Frankie froze at that, her eyes wide. Her lips trembled as she demanded, “Did you send those Azurians after my mom?”

I wouldn’t put it past the Lord of Shadows to see her as a threat. He was relentless and would do anything to get what he wanted.

“No,” he said without any emotion. “She never got in my way.”

Frankie balled her hands into fists as electricity flickered across her knuckles. The Lord of Shadows’ answer seemed only to make her angrier. “Well, I’m in your way.” She drew herself up to her full height. “We all are.”

“Foolish children,” the Lord of Shadows said as he sank deeper into his cocoon.

For all his boasting about destroying the veil, he was still weak, or else he would’ve pounced on us already. “You’re stuck here, aren’t you?” I gestured at the library. “The celestials have you trapped.”

“For now.” Flakes of black ash fell from his face, revealing iridescent skin the color of the moon. “Soon, I will be free, and when I am, I will exact my revenge against your precious celestials. I will destroy everything they cherish and give this world back to the darkbringers and the magical creatures forced to live in the shadows. Say goodbye to your families while you still can.”

This wasn’t the first time the Lord of Shadows had threatened our families, but it was the first time he’d done it with one foot already in the human world. I couldn’t believe that he was trying to justify his actions. He didn’t care about the darkbringers or anyone else for that matter. If he had, he wouldn’t have been bent on starting a war. I gripped my staff so hard that my fingers ached. “I won’t let you hurt anyone else.”

He laughed, then his next words sent icicles down my spine. “You can’t stop me.”

I lurched forward, but Zeran grabbed my arm. “We’re not going to win this one.”

He was right. The darkness pushed against Ogun’s light. It was growing, ballooning out like storm clouds. Winston moaned as he tried and failed to get to his feet. His skin was still gray, but his color was slowly coming back. Zeran helped him up.

I backed away from the Lord of Shadows, my pulse throbbing. We couldn’t let him enter our world, but was it already too late? His words echoed in my mind: for now.

A howl rose from the shadows, and I snapped my head around just in time to see General trotting toward us. I was glad that he was okay after going up against the werehyenas, though he was bleeding from several bites and scratches. He stopped at my side and nudged me with his massive head—time to go. We ran, with General leading the way.