This was the first time I’d seen him in action if that’s what you could call this. He played it tame back at the festival of night, but with Callum and Nadia somewhere in this mess, it was no holds barred.From deep within the pulsing cloud of night I heard a sharp crack, like the air itself had been cleaved in two.The same man Dain had pulled back in was now thrown into the air. He soared over broken tables and almost clipped one of the deserted bars before hitting the ground with a heavy thud.My stomach turned painfully, but bile refused to surface. It was adrenaline alone that kept me from hurling when his head tore open on impact and the marble flooring split from the force at which he’d been thrown. Even the sight of his mangled limbs, twisted at odd angles couldn’t reach me, not to say it wouldn’t once this was all over.“Oh, I’m sure of it.” Apollo nodded, his head tilting as he stared at the dead m

“Don’t listen to him, Rachel. He wants us fighting each other.” Dain warned, but I could barely hear him—barely feel him as he tensed behind me.A puff of hot breath fanned across my face, and I bit back a gag as the scent of dried blood and something old hit my senses.Too late I felt the darkness around me stir as Callum went in for the attack. A swift but dull pain blossomed across my stomach. It lost the chance to bloom into agony when Dain grabbed me by the arm and shoved me behind him.In one fluid motion he thrust his hand out at where Callum had been standing, and the shadows around us swarmed. Like the shrill scream of wind they howled as they passed, stabbing my ears until even Dain’s voice faded into the static.When Callum’s enraged snarl broke through the shrieking of the angry hive, Dain clenched his hand into a fist and shoved back the impenetrable clouds. The fiery curls of my hair whipped around my shou

It hadn’t been long until I heard Nadia’s sultry voice emerging from all directions, carried on the same salt-water breeze that drifted by earlier.For just a few short minutes I’d been wandering the densely packed clouds of darkness, searching for a man I couldn’t see nor hear, one I couldn’t call out to or mind-link. With my mind racing for a way to scatter the shadows that blanketed nearly everything, I trained my ears towards every passing sound.There were still people running, their feet and gasps barely audible beneath the music until they nearly sent me sprawling. What was worse were the men and women with white paint splashed across their faces, using magic to kill anyone in sight. I had caught a glimpse of one just five feet away, carving into a man who had knocked into me just seconds ago.Rayna couldn’t tell where they were coming from any better than I.No longer could I hear the slash of

Neither Helios nor Cain waited for command before they started slaughtering all with that tell-tale splash of white across their face. Just one look at Dain, who was still knelt in front of his psychopathic brother and staring at me like I was the only person in the room, was all it took for the warriors of Day and Night to trade their magic-laced suits for gem encrusted armor.The long strands of Helios’s golden hair were pulled into a knot at the back of his head and shimmered in tune with his tanned skin and eyes of a clear summer sky.He pulled a whip of pure sunlight from thin air and wielded it alongside a double-edged sword, blinding any who thought they could hide within the darkness. The warrior whose magic was fire within his veins and sunlight beneath his skin, orbited around me and snuffed out any who came too close.Cain’s mere presence seemed to amplify the shadows returning to the room, and instead of slowing the unraveling of Callum&r

As she continued without waiting for my reply, I looked further ahead. In Helios’s arms was Aidan. The tanned warrior carried my best-friend in his arms like he was a child, and with each lumbering step he took Aidan’s shaggy hair would bounce.After treading down the world’s largest staircase in a dress soaked through with blood and alcohol, I was ready to fall flat on my face. My legs wobbled and burned but we were far from through.According to all three warriors and Dain there was a fishing town nearby. What I found a bit exhausting was that none of them knew how far this place was—or what awaited us as we neared closer.Nestled on the banks of what Dain called the Nelia Sea was a village constructed of pristine sidewalks and neatly clipped hedges dotted with budding flowers that matched the pale greens and blues of the surrounding houses. Each one was modern in its appearance, mixing textures both smooth and coarse to create