His answering growl is punctuated by a sound from above.

  Both of us go still, listening to the sound of voices from the opening in the cavern ceiling. I look up, trying to make out the words of the strangers. Trying to figure out if they’re friend or foe.

  Legion holds a finger to his lips, signaling to be silent. I button my pants, heart pounding both for his touch and for the possible danger. Naked and covered in bruises and scratches, Legion stares up at the opening high above our heads.

  There’s a small wound on his shoulder blade that’s nearly closed. I realize I never asked if he was injured from the fall. I still can’t believe my curse is broken. Or that the demon tears I’ve been carrying belong to Legion’s mother. Or that Em might actually be Maricha.

  The voices drift down, and I catch bits and pieces.

  “…landslide. Probably a cave-in or sinkhole.”

  “Help me move this rock so we can see if they’re inside.”

  I glance around, looking for a place to hide, but there’s nowhere we won’t be seen, not from an aerial view. Legion takes my hand, pulling me close against his body. I hate that I can’t enjoy the feel of him, but my panic blots out any sense of pleasure.

  Above us, rocks are cleared out, and the opening grows wider, letting in more light. A second later, two sets of crimson eyes peer down at us.

  “Well-well, what do we have here?” one of them calls.

  “Right where Maricha said they’d be,” says another.

  I tense.

  Legion pulls me close and whispers in my ear, “I’m going to shift and take us out of here.”

  “Can you fly?” I ask, noting the injuries along his back and shoulders.

  “Don’t have a choice,” he says grimly. “Ready?”

  I nod at him, wide-eyed as one of the voices above says, “It’s like fish in a barrel.”

  The other vamp laughs.

  Legion motions for me to stand back, and I scramble up onto a pile of rubble against the cavern wall. He grimaces as he transforms, and I watch with concern, wondering if the shift is causing him pain that he’s not telling me about. But a second later, an enormous black-scaled dragon stands before me, wings unfurling and twitching a bit as he shakes himself out.

  His gleaming eyes turn to me.

  I scramble over the rubble and onto Legion’s back.

  Overhead, the vamps are rolling the rocks back into place, trying to seal us inside.

  “Let’s go,” I say.

  Legion crouches low and then shoves off the ground, his wings beating furiously. Dirt kicks up as the edges of his wings brush the cavern’s walls, but he doesn’t stop until we’re catapulted upward.

  His head smashes through the opening the vampires are trying to re-seal. Boulders and debris go flying, and the vamps scramble back. The wall of stones is enough to slow our momentum, and Legion’s dragon perches precariously on the edge of the opening. He scrambles to climb up and out of the cavern, and I cling to the raised spikes on his back, trying not to think about the sheer drop waiting if we fall back into the cavern.

  On my left, I see one of the vampires holding a box of some kind. His eyes widen at the sight of Legion attempting to break through the last of the boulders blocking our way out.

  “There,” I say, alerting Legion to the threat.

  He roars, spraying flames that incinerate the grass and plants in its path. The vamps scatter left and right to get out of the way. The one with the box pulls his arm back and throws it in our direction.

  The box hits an outcropping of rocks at Legion’s feet and explodes.

  I’m thrown off Legion’s back at the force.

  There’s an ear-splitting roar as Legion’s dragon slams against the rocky ground. I land not far from him, the pain of the impact against my hip dragging a cry from my lips. Legion’s dragon pulls itself to its feet with a concerning amount of effort. From here, I can see a fresh wound gaping open along his scaled leg. Legion sways, clearly shaken. When the dragon turns to our attackers, the rage in those glowing eyes is terrifying.

  Another wave of flames unleashes on the vamp who tossed the bomb. The man is engulfed, his mouth frozen in a scream that never reaches my ears. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot the second vamp running away.

  Legion’s fire doesn’t let him get far before he’s turned to ash.

  I exhale, allowing relief to overtake my fear, but it doesn’t last. Movement along the ridge draws my eye. It takes me two long heartbeats to register what I’m seeing, but when I do, horror eclipses my sense of victory.

