Page 61 of Bound By Love
“Brie!”Saber had to scream his sister’s name to be heard over the demons. “You’re next.”
He wasn’t sure she heard him until she turned away from the demons still racing toward them and threw her sword up to join theirs.
The impact of Brie’s sword joining theirs rattled Caro’s teeth, and she briefly feared they might fall out of her head. It was so potent that it knocked the thoughts from her head; she didn’t have time to recover before Elena’s sword joined theirs.
Having the five swords together was like a punch to the gut, but she somehow managed to maintain her ground as it rocked her on her heels. Saber’s arm constricted around her when Killean’s blade joined the max.
An unexpected sob broke free. She hadn’t known she was on the verge of releasing one until it was out. Thankfully, the increasing screams of the demons drowned it out, but when she looked at the faces surrounding her, she saw the same alarm and disbelief inside her reflected in them.
Kadence was blinