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  I growled as I spied a group of powerful witches huddled around some books and vases, chanting as magic swirled around them.

  They had protectors of various supes keeping our forces away from them, and Leon’s grace orbs were being deflected by powerful barriers.

  I watched with a shudder as black smoke exploded from the vases, screeching as it swirled into the sky, taking on the form of a dragon.

  Declan really had pulled out all the stops for this battle.

  The wispy creature flew towards us in a swirling mass of energy and smoke, and Wesley whipped around, sending fireballs its way alongside my grace orbs.

  The dragon faltered, screeching as we attacked it from a distance, but it didn’t fall.

  I could hear the witches still chanting down below.

  As long as they were powering this thing, we couldn’t kill it.

  Fuck.

  ‘On it!’ Sav shot into my mind.

  ‘Be careful.’

  31

  I fought my way through the swarm of supes, using my aura to keep them away from me as I sliced through them with my kitsune blade. My brother and father were alongside me with Nate, all our auras fighting off the masses as we changed course towards the witches Damien had seen.

  “What is that?” I shouted over the snarls and cries of the battle around us.

  “Shadow dragon, dark magic,” my father shouted back as he disarmed a supe wielding an assault rifle with ease.

  “Wonderful,” I muttered.

  I saw Lachlan tear past me in a snarling mass of fur, crunching down onto a panther shifter and ripping out its throat.

  Most of my family had joined us for this fight, except for Lionel and Chris, who were protecting Izzy at their home.

  I could only imagine how worried she was for her mates right now.

  I focused on the battle at hand, bouncing over an incoming tiger and slamming my blade down through its back, killing it instantly.

  I knew we were pushing back the opposing side, but I was yet to see Declan’s Golem enter the fight. So the perimeter wardings remained down until then as per Mr Oxley’s request.

  Samson snarled, shifting into his kitsune humanoid form, using his teeth and claws alongside his aura to take down the assorted supes around him.

  Mostly shifters I’d realized, along with witches, and the odd demon, which Tristan was killing with his demon-blades with ease.

  When I’d been at the Collector’s mansion, he’d had so many other kinds of supes there.

  So where were they now?

  We reached the circle of predator shifters guarding the witches, and with the four of us kitsunes, we easily dispatched them before taking on the witches.

  Two of the witches went down with bullets to the head, courtesy of our two sniper ladies I’d assumed, and we dealt with the remaining six.

  I easily snapped the neck of the first young man who pulled a blade on me, but the second woman bared her teeth at me, raising a glowing green hand.

  My body froze up, but I pushed through it hard, my aura lashing out and knocking her down.

  “You won’t win this, the Collector is too powerful!” the woman sneered, giving me a crazy smile that made me shudder as I closed in on her.

  She laughed, a wretched sound, as I plunged my blade through her chest, and she fell down, lifeless.

  I flicked my gaze skyward, relieved to see that Damien and Wes’ blows were destroying the shadowy beast in the sky above. They could handle that thing now that we’d broken the circle.

  I moved onto helping Nate with a powerful witch who was deflecting his attacks, but between the two of us, he was no match.

  “Why do I feel like this is all too easy?” Samson growled as we stood at the ready.

  I knew what he meant. Sure, we were fighting, but we weren’t being pushed that hard.

  “Be ready,” Soren growled as the other side began to retreat with their few survivors.

  Bodies littered the grounds of the institute, and I wondered if I’d ever be able to look at the place the same.

  Blood was pooled everywhere, and dismembered bodies were strewn around, limbs in random places and the odd head nowhere near its original body.

  “This is just the first wave to test our strength. Hence why it’s only shifters mostly and some witches,” Soren hissed.

  I tightened my grip on the handle of my blade, flicking my gaze around the grounds.

  A horn sounded, and I wanted to snort at the reminder of Lord of the Rings at that moment.

  Weren’t we a little more evolved than the use of a horn?