  Crimson Roses move swiftly, their ranks pulled tight as they approach with vampire speed. I count at least two dozen before Legion is there, his dragon’s snout nudging my shoulder in a silent plea to move.

  I try, but the pain in my hip has me falling back again.

  “Just go,” I whisper. “Don’t let them take you.”

  He snarls, flashing his teeth in a clear refusal.

  Something slams into the ground nearby, loosing dirt and rock as it lands with a clang against stone. We both look over. A blade lies on the ground, it’s handle intricately carved with symbols I’ve never seen before.

  Legion rumbles from somewhere deep in his chest. It’s a sound of fury but also fear. That, more than the dozens of Crimson Roses coming for us, scares me.

  “What is it?” I ask, but I don’t get my answer.

  Another blade flies, this one finding its mark in my thigh.

  Agony, unlike anything I’ve known, rips through my skin.

  A scream rips from my throat.

  Beside me, Legion roars his rage.

  I stare down at the knife, too paralyzed by the pain to touch it. The handle is carved with the same symbols that, despite being foreign to me, send a ripple of dread down my spine.

  Fire erupts in my veins.

  Dizziness washes over me, and the scent of something burning fills my nostrils. Dark green smoke leaks from the wound.

  I look up at Legion with wide, fear-filled eyes. “It’s poison,” I croak, biting down on the scream building inside me. “And I’m not immune anymore.”

  Chapter 36

  Legion

  Istare down at the blade in Tori’s leg with suffocating dread. The symbols, that hilt—the sight of it sends waves of memories through me, none of them good. My mother’s preferred weapons aren’t simply forged steel. They are sentient spirits; essentially demons in their own right. I’d forgotten what they were capable of. If they’re here on this mountain, it can only mean she is too.

  Scanning the horizon, I’m drawn to the far ridge.

  She’s different than before. Cloaked as a shifter. But it’s her. The way my blood responds to the ancient darkness that clings to her is unmistakable.

  My reaction costs me.

  Before I can find a way to counteract the dark and ancient magic, the Crimson Roses reach us. I burn them all, destroying and incinerating and giving myself over to my shadow beast nature.

  I use my dragon’s body to shield Tori, but we’re running out of time, and the damned enemy keeps coming. Farther up, on the ridge, two figures watch the fight—such as it is.

  No, they watch me.

  And they know they have me.

  I can feel her gaze on me—her quiet certainty that I will submit—and it makes me sick.

  I fight harder.

  When the last of the Crimson Roses has been burned from this earth, I look up at them. My stomach churns, and my beast recoils at the sight of her.

  My mother.

  She walks beside Uziah, her steps slow and measured. She could have unfurled her dark wings and flown here, but that would have meant making haste toward the woman she’s just poisoned.

  At the sight of her venom-laced stare, my dragon trembles with rage and desperation. I hate her more than I want to live. But I love Tori more than either of those things, so for her, I stand my ground. And bide my time. All that matters is saving Tori. I’ll do anything to ensure her survival, and they know it.

  As they approach, my mother’s mouth quirks upward in a smug smile. Uziah is not nearly as subtle. His flash of teeth is unapologetic as they stop before me.

  “Hello, son,” he calls.

  I shift back to my human form, uncaring that I’m coated in dirt and blood. “Don’t call me that,” I snarl.

  “Don’t be rude, Legion.”

  I glare at my mother. Her skin is flawless, her beauty untouched by time. But I’m not fooled. Her ugliness is buried deep beneath the surface.

  “You don’t get to order me around anymore,” I tell her.

  “I’m still your mother.”

  “Actually, you lost that right a long time ago. You’re nothing to me.”

  She cocks her head. “Is that why you spent your first night back in this realm searching for me?”

  My hands ball into fists. “A shame I didn’t find you sooner. Your death could have saved us all this trouble.”

  “Ah, the cloaking spell. Powerful, isn’t it?”

  “Not powerful enough,” I say. “It’s gone now. Your rancid scent is all over this mountain.”

