Sam made a strangled sound, so I looked down and found her eyes wide with fear. She whipped her head back and forth, then locked on me. “More Unseelie are coming NOW!” she screamed into my mind.

I looked up to try and tell Tegan, but Sam must’ve told her too because Tegan’s eyes widened. In that split second, I saw Tegan’s indecision—fly for Tenn or get the others out. It was only a brief moment, then she flew up into the air like Storm from X-Men and charged for her soulmate.

But that same Unseelie Knight who’d sliced Silas was flying faster and was almost to Tenn. The brown dragon shot up and blocked Tenn’s body with its own, the two dragons flying in perfect unison as if they were conjoined. I couldn’t use my magic and hold Sam, and there was no way I was letting go of her this high in the air.

And then the Unseelie threw a ball of black-smoke magic right at Tegan.

Not Tenn.

Tegan.

Tenn’s scream sent bolts of lightning streaking across the sky like it wanted to catch that magic ball before it hit her—but even that wasn’t fast enough. It slammed into Tegan a split second later but crashed into a rainbow-colored forcefield around her body. She screamed and threw her arms out to the side and rainbow mist exploded out of her like a bomb. The mushroom cloud of her magic hit everyone with a thud, sending tremors through my body.

Sam screeched. I tightened my grip, but her body was burning hot and smoking. I clenched my teeth and growl-screamed through the pain of touching her. Those gold and red eyes of hers trembled and then turned solid red from eyelid to eyelid. My heart stopped. Lilith. That meant Lilith. It meant Lilith was calling for her, communicating with her. I knew that from my time with Everest in Avolire. But I couldn’t just let her go. A wild, vicious growl rumbled through Sam’s body. Her fangs elongated, piercing through her own bottom lip.

Tegan cursed, then rainbow magic slammed into Sam’s back. White light filled the air, blocking out every inch of our surroundings to where I could only feel Silas’s talons gripping my waist. For a moment there was nothing but white, then neon-green light flashed, chasing away the white like that pop of color as the sun sets beneath the ocean’s horizon line at the beach.

My vision cleared . . . just in time to see Sam drop from my hands.

No, no, no! SAM!

Everina

CHAPTER TWO

FRANKIE