Page 51 of Oath of Blood and Joy

It was exactly as Zoe had described through terrified sobs—the wings, the inhuman strength, the weapons that seemed born from darkness itself. The monsters I’d dismissed as hallucinations born from trauma were terrifyingly real, and one was trying to kill my brother before my eyes.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Joy

“No!” I cried out, the word tearing from my throat like escaping compressed air. My heartbeat revved up like a racecar engine as I watched my brother—my Steve, who used to sneak me ice cream when I was sick—fighting for his life. Something hot and electric surged through my veins, breaking through the exhaustion that had claimed me.

I felt Enzo’s presence beside me like a dark flame, his ancient power radiating outward in waves I could almost see. His confidence, his strength, seemed to flow into me where his arm supported my waist, awakening something that had been dormant. His eyes met mine for the briefest moment, and I saw in them not just determination but belief—belief in me and what I could do.

Tingles brushed over my skin like a thousand tiny lightning strikes, racing from my core to my fingertips. The sensation was both familiar and stronger than ever before, my fear for Steve and Enzo’s nearness somehow amplifying what had been weakened by captivity.

The shadows responded with a violent eagerness that startled even me. They whirled around Henry in a cyclone of darkness, moving with purpose and fury that mirrored my own desperation. I could feel them—really feel them—like extensions of my limbs as they seized the obsidian sword. It was different from before, stronger somehow, as if Enzo’s presence had unlocked a deeper connection to my abilities. The shadows twisted around the blade, wrenching it from Henry’s grip with a force that bent his fingers backward at unnatural angles. His howl of rage turned to surprise as his weapon whipped out of his hand, clattering across the courtyard stones with a metallic ring that echoed off the walls.

In the split second of Henry’s shock, Steve’s eyes met mine across the distance—a moment of connection, of shared power. Then he lunged forward in a blur of motion too fast for human eyes to track. His face—the face that had laughed with me, teased me, comforted me through nightmares—transformed completely. His eyes burned with an inhuman hunger that made him a stranger.

He sank those fangs into Henry’s neck with savage precision, driving them deep into the Dark Demon’s flesh. Blood—dark as molasses, thick as syrup—burst into the air like a macabre fountain. The briny scent hit me even from this distance, coppery and somehow sulfurous. Droplets spattered across the stones in a fine mist, some catching the moonlight like rubies before gravity pulled them down. The wet, tearing sound of flesh giving way turned my stomach even as fierce satisfaction surged through me.

This was my brother—a vampire—fighting to survive. The shadows around my feet writhed in response to my conflicted emotions, drinking in the darkness of the moment.

“Come on,” Enzo said, pulling me close to him. “Don’t watch.” His arm encircled my waist, strong and certain. I couldfeel his fierce heart pounding like thunder, the rhythm oddly comforting against the chaos surrounding us. The scent of his skin—copper and cedar and something indefinably him—cut through the acrid smell of battle.

My legs wobbled beneath me, my body still weak from confinement, but my will had never been stronger. I planted my feet, resisting his pull. “No, the other girls.” I clutched his blood-soaked shirt. “You can’t leave them here.” Images of their faces flashed through my mind—Zoe’s hollow eyes, Ellie’s defiant chin, Mina’s trembling hands. I’d promised myself I wouldn’t abandon them. “Please, Enzo.”

Something shifted in his expression—frustration giving way to understanding. His face darkened, the ancient predator within him momentarily visible beneath his human features. His jaw tightened, the muscle ticking beneath his skin as he made a decision. Then he threw back his head and let out a loud yell that cut through the sounds of battle.

“Serenity! I have found her!”

Panic and surprise thumped through me as I shook my head. “No, don’t call her. She can’t come out here. She could get killed.”

At first, nothing happened. Then something white burned through the darkness above us—a light so pure it seemed to push back the shadows themselves. My breath caught in my throat as I made out a pair of white wings flapping through the night sky, feathers gleaming like opals in the moonlight. Not just wings—a winged woman.

I gasped, unable to tear my eyes away. “Serenity?” My best friend—the woman who had laughed with me over coffee, who had listened to my fears and hopes—was soaring through the air on magnificent wings. I had heard she was Nephilim while I was imprisoned, but didn’t understand what that meant. Now, seeing the physical manifestation of her celestial heritage,I was rendered speechless. Unlike the Dark Demons’ leathery appendages, her wings seemed to radiate light from within, each feather distinct and luminous against the night sky.

“Serenity, get out of here!” An angry male voice cut through my awe—deep and commanding, laced with fear I wouldn’t have expected from its owner. I recognized that voice—Angelo Santi, the vampire mafia king. He was fighting three Dark Demons at once, his movements almost too fast to follow, his face a mask of focused rage.

But my best friend ignored his command, swooping down to land beside me with impossible grace. Up close, her transformation was even more striking. The Serenity I knew—who used to sleep over and text me silly memes at midnight—now radiated an ethereal power. Her skin seemed to emit a subtle glow, her familiar blue eyes luminous with emotion.

“Joy.” My name on her lips was filled with relief. Tears brimmed in her eyes, catching the light like diamonds. “It’s you.” She reached toward me with gentle hands, her touch featherlight against my bruised cheek. This was still my Serenity, despite the wings and the otherworldly radiance.

“Get her out of here.” Enzo held my gaze, his eyes burning with a promise. My heart twisted painfully, torn between escape and the need to help the others. “I’ll rescue the other girls.” Something passed between us in that moment—trust, understanding, something deeper I couldn’t name.

Serenity wrapped her arm around my waist, stronger than her delicate appearance suggested. “Hang on, Joy,” she murmured, her voice like wind chimes in my ear. “I’m taking you home.”

Before I could respond, we were airborne. My stomach lurched as the ground fell away, the bloody battle shrinking beneath us. Enzo became a blur of movement, cutting through the melee toward the building. I wasn’t sure where Maximo hadhidden the girls. It could be there or someplace else. My body trembled as I whispered a prayer that the girls were in the building and he would find them.

“No!” The furious cry came from behind us.

I twisted in Serenity’s grip to see a Dark Demon in pursuit—a red-eyed man with blond hair and unnaturally long fingernails curved like talons. I’d never seen him before. His black wings beat the air with powerful strokes, gaining on us with every second. Terror clawed at my throat as those crimson eyes locked with mine, his face contorted with rage.

Who was he? Was he in league with Marsha and Maximo?

Serenity’s arm tightened around me protectively. She spun in mid-air to face our pursuer, her expression hardening from angelic beauty to divine fury. With her free hand, she made a swift, cutting motion through the air.

“You can’t have her,” she yelled.

A gust of wind—unnatural in its force and precision—slammed into the man, catching him mid-wingbeat. He tumbled backward with a howl of rage, his wings flailing as he fought to regain control. The momentary advantage was all Serenity needed. She banked sharply, accelerating with a powerful stroke of her wings, and plunged us into a dark cloud bank.

The world went gray and damp around us, the sounds of battle fading behind us. I shivered against her, as much from shock as from the cold moisture enveloping us. As we burst through the other side of the cloud, the city lights of New Orleans twinkled below us like fallen stars.

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