  Her eyes flash at my insult but she maintains her cool. “You assume the cloaking spell was for you.” Her gaze flicks to Tori. “Besides, if you’d found me, you might not have run into her. And then you would have never cursed, oops, I mean met your mate.”

  Her taunting snaps my control.

  With a roar, I give in to the fury building inside me and consume them both with hellfire. When the flames clear, they are both unaffected and glaring at me.

  “Have you forgotten I am immune to your tricks?” my mother calls.

  “You’ve lied before,” I say with a pointed look at Uziah. “Figured it was worth testing.”

  “I never lied,” she says.

  “You told me my father was a god.”

  “When he was made, no other word existed for what he was,” she says with a shrug.

  “You told me he was a good male. That you tricked him by appearing to him as someone else.”

  “Good is a bit subjective. But that last part is true,” Uziah says, his crimson eyes flashing with the first hint of animosity toward my mother. “She did take the form of another when she came to me that night. And I won’t lie and say I didn’t feel betrayed. But I came around eventually. As will you.”

  I bare my teeth, allowing the heat and smoke to pour from my mouth as I snarl at the vampire asshole who sired me.

  “Are you done being dramatic?” my mother snaps. “We have work to do.”

  “Legion?” Tori gasps.

  I glance down to see that she’s pale with a sheen of sweat coating her skin. Her eyes are glassy, and my fear threatens to paralyze me as I watch her succumbing to a slow death. I never thought I’d wish for her poisoned skin, but I wish it now. At least then she’d have a chance against the infection.

  The fire inside me winks out.

  I cannot carry her away from here. Not when she’ll die and the only person in the world with the power to save her is watching me, waiting for me to realize the decision has already been made.

  I shove my beast down, ignoring its desperate pleas to stay and fight. Or even to flee.

  “Let her go,” I say, voice raspy from the hellfire still burning my throat. “It is the only way I will come with you.”

  Something grips my throat. An invisible hand squeezing until my breath catches. My mother’s magic is an unseen thing, but that only makes it more dangerous.

  “It’s hardly the only way,” my mother says, and despite the purr in her voice, my muscles tense and coil at the invisible grip her magic has on me already. It’s nothing I can’t fight off—for now—but I don’t. All that matters is saving Tori.

  “We both know the blood oath must be taken willingly,” I snarl, my words choked. The invisible cord my mother’s wrapped around my throat squeezes tighter. When she doesn’t release me, I spit the words, “Now who’s being dramatic.”

  Uziah turns to her. “Darling.”

  The invisible vise releases me. I remain where I am, my body shielding Tori. She is wheezing now, the poison working its way into her organs.

  “Heal her,” I snap. “Or I will unleash what I have and all that I am against both of you.”

  My mother lifts her hand, and the first knife, the one that missed, is suddenly airborne as she calls it into her palm. She comes forward, and I watch her warily.

  “You look strong,” she says, eyeing me like one would any weapon.

  “Strong enough to find a way to destroy you,” I say.

  She kneels beside Tori, unaffected by my threats. “This is the one Fate chose for you.”

  Her tone makes it clear she means the words as an insult. My hands curl into fists, but it’s Tori who speaks.

  “You’re Em, his asshole mother.”

  “And you’re the bitch who brought him back to me.”

  “He’s not yours.” Tori’s eyes flash with a conviction and strength that make my heart swell. But underneath that strength, she is fading.

  “Well, he’ll certainly never be yours, will he?” my mother says with malicious enjoyment.

  “You really thought cursing my skin would keep him from falling for me?” Tori fires back. “Honestly, I think it brought us closer, so thanks for that.”

  My mother’s eyes narrow.

  “Heal her now,” I demand, but my mother’s already wrapping her hand around the blade’s hilt.

  “No. Don’t save me if it means–” Tori tries to move away, but Maricha pulls the knife free.

  Tori makes a guttural sound and clutches her leg. Maricha utters a string of words—ancient magic, dark and strong enough to shudder through me as I stand beside them.

