Vengeance of a Queen: The Resurrection of Queens, Book 2
Vengeance of a Queen: Chapter 5

The magic washes over me, and it feels the same as the energy that surrounded the design on the mantel. My fingers tingle as I pull the box out from under the bed.

The design is engraved here too.

“Ayla!” I don’t want to release the box, even after I’ve placed it reverently on the bed. Ayla’s footsteps seem to echo around me as the magic comes to a crescendo.

But before anything else happens, the world goes dark again. An alarm starts shrieking around us, and I feel the magic pull away from me.

I’m on my feet as quickly as possible. Ayla stubs her toe next to me, but I can’t see her.

“Something’s going on,” Ayla yells over the blaring alarm. The noise has my ears ringing and my head spinning. “We need to get to the door.”

I feel for her hand, grasping it tightly once we finally make contact. Thankfully, Ayla seems to be moving in the direction of the door. Once we reach it, we pause to take deep breaths.

“I’m not sure what we’re going to see once we walk out this door. Are you ready?” Ayla’s voice is quiet but laced with steel.

“Girl, I was born ready.”

Ayla jerks the door open, and we step out into the clearing around the cottage. Light floods our senses, blinding us for a brief moment. When my eyes adjust, the scene before me takes a moment to sink in. The supernaturals we brought with us are all dead, and roughly two hundred demons have formed a semicircle around the front of the cottage.

So going dark and screaming at us is the cottage’s way of telling us to stay inside. Good to know.

I glance over at Ayla, and our gazes lock. She nods. She already told Caleb what’s going on, but we’re going to need to fight until they can get here. We shift at the same time.

My panther, the bloodthirsty kitty she is, is ready to rip them limb from limb. Our wings, still untested, stretch before tucking in tightly against our back.

I don’t sense an archdemon, do you? I’m new at the whole queen thing, so I want to make sure I’m not overlooking anything.

No. Oddly enough, I don’t sense one either. Well, okay then. This isn’t sketchy as all hell or anything.

My claws dig into the ground as a low growl rumbles through my chest. I’m eyeing the demons in front of us when Ayla bursts into the sky. The sudden movement seems to take the demons by surprise, which is all the opening I need as I launch myself at them.

As I rip into the demons around me, it dawns on me that Malcolm and Caleb aren’t here yet. They should have been able to portal here by now.

What’s taking Caleb and Malcolm so long?

Something is preventing them from opening a portal. They’re going to try a bit farther out and then fly here.

Shit.

I have no idea how long that will take them, but it’ll be too long. Despite Ayla wielding the elements against the demons, and my panther ripping every single one of them to shreds, we’re not making a dent in the horde. A sharp pain pierces my side, making me falter as my panther growls and we take in the threat around us.

I can’t get a good enough look at my side to determine the extent of the damage, but I can feel blood matting my fur. The wound feels deep, and I know I’m running out of time—soon I’ll be of no use in this fight.

The earth rumbles beneath my feet as Ayla attempts to bury as many demons as she can. I shake my head, digging my claws into the dirt to ground me. I allow my magic to swell within me. Maybe I can turn a few inside out.

Just as I’m about to unleash my magic, Ayla’s stunned voice carries through our pack bond. Oh fuck me sideways. Liv…Look up.

My instincts scream at me as I rip my gaze from the threat in front of me, only to be confronted with a new aerial threat.

I thought only archdemons could fly. What the hell am I seeing?

They certainly aren’t archdemons. Ayla’s dragon swoops over me before soaring toward whatever it is that’s coming at us from the sky. I won’t get too close, but I need to figure out what we’re dealing with.

Just keep the bond open. I don’t waste any more time worrying about what’s heading toward us, turning my focus back to the demons in front of me.

It’s times like these when I really wish I learned to fly before now. Fucking up a large group of the demons would be much easier. Originally, there appeared to be roughly two hundred or so, but more keep coming, and it doesn’t feel like we’ve even made a dent in their numbers.

I release my hold on my magic, and a group of demons in front of me explode, splattering me with guts and gore. Ick. My blood is still seeping from my side, making the ground beneath my paws slick. I feel a sense of lethargy that only accompanies blood loss starting to weave its way through my consciousness. Mierda.

Liv, I don’t think Katia was just experimenting with shifter females. Ayla’s tone is filled with dread. They’ve given lower-level demons wings.

You have got to be kidding me! Seriously? Is it too much to ask for an even playing field? Another blow makes it past my defenses and cuts into my chest. Apparently, it is too much to ask for.

Ayla lands next to me, still in her dragon form. They’re clumsy and it’ll take a while for them to get here, but I doubt we’ll be finished with these guys before they arrive. She inhales. Shit, Liv, you’re injured. Are you okay?

I have to be, don’t I? My response is a little testier than I would like, but pain is radiating throughout my body, and the additional blood loss is messing with my head. Where the hell are the others?

They’re coming. Malcolm is riding on Caleb. They portaled as close as they could. They should be here soon. I’m not leaving your side, lady. She lashes out at any demon who dares to get too close.

I can feel my hold on my shift slipping, and the urge to change into my human form is exceedingly strong. Although I’ve been training to use my magic for a while now, I don’t feel nearly as comfortable relying on it as I do with my shifter abilities. I’m faster and more powerful in my panther form, but it looks like I’m not going to have much of a choice.

Moments later, the shift is forced on me, and I painfully transform back into my human body.

“I can’t remember the last time the shift hurt that much.” The wound on my side is worse in my human form. I curse demon wounds and their interference with our usual fast healing. The slice on my chest is also worse than it appeared, deeper and more jagged.

Stay alert. Ayla’s sharp response echoes in my head. I’m going to keep as much of them off you as I can. They just keep coming. You need to use your magic.

