Vengeance of a Queen: The Resurrection of Queens, Book 2
Vengeance of a Queen: Chapter 23

I summon as much magic as I can into my fist before slamming it into the mage’s chest. They stumbled back a few feet, but I don’t allow the asshole a moment of respite. I’m right on top of him, raining down strikes without thought.

When the earth starts to shift beneath my feet, causing me to lose my footing, I stop attacking. I quickly glance around. Rocks fall from the ceiling. Shit. The mage is going to bring the entire cave system down on top of us.

Will that set off the volcano? Gods, I hope not.

Before I can reach the mage to stop the cave-in, the roof completely collapses, and when the dust settles, the mage is gone. Fuck.

“Malcolm!” I yell. I’m in a small pocket that barely gives me enough room to stand. “Malcolm, are you alright?” I don’t hear anything, so I try our bond. Malcolm! He doesn’t respond.

My heart beats faster, and I can see my pulse pounding in my eyes. The bond is still there, so he isn’t dead.

Darcy, are you okay? I call through the bond.

That depends on your definition of okay.

I sag against the rocks surrounding me when she answers.

The lower half of my body is buried. I’m going to need blood. Preferably now.

I try to calm my breathing and think. Did the mage take the demons? I can’t hear anything. I hate not knowing what the hell is going on.

Ayla, I say, reaching out to my friend.

Almost finished up here! She sounds exhausted.

If you could…I don’t know…Kill faster, that would be great.

Are you sassing me?

I would never! We’re just sort of buried in a cave-in.

What the actual fuck? Lead with that next time. She cuts off the connection.

“Malcolm!” I try again, hoping he was just out cold and may be awake now, but there’s still no response from him.

I tug on my braid, unease spreading through me with skittering legs. I need to get through the rocks without causing further collapse.

Think, Liv. Think!

Inspiration hits. Damn, I’m so happy I’m a nerd.

I inhale deeply through my nose and then exhale slowly through my mouth. I focus some of my magic into my hand, envisioning what I want to create. Ayla has weapons she created out of magic, but this will function as both a tool and a weapon. I take a few more yoga-like breaths before I feel something solidify in my palm.

Looking down, I feel a surge of giddy excitement and a pure, fangirl squee goes through me. I did it! I can’t believe I actually did it! Dios Mio!

Shining brightly in my right hand is a motherfucking lightsaber. Instead of the canon red, blue, or green, my lightsaber is a shocking pink—and if I’m being real with myself, I’m completely here for it.

Maybe I’m thinking about magic the wrong way. Maybe I should think about it like the Force. A wicked grin spreads across my face. I can totally do this. I slash the lightsaber through the rocks blocking my path to Malcolm, then I extend my hand and focus on pushing the rocks into the chamber while also holding up the roof so I don’t cause a larger cave-in.

A few rocks slip my attention, and one beams me right in the nose—which hurts like a bitch—but for the most part, everything does what I need it to. I’m easily able to step into the chamber where Malcolm, Malick, and the weapon are.

Only to replace nothing. All three are gone.

My panther screams loudly in my head. Our mate is gone! I frantically search the chamber for some sort of hidden tunnel or way out, but there’s nothing.

No. No, no, no.

My hands shake violently, so much so that I have to drop the lightsaber or risk hurting myself.

Take a deep breath, Olivia, my panther, just as anxious and frantic as I am, soothes.

But I can’t. I can’t just calmly walk out of this godsforsaken hole. I have to replace my mate. I need to know what they did to him.

My chest heaves as I struggle to take in air, and spots float in my vision.

My panther surges to the surface, forcing me to shift. That…helps, actually. I’m compelled to take a back seat for a minute, which allows me to slow my spinning mind.

Once I’ve given myself sufficient time to calm down, my panther allows me to retake the reins. Now, I’m standing in the middle of a dormant volcanic chamber naked, but at least I’m calm enough to think of a plan.

They’ve taken Malcolm. I’m not going to give them the chance to torture him like they tortured Ayla and Darcy. Ayla said when she was held captive, she couldn’t reach out to Caleb, and I remember we hadn’t been able to reach her either. We’d only been able to firmly lock in on her location after she’d taken down the barrier around her. I’m not sure Malcolm has that sort of time.

The first thing I need to focus on is getting out of this hole with Darcy, so I decide to get to her the same way I got in here, with my handy lightsaber and the Force.

Once I’ve reached her, I see that getting her out from under the rubble isn’t going to be easy. I don’t want to wait on the others though. Malcolm had been seriously injured, and if they don’t heal him…I don’t want to think about that. I also don’t want to think about what may happen if they do heal him.