  I steeled myself, narrowing my eyes as the second wave of supes began pouring over the walls and appearing from the tree-line to our right.

  Yep, my father was right.

  We’d only gone against the weaker first wave.

  Because this wave had much more powerful supes judging from their auras.

  Witches, fae, many more demons, and even a few sirens.

  They were my focus. A siren could take down many of the men with ease.

  ‘I’ll get Brandy and Helda on it too,’ Leon said quickly.

  Perfect.

  We waited until the incoming wave was close before we tore forth, my blood pumping in my ears as my kitsune side roared to life and my aura lashed out quickly.

  I wove through the snarling, crazed mass, focusing on the sirens who were using their cries to distract and throw off the men. I reached the first one, side-stepping her attempt to stop me before plunging my blade into her chest and moving onto the next.

  Two went down from headshots, and I moved deeper into the throng of supes, fighting all those closing in on me.

  Nate found me, drawing close so that we could have each other's backs as we fought.

  I reached out mentally, finding all my mates were still holding their own while fighting, along with my family. Benny and Bernie were fighting close to Lachlan, and they were watching each other's backs thankfully. We’d lost a few of the Council fighters though, but many were still going strong.

  We were finally being put through our paces though with this second wave, and I battled alongside Nate, slashing with my blade and kicking back shifted supes.

  I used my aura arms to pull myself onto the back of a grizzly before sinking my blade into its skull, before leaping from the collapsing body onto a tiger that was leaping for Nate.

  We fought them off, dodging blades wielded by demons as the swarm thinned.

  Just as I was slamming my blade through the chest of a fae that I’d been struggling with, a pulse of energy flooded the grounds, knocking me onto my back and winding me.

  I knew that energy, that power that swept over us and seized us up.

  The cries of the Council fighters rose up as they began getting torn into, hindered by the magic that had flooded the area.

  I fought through it, my kitsune aura swirling wildly as my own power broke through.

  Declan was here.

  A thunderous roar had the magic lifting off us, and the Council fighters were able to defend themselves once more as the golden dragon launched into the air.

  I shivered at the sight of Mr Oxley soaring through the sky, spewing dragon fire onto our enemies and causing them to shriek and retreat.

  I scrambled to my feet, honing in on the aura that swirled like a magical, purple galaxy on the far side of the ground.

  The stone Golem stormed through the gates, roaring as it rushed towards us.

  I gritted my teeth at the sight of the stone creature thundering towards us, towering over the other supes.

  Finally.

  The golden dragon roared as it changed its path, diving and using its giant body to knock through the crowd of supes while shooting flames all around. Then he was headed for the Golem, the last remainder of Declan’s life-force controlling it.

  I knocked back a werewolf attacking me, wanting to see this grand showdown.

  Declan was merely a shell now, there was no way h
e stood a chance against Mr Oxley.

  Why he thought he could bring a fight to us was beyond me.

  Mr Oxley roared as he swooped down towards the Golem, his golden wings stretched out and his talons at the ready.

  The Golem screeched, raising up a hand, revealing a red stone.

  Mr Oxley let out a horrid shriek, a sound that rocked me to my core as the red stone glowed eerily.

  The golden dragon plunged downwards, crashing into the supes before it as the giant creature began shrinking and shifting.

  A blood-curdling scream rang out across the battlefield, and I knew from Tristan that it was Melinda.

  ‘This is bad!’ Tristan cried through my mind, and I shot towards Mr Oxley.

  There was no way I’d reach him in time.

  What the hell had just happened anyway? What was going on?

  Wes shot past, the fiery phoenix exploding as it neared the area Mr Oxley had fallen in. The wicked flames engulfed the area, sending supes in all directions as they tried to flee the flames.

  Damien whooshed in, snatching up Mr Oxley and flying quickly towards the institute.

  “Retreat!” Soren called out to our forces, and Samson yanked on my arm as I locked onto Declan.

  What had that wretched thing done to Mr Oxley?