Taking a deep breath to center myself, I allow my magic to swell within me again. She’s right. I’m going to need to fight for as long as possible. Twin balls of flame appear above my hands. I like to think it’s due to my spicy Latina personality, because fire was the first and easiest element for me to master.

Ayla and I have been fighting to keep the demons off us for what feels like hours. My flames are starting to flicker out, and the lethargy I was feeling earlier is threatening to consume me entirely, but the aerial legion is almost upon us.

I’m going to need to tell Ayla to leave me here.

Like fucking hell. My mental walls must be down if she heard me. I glance over at her.

She’s also covered in blood. Most of it belongs to the demons, but some of it’s her own. My legs give way, and I slam onto my knees, the impact jarring me enough that my flames sputter out completely.

“I’d really prefer we didn’t both die here.” I try to keep my tone light, but the glare she cuts me, even as a dragon, is enough to send ice down my spine.

Ayla shifts back into her human form, slamming her foot on the ground to erect a large wall of earth between us and the demons. Why the hell didn’t we do that earlier?

“It’s not going to hold for long,” Ayla warns as if reading my mind again. “I’m worried if we go back into the cottage for protection, they’ll be able to breach the wards. They know too much about this place.”

I agree. The fact that they could even track us here is alarming, but I can’t seem to replace the energy to form the words, so I let my thoughts drift through the bond.

Ayla kneels beside me, slinging my arm around her shoulders. “Caleb and Malcolm are just cresting the hill. They are taking on the aerial demons to get to us. The others are right behind them. Hang on, Liv.”

I try. Man, do I try. But my world goes dark moments later.

“Mama! Mama!” My little legs pump to get me into the house as fast as possible. “There is a woman here to see you, Mama!”

I skid to a halt in our kitchen, my mother humming happily as she sits at the table, kneading dough. I take a moment just to look at her and bask in her glow. There’s always been something about my mama that just seems to shimmer and shine. She’s one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever seen. I’m only eight, but I know there is something different about Mama, something not all other shifters have.

“Who is it, mija?” My mother continues to knead the bread dough, glancing up at me as her hands press and squeeze.

“She says she needs your help.” I scramble up onto the wooden chair beside her.

Her hands pause, and her face tightens. My spine tingles. Mama is not happy this woman is here.

She stands, wiping her hands on a cloth at her waist. “Stay here, mija. Do not come outside.”

Of course I cannot help but quietly follow behind her. I want to know who this woman is who makes Mama this unhappy.

“I told you not to come here.”

“I know.” The woman’s accent is funny. “But I’m running out of time. My girls need to go into hiding. Now. I need to know if you’ve seen anything about the locations I’ve given you.”

“You are surrounded by darkness and death. I do not want that near my daughter.” Mama’s voice is laced with power and rage. “I told you that I would meet you in the village tomorrow.”

“There isn’t time. I swear.” The woman sounds frantic. “Please, I need to know.”

Mama huffs out a breath, still angry. “Sit down.” There’s the sound of shuffling feet before Mama continues, “One of your daughters, the youngest, won’t make it into hiding. If you don’t tamper with her memory, lock away parts of what she is. They will replace her shortly after they take you, and they will take you. Only you.”

The scent of tears wafts through the air, salty and strong.

“If you do as I say, they will all live.”

The memory starts to fade as my eyes flutter open. The implication of what I just saw leaves me shaken, and I hardly notice the throb in my side or my chest. My mother was a seer. Mama was a seer and she helped Aine. I needed to tell Ayla as soon as possible.

“Thank fuck.” Malcolm’s deep timbre reaches me as I blink a few times to clear the fog from my mind. “Thank fuck.”

His hand envelops mine as my gaze slides to his face. He’s pale, and he has dark circles around his eyes. His hair is a disaster, and I’m pretty sure his shirt isn’t buttoned right. What the hell happened to him?

It takes me a moment to remember what happened, and as soon as I do, the throbbing in my chest and side come blazing back to the forefront of my mind.

“Was that even Spanish?” Malcolm’s lips twitch after I’ve finished cursing. “It was so fast and furious, I’m not sure what language any of that was in.”

“Spanglish, pendejo.” He chuckles softly at my response. “What happened?”

“Well,” he starts, “after you passed out, Ayla was able to hold that earth wall just long enough for Caleb and me to make it to the edge of that demon swarm. They left pretty quickly after we arrived though. We’re betting this was just a test of our resources.”

Wait a minute. “Are you telling me I was taken out by a scouting party?” I realize the rage I feel is probably a tad irrational, but…a scouting party? Have I lost my groove? Maybe I should just hand myself over to Malick.

“I wouldn’t call them a scouting party. They certainly knew some of the core group is here, but they weren’t sure what that meant until today.” The laughter is gone from his face, and he’s looking me over a bit more closely now. “How are you feeling? The wounds were deep. Frankly, I’m surprised you’re awake. I’ve only done two healing sessions on you.”

“Today? I haven’t been out longer?” My brain is a bit slow on the uptake right now. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

Malcolm doesn’t suppress his chuckle this time. “It’s been about three hours.” I must look exceptionally confused, because he continues, “You’re not well enough to get up and move around. I’m just bloody happy you’re awake at all. I assumed you’d be out for at least another day or so.”

I go to shift, but the pain lancing through my core stops me, and I suck in a breath. “Well, I’m certainly still in pain.” I glance down at my torso, but I can’t see anything except some white bandages above the hem of my tank top. I’m covered in a light blanket and shorts too.

“I’ll go get you something for the pain and let the others know you’re awake. Ayla may just sucker punch Caleb if he doesn’t let her in here, so I’ll give you two a minute.” He stands, his eyes darkening. “I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

I roll my eyes. Men. “Okay, pendejo. Just get me something for the pain so I can rest again.”

He winks at me before leaving the room.