“I’m going to try something,” I tell Darcy. “It might not work, and we might both be killed.”

“The best kind of plan.” Darcy grins up at me, red seeping into her eyes. She’ll need a lot of blood to heal.

I allow all of the emotions I pushed back earlier to bubble up to the surface. It feeds my magic until it’s a physical force swirling around us. I think about what I want it to do for us, replaying the scene in my head over and over again.

And then I release my hold.

If I thought anything before now had been in slow motion…this is something else. I can see each rock crumble into fine flecks of dust and explode into the air. As I move, everything around me appears to be standing completely still. I crouch and grab Darcy’s hand. Then I blink.

We’re on the surface.

Time speeds up again, and we both seem to sag to the ground. Darcy’s legs are bleeding heavily. When Dante notices us, he cries out and rushes to her side. The ice is littered with demon bodies, and I can hear the others talking, but I can’t make out what they’re saying. My gaze in on the hole Darcy and I came out of.

Or, more accurately, the slab of solid ice that doesn’t look as though it’s ever been disturbed. Did I just…teleport? Is that even a thing?

Large hands lift me up and carry me away from the carnage. My mind keeps racing as I try to piece together what I just did and come to terms with the fact that my mate has been taken by a bunch of demons—that he could be dead.

Gods, please don’t let him be dead.

The next time I blink, I’m in the infirmary at the packhouse. I can hear people talking, but all the voices just blur together. My panther is pacing restlessly inside me. Searching…

Mate.

My heart convulses and I cry out.

There are several faces above me, all speaking, all moving. My brain can’t seem to make the connections it needs to in order for me to understand what’s happening.

The sudden ring of flesh against flesh, followed shortly by a sharp sting on my cheek, has me blinking. My eyes seem to focus, and I’m finally able to start making out what the others are saying.

“Ayla!” Kelly scolds. “She’s in shock. You didn’t need to slap her.”

“We all felt what happened to Malcolm down there. We don’t have the luxury of waiting on her to get out of her own head. We need information. Now.”

Ayla’s right. I need to give them as much information as I can so I can help them save my mate. I take a few deep breaths before sitting up in the bed. A quick glance around tells me that Ayla, Kelly, Connor, and Caleb are currently in the room.

“Darcy is still healing. Dante didn’t want to leave her,” Kelly whispers, her head bent close to mine.

“We combined our magic to get to the weapon,” I start, barely recognizing my own voice, “but somehow that new mage and Malick made it into the chamber. The mage caused the collapse.”

“We knew he’d get a new mage.” Connor crosses his arms over his chest with a glower. “I’m just surprised he was able to replace one so fast.”

“He looked weird.” The words burst from my lips before I can stop them.

“What do you mean, ‘weird?’” Kelly asks.

“His face was blank, like no one was home, and he didn’t speak at all. The mage did all the talking for him. He just seemed to be on autopilot.” They all look at each other. It’s clear none of us know what to make of this information.

“We know from last time that we couldn’t sense Ayla, but I highly doubt they’ll be able to completely erase the weapon’s signature. It was warded to high heaven back in Iceland, and we could still feel it.” Connor starts stroking his beard. “The three of you will need to search for it. They were probably able to mute the signature or make it seem like something else. We should have you search known bases and then move out from there. Even if they make it seem like something else, there will still be remnants of that original power, so you’ll need to look closely.”

“How much will this drain Liv?” Kelly inquires, dragging her gaze over every inch of my body. “Physically she seems fine, but between the shock and energy output she used to get to the surface, she may be running on empty.”

“We’ll take the load,” Ayla offers. “We won’t let her take too much. You and I have enough energy to shoulder the entire search if we need to.”

“Guys,” I snap. “I’m right fucking here. I’m fine. Let’s do this so I can go get my mate and kick everyone’s ass.”

“Here.” Ripley steps forward and thrusts something into my hands. I had no idea the young witch was even here. “Drink this. It’ll help with the shock and make sure you’re healing any internal injuries.”

I nod and down the potion. Gagging, I hand the glass back to her. “What the hell was that?”

“Don’t ask.” She chuckles. “It should also help boost your magic enough so you won’t pass out cold while linked with the others. Just make sure you pace yourself.”

“Got it. Thanks.”

She scurries off. I’m still surprised with how fast and quiet she is for a witch. I should get Ripley to train some of our combat witches in stealth.

Not now. I force my brain to focus on the task at hand. Tracking down a nearly imperceptible speck of magic in a world full of the stuff should be no problem…right?