Page 101 of The Devil's Waltz

“Joshua Gilbert was the name of your father. He was killed on my order, along with his wife, Helena.”

Harper chokes on a sob, her jaw clenched tight and her eyes swimming with tears.

Mine burn as I try to fight back my own. I can’t imagine how she must feel learning that her parents werespecificallytargeted by the queen of hell. Of all the scenarios I played out in my head, the possibility of Xander and Harper being half-siblings never crossed my mind.Why would it?

Before either can respond, the doors we came through moments ago fly open again, breaking off their hinges and crashing against the floor.

Blake swaggers into the room, his eyes wild. In a flash, he takes out the guards by the door, snapping necks as if it’s a sport.

Several more demons flood the room, but in the same moment, Xander hauls me behind him, where I nearly collide with Archer and Ezra, who must’ve snuck into the room after Blake’s obnoxious entrance. Noah and Elias are right behind them, their expressions grim and focused.

Noah looks like a god of death, wielding an obsidian dagger in each hand as he moves with a lethal grace, attacking without hesitation. He takes out two demons in a matter of seconds, ducking just in time to avoid another’s attack. Kicking the demon’s legs out from under her, she hits the ground hard, and Noah moves over her, slamming a dagger into her chest. Her mouth forms a perfect ‘o’ as her eyes widen, then turn vacant seconds before she disintegrates into a pile of black ash like the others.

I’m supposed to be running in the opposite direction, but I can’t take my eyes off him. I catch sight of Sophia and Rylee entering the room with their daggers at the ready and matching looks of determination etched into their features.

The sound of battle mixes with the blood rushing through my ears as I press against the wall, unable to look away from the carnage. Archer and Ezra tag-team one demon after another, taking them down, while Sophia and Rylee cover them.

“Elias, look out!”

I turn at the high-pitched sound of Harper’s voice just in time to witness a demon plunge her hand into Elias’s chest. His eyes bulge out of his face, his mouth opening in a silent scream. The demon pulls her hand out, gripping his heart, and smirks as she lets it roll off her fingers onto the floor, his body collapsing to join it.

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

I blink back tears, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. The sound that escapes Harper’s lips is cold and vicious. Her eyes are sharp, murderous, and her jaw is tight. She and Elias were close, always competing for the top of the leaderboard. There’s no chance she was prepared for this outcome.

I see the exact moment she disassociates from the chaos and taps into her most primal instincts, fully giving herself over to it. She moves toward Elias, snatching the dagger out of his lifeless grip and moves fasterthan I thought was humanly possible. She shows no mercy as she moves through the room, turning demons to ash as they cross her path.

Harper scowls and wipes the blood from her lip. The cut there must’ve opened as she fought through the crowd. She swings her arm in a deadly arch, burying her dagger in the chest of the demon who dragged her in here, then moves on to take out another.

The room erupts into utter chaos, and I cry out in pain when a body slams into me. I land on my arm, turning my head to see Harper standing over me. “What the fuck?”

“You aren’t supposed to be here,” she snaps, driving her dagger into another oncoming demon. His ash covers us both, clinging to my clothes as I struggle not to gag.

“I—”

“Stay down,” she all but growls at me, the cut above her brow dripping blood down her cheek.

Everything is happening so fast, I can barely keep up.

Blake and Xander are inching closer to the throne, fighting back-to-back and taking out each demon that gets close.

Lucia just stands there watching, a faint look of disappointment on her face as our team fights her inner circle while she doesn’t lift a finger.

In what seems like a matter of seconds, they’ve torn through every demon in the room, save for the ones on our side, who are now fighting their own kind.

Finally, Lucia steps down from her throne with a couple of guards flanking her.

My eyes roam over the room in search of Noah, who is supposed to be moving in to detain Lucia alongside Harper, but he’s caught up in fighting another wave of demons.

Where the fuck are they coming from?

Harper lets loose a string of expletives and dives back into battle, attacking the demon currently snarling in Noah’s face. She grabs the demon from behind, slamming her dagger into his heart through his back and turning him to ash in the span of about thirty seconds.

“Xander.” Lucia tuts her tongue as she watches her son snap the neck of a demon. “Look what a mess you have made.”

“No,” he growls, standing straighter and wiping the blood from his brow. “Youdid this, mother.”

She opens her mouth, as if she’s going to respond, but then smirks instead as yet another swarm of demons storm the room.

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