The King’s shoulders tighten as he waves an enormous hand. “There is only one place advanced enough to rival the Summer Fae; the Northern Vampires. We will speak of this later… now we need to do one final sweep of the city and set up cleaning crews.”
Everyone nods in agreement, and we start moving back to the tower. As we reach the red carpet, a rumble tears through the sky. Heavy thunder brings a cloud from the south of pure white.
King Hades looks up. “For the love of Fortuna,” he breathes.
I raise my hand to my ear. The thunder has left a strange, high-pitched sound ringing in my skull. It intensifies, becoming unbearable. I press my hands to my ears, trying to stop the sound.
“Helena?” a muffled voice asks. Their voice is alarmed.
The sound is so loud I can’t think. Tears are burning in my eyes. My hands tremble as they press against my skull.
“Helena, what’s wrong?” my uncle says.
I open my eyes and, through the blurriness, see the last Elite running towards us. How in the hell had no one noticed him?
I point a wobbly finger, and they follow my gaze just as he plunges the blade through Phaedra’s stomach. A blood-curdling scream comes from the Angel as Erik’s hands snake around my waist and pull me backward. I press my body into him, into his warmth.
An unholy, guttural roar rips from my uncle's throat. Only then do I see every Daemon around us frozen, as if encased in ice.
Green power of colossal proportions jets from my uncle's body. Energy ripples from him, and in one swift motion, he grabs the Ice Mer and splits him in two. The halves of the Elite’s body fly through the air, only to be caught by an electric green lightning bolt, which flashes down in the same instant.
The charred remains of the traitor scatter on the ground as Aidoneus drops to his knees where Phaedra is currently bleeding out. Her pearlescent, white blood gushes over the dark stones, and Hades holds her in his arms.
His wails fill the entire square, simultaneously drawing the attention of every being and shaking the ground.
The green magic comes from him with concentrated force as he presses his hand to Phaedra's middle. With his free hand, he draws out the sword. Phaedra cries out as the blade leaves her body.
The mysterious cloud of white is nearly overhead, and I squint up at it.
Wings.
Those are Angels clad in golden armor. King Zeus’s army.
Phaedra moans, the blood continuing to pour from her chest.
“Sh-sh,” Aidoneus calms her even as he appears to be a frayed electric wire sending dangerous sparks into the water.
At that moment, another flash of green electricity strikes the ground next to us, leaving nothing more than charred stone and an Angel so blindingly handsome it hurts to look at him. His wings are of the purest white, his skin like burnished gold.
Still holding Phaedra, Uncle Aidoneus vaults the blade at the newcomer.
Another flash, and the blade is gone.
King Hades looks at me pleadingly. I understand the look and slide from Erik’s grasp to the ground.
The sheer amount of power thrumming through the square is incredible. Goosebumps cover every inch of my body.
“Brother,” Uncle Aidoneus says warily. “Late as always, I see.”
“Fashionably late,” Raphael Zeus counters. He impatiently scans the surrounding scene. “Why don’t you destroy the neuro emitter so your men can move again?”
“What?” the King of the Daemons asks.
His demigod brother just smiles. Then he turns his attention down at me while I am still gawking. His green eyes narrow. “Who is this, Aidoneus?”
“Raphael, allow me to introduce you to our niece.”
The King of the Angels lets out a long, wine-scented breath. “For Fortuna’s sake.”