A loud crack sounded as Remi slapped Asher across the face. “Babe! Get it the fuck together!”
Nothing, aside from a bright red handprint blooming across Asher’s cheek.
“She’s doing this to them. It’s the only possible answer.” Gavin slipped his hand around my lower back. “You need to reach them, pull them out of this.”
“How?” I asked, my heart beating frantically in my chest.
“Group chat,” Remi answered, head snapping in my direction. “If they hear you in their minds, it will pull them out of whatever the fuck this is.”
“Are you sure?”
“Love is how Asher saved me. Can only assume it will work for him too.”
A scream from somewhere to my left pulled my focus to the fight beyond. Novasgardian warriors were now joined with the fae, battling both the fire demons and the ones that had risen from the waves. Bodies littered the ground, both friend and foe, and a pang of worry hit me. What if we lost this fight?
Shaking my head, I took a steadying breath. We couldn’t. Success was our only option.
As if he could read my mind, Ben caught my gaze and said, “D-don’t worry about th-them. I w-will k-keep you s-safe while you r-reach them.” Then he shifted and started tearing limbs from bodies, ensuring that none of the monsters could interrupt us.
Feeling mildly better, I tried to focus on my connection to my mates, but a movement from the corner of my eye distracted me.
It was Pestilence.
She was cackling like the psychotic bitch she was, her head tipped back in maniacal glee as bodies dropped like flies around her. And she was heading straight for us.
“Now, Duchess. We need them if we’re going to rid ourselves of her filth.”
Closing my eyes, I called out to Pan and Asher through our link. I could feel a barrier keeping me out, but I pressed on, unwilling to let this cunt win.
They were mine.
She couldn’t take them from me.
“Asher. Pan. Come back to me. You have to break her hold on you.”
“Don’t let her do this to you.”
“You promised you’d never leave me.”
That caused a crack in the wall separating us. I felt it give, and moments later, I heard a faint voice. Pan.
“Ma petite monstre,”he said, weak but there.
“Pan, it’s a trap. You need to break free.”
There wasn’t an opportunity for him to answer, because now Asher’s voice filled my mind. It was just as thready as Pan’s, telling me that while I’d made progress, they were still very much under her control.
“Princess? Is that you?”
“Yes! It’s me! Asher, you need to snap out of this.”
“I just watched you die,”he said, his mental voice absolutely gutted.
“No. It’s a lie. I’m right here. I’m touching your hand right now. Feel it.”
I gripped his hand hard and squeezed until I felt the slightest twitch of his finger against my palm.
“That’s it, Asher. That’s me. I’m right here. Come back to me. I need you.”Then to Pan, I added,“Both of you. I can’t do this without you.”