s laughter rang sharp and exultant.

Suddenly, Eris’s vampires darted in too fast for my lightning or my vines. I unsheathed my sword to guide my attacks, but even that wasn’t enough.

A massive raven shifter with unnaturally large talons dove from the sky and raked his claws across Rafe’s chest, blood spraying across the battlefield.

No, no, no!

Chad took a vicious blow to the head, stumbling.

Above us, Ryker flew around in his massive dragon form, scales gleaming even in the dim light of the corrupted sky. I swung my sword, cleaving through an enemy’s chest, the blade sinking deep into flesh, when—Ryker roared as flying shifters swarmed him, but the figure on his back made my blood run cold—his father had shifted back to human form, wielding a spear. With a sickening crack, the spear struck, and Ryker plummeted to the ground.

“Ryker!” I screamed as I conjured a vine, its thick tendrils spiraling out to wrap around him and break his fall.

He was back on his feet in a flash—human once more—locked in a brutal one-on-one fight with his father.

I swung again, cutting down another opponent with a quick slash, but we were losing ground.

I could feel the guys’ pain through our bond, each injury like a dagger in my flesh. Despair clawed at my insides. I had to—

“Evelyn!”

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