  Wes shot back towards the institute, and we all retreated, Samson and I taking out a few more supes on the way.

  We regrouped by the house, my family and mates, save Leon, who was still on the rooftop using his grace orbs to hold the other side back.

  “What the hell happened?” One of the Council fighters demanded as Damien set Mr Oxley down, who looked in pain as he gasped for air, red veins pulsing across his entire naked form.

  “You’re going to be okay,” Melinda growled as she knelt down beside him.

  “He was our grand weapon, wasn’t he?” Another Council fighter snapped.

  “No, we all are,” Damien barked, using his wings to keep the fighters from crowding Mr Oxley. He’d shifted back to man form once we’d rejoined him, and I avoided eyeing his naked form. Now was definitely not the time for that.

  Wes hovered in the air over us, crying out as he shot flames at the forces coming our way.

  “You all need to take cover…” Mr Oxley gasped as he coughed.

  “Why? What’d he do to you?” Tristan demanded as he pushed his way through the fighters and fell to his knees.

  “It’s an Arkonian jewel, the only thing that can render us dragons useless,” he groaned as Melinda fussed over him.

  “Dragon kryptonite,” I muttered. Of course there was such a thing.

  “My magic… it can’t protect you anymore. The shelter is the only safe place. Dominic can enter it, so go with him,” Mr Oxley sputtered as his golden eyes rolled over the said witch who’d appeared from the ranks.

  “I thought those jewels had been destroyed centuries ago,” Melinda growled.

  Clearly not.

  This was real bad. Sure, we’d taken down more than half of Declan’s force, but we were few in number compared to his people, and now, the dragon magic protecting us was waning.

  “Tristan, bring me the Dracaria orb,” Mr Oxley said as he managed to sit up.

  Some of the Council fighters had left us, continuing to battle now that Declan’s people were closing in.

  Dracaria orb? The golden orb had a name?

  “It is what’s protecting the institute. If we bring it out here, I can use it to wipe out all supes on the grounds. Everyone needs to take shelter inside the institute,” Mr Oxley’s voice was frail and low, nothing like the powerful man I was so used to.

  “What about our people?” Tristan asked as he flicked his gaze to the battle that was drawing nearer.

  “Those who are not within the institute walls will fall as well. The orb was designed to protect itself, so if it comes into the proximity of Declan, a man who would use it for evil, it will explode, taking out all those around it,” Mr Oxley explained.

  “Including you,” Melinda said sadly. “Without your orb, your life force will wane, and you will die in days.”

  “What? No, there’s got to be another way. We can still win this!” I snapped.

  This was not going to become a suicide mission for him. We needed Mr Oxley, the children needed him.

  We would end this by other means.

  We had to.

  “You are all strong, but without my magic protecting you, you’ll struggle to beat all of them, not without casualties,” Mr Oxley said realistically, grimacing as the red veins in his face pulsed. “I’m willing to die to take him down, once you are all safe.”

  “No. That’s not how we do this,” Tristan spat as he stood up. “We fight together.”

  I stared up at my demon-born, smiling softly at his ferocious features right now. He was right. We were all in this together, no matter what.

  “Wait!”

  I frowned at the feminine voice that was all too familiar.

  The small remaining group of fighters around us were taking up stances to prepare themselves. The wave of enemies would be upon us in minutes.

  “Lucy?” I arched a brow as the brunette pushed past two fighters, looking flustered.

  “You shouldn’t have left the shelter. Tessa was to keep it closed, impenetrable,” Mr Oxley sputtered.

  “I had to, Tessa understood,” Lucy said breathlessly as she collapsed to her knees beside him. “I have this. I think it’s of use to you.”

  She pulled out a black stone from her pocket, shaped like an octagonal prism.

  “Where did you get that?” Melinda hissed as Mr Oxley’s eyes flickered as he sat up straighter.

  “I stole it in the big fight, but it’s important, right?” Lucy demanded, and Melinda nodded.