  Tori gasps, and the wound changes from black to red. A dark green smoke, viscous and toxic, escapes the wound. Tori coughs as the poisoned curse is withdrawn, leaving behind a jagged wound that looks painful but survivable.

  I exhale.

  Maricha stands, gripping a blade in each hand. She whispers a few more words to them, and the bloodstains vanish. When she looks up at me, impatience lines her hard expression. I know I only have moments left before she demands I hold up my end.

  I kneel beside Tori, schooling my expression to hide the storm raging inside me. My back is to Maricha, my body shielding her from witnessing my exchange with my mate.

  She still hasn’t realized her curse has broken, and I don’t plan on giving her proof of it now. That would only endanger Tori all over again.

  Tori meets my eyes, tears slipping down her cheeks. “You shouldn’t have done it,” she whispers. “I wasn’t worth the price.”

  “You are worth everything to me.” My voice is hoarse, my hand trembling as I stroke her cheek quickly before either of them can see it. “Never forget that. Never doubt my love for you.”

  “Legion.” Another tear escapes.

  “Enough of this,” Maricha snaps. “It’s time.”

  I push to my feet, turning away from Tori before I can change my mind and do something pointless like fight. Facing one of them might have been possible, but both Uziah and my mother together are too risky, especially with Tori still injured.

  “Fulfill your end, or I’ll bury a poisoned blade in her heart,” my mother says.

  I stalk to where she stands beside Uziah and snatch the dark blade from her hand. With only the slightest moment of hesitation, I draw the tip across my palm until blood soaks my skin.

  My mother takes the blade from my hand and does the same to her own.

  I open my mouth to begin reciting the old words that will bind us, but Uziah stops me when he grabs the knife and draws blood across his own hand.

  “What are you doing?” Maricha demands.

  “Joining all three of us,” Uziah says.

  My mother’s eyes narrow. “That’s not what we talked about.”

  “No, but it’s what we’ll do.” He looks at me. “I bind you to me, Legion Razginath, son of darkness and damnation.”

  My mother looks murderous, and for a weighted moment, I think she might attack him. But then she speaks up, reciting the same words he’s just uttered.

  “I bind you to me, Legion Razginath, son of darkness and damnation. Son of my womb.” The words she adds at the end make her eyes gleam with a smugness she aims at Uziah.

  It’s all I can do not to roll my eyes at their pettiness.

  “Your turn,” my mother prompts.

  It takes everything in me not to look back at Tori. “I bind myself to you, Maricha Razginath and Uziah⁠—”

  “No!” Tori screams.

  Uziah’s eyes widen at something over my shoulder just as Tori throws herself at him. He manages to dodge her attempt to upend him, stumbling against Maricha who screeches at him and shoves him away.

  Tori glares at them, her hands trembling as she lifts them at her sides. Beneath our feet, the ground trembles and cracks open. Maricha and Uziah take a step back to avoid being swallowed up. I watch, stunned and proud, as thick, dark vines climb out of the fissures, crawling across the ground toward my mother and the vamp who sired me. The curse may be broken, but this part of Tori’s power has remained.

  Maricha screams and calls out an ancient command to her magic. “Lissnim Roraouth Azrepkeer!”

  Thick green smoke licks over the ground, consuming the vines and turning them to ash as it hurries toward Tori. I roar, my dragon surging to the surface. I rush toward her, the blood from my palm dripping over the vines and flames as I run toward my mate.

  Something wraps around my ankles, burning like acid, and I’m yanked to the ground.

  “You are mine, blood of my blood.” My mother’s declaration sends a boom through the skies.

  Uziah’s hands on me are rough as he hauls me up.

  The dark green cords remain wrapped around my ankles, burning lengths of rope made of hell-magic that burns as it eats through my flesh. I twist and pull against them, but they don’t break or bend.

  Tori screams my name as a bolt of that same dark magic hits her shoulder. It singes her clothing, and she cries out, hunching over as the scent of her burned flesh fills the air.