She couldn’t see anything as she pushed, kicked, and fought until she finally saw what she’d come for. Rafael knocked a Daimon off him while another was trying to pin him to the ground. But what made her panic swell most was the Daimon coming toward them with an axe.

If they managed to cut off Rafael’s head, it was over.

The Daimons pulled back as someone grabbed her from behind. Reacting on pure instinct, Celena head-butted her assailant with the back of her head and launched herself at Rafael who still lay on the ground. From the corner of her eye, she saw the axe falling.

She curled herself around Rafael’s head and waited for the pain of the axe slicing through her.

It never came.

There was a sudden silence that rang out as everything seemed to freeze into place. Her heart racing, Celena opened her eyes to see the Apollites and Daimons staring above her. She rolled over to find the Daimon who’d held the axe. Only now the axe was gone.

It was in the hands of the groom who stared not at them but at the others with a stern glare. “Enough!” he roared. “This is supposed to be my wedding!” He looked over at the bride, whose face was pale, her delicate lips trembling. “And you’re upsetting Chloe. I’ve only got five more years with her before I die and the last thing I want is to have what few memories I have left ruined by a bunch of bloodthirsty assholes.” He picked out with his gaze the ones who must be Daimons. “No more bloodshed!”

The Daimon next to Celena curled his lip. “He killed my brother.”

The groom snarled. “Your brother was a dickhead and he’s lucky I didn’t kill him. I told all of you that you weren’t to cause any problems tonight, didn’t I?”

The Daimon turned sheepish.

The groom tossed the axe overboard before he approached them. To Celena’s complete shock, he held his hand out to her.

She exchanged an uncertain look with Rafael before she reached out, clasped the groom’s hand, and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

“You can’t let him go,” another Daimon sneered.

“It’s my wedding. I can do what I please. This is supposed to be a night of celebration—”

“Then let’s celebrate by killing a Dark-Hunter.”

The groom looked disgusted. “Someone stake that bastard, please, and for the sake of the gods, dust Benny off the table by the fountain. That powder’s disgusting and it’s getting into the blood.” He helped Rafael up. “Don’t worry. It’s not human blood. It’s ours.”

Rafael wasn’t sure what to think as he faced the Apollite in front of him. They could have killed him and Celena both. He was having a hard time believing that they would just let him go.