  “That was the stone they’re after. The heart,” Mr Oxley murmured.

  “We better hurry things up and decide what we’re doing,” Damien growled, and I cast a look over my shoulder. Soren and Samson had taken up their crossbow and bow, firing off exploding arrows to hold the assault at bay as best they could.

  “This is the heart of the Golem. All of Declan’s magic is warding it. This is the heart of his power. If we destroy it, the Golem, along with every remainder of him, will die,” Mr Oxley explained quickly as he outstretched his hand.

  Lucy’s brow furrowed, but she dropped the stone into his waiting hand.

  “Kill him,” she spat.

  “His magic on this is powerful. And mine has waned,” Mr Oxley grimaced.

  “Use us, channel us,” Melinda said quickly, flicking her eyes around my mates and I. “Kitsunes, angel grace, my magic, demon-born, it should be enough.”

  Mr Oxley nodded after a moment.

  “Well, do it!” Damien snarled as he dropped to his knees before Mr Oxley.

  Nate, Tristan, and I followed suit, and Wes shifted back, dropping down beside me.

  Dominic was there as well, and Soren rejoined us, lending his magic.

  “Link hands,” Mr Oxley instructed as the sounds of the battle drew closer.

  Leon was doing his best to keep them at bay, but he was growing weary and drained, hurling so much powerful grace at them.

  We linked hands, and turned to Melinda, placing one hand on her forehead as he held the heart stone in his other hand.

  The comforting magic of my mates flooded through me, along with my father’s, Melinda, Dom’s, and Mr Oxley’s. My sight was blinded by a swirl of colors, and I could feel the auras pulsing around me as Mr Oxley channelled them.

  He chanted softly with Melinda, the rest of us remaining quiet.

  Screeches rose up behind us, and Leon informed us that the Golem was thrashing, taking down his own men as he hurtled towards us, its aura flaring all around it.

  I focused on my magic, releasing as much of it as I could so Mr Oxley could access it.

  “It’s not enough,” Mr Oxley gasped out. “The Arkonian jewel…”

  ‘I’m on it, Leon, help m
e,’ Wesley commanded as he broke away from our group.

  I felt his magic leave our circle, but we closed the circle again so Mr Oxley could keep trying.

  What was Wes going to do?

  32

  Wesley.

  We needed to end this, and we needed to get that wretched jewel away from the Golem. Away from Declan.

  I shifted, rocketing through the air, blazing with all the power I could muster as flames surrounded me, protecting me from all the magic and supes trying to attack me.

  I spied the incoming golem, knocking down his own people as he madly raced our way, holding the jewel up like a crazed man and his trophy.

  Not so fast.

  I called out, allowing all my inner power and magic to engulf me.

  I knew what I had to do.

  This institute was my home, Mr Oxley had taken me in and taught me everything about myself. Sav was my mate, my purpose in life, and this thing threatened her existence. I wouldn’t allow him to take everything from me.

  I’d die before I let that happen.

  I pulled my wings in once I was close enough, locking onto the jewel in that creature’s hulking hand.

  Fingers crossed I got this right.

  I closed my eyes as I drew close, the Golem screeching as it realized what was happening.

  Too late.

  33

  Leon.

  I soared after Wes, a chill sweeping through me as the flying inferno hit the Golem hard, flames swirling all around them.

  And then I watched, the scene playing out in slow motion almost, as the fiery bird imploded, sending the golem hurtling backwards, and a shockwave that knocked down all those in the vicinity.

  I gritted my teeth, swooping down towards the Golem. Wes had told me what to do, but I hadn’t expected him to do that.

  I hovered over the dazed Golem, seeing the glint of pastel blue eyes in amongst the stones that made up its wretched face.

  Declan.

  I fought the urge to attack him as I dropped lower, plucking the jewel from the grass beside him as he tried to regain himself, reaching for the dreaded jewel.

  I shot off before he could register what was going on, flying as high as I could and away from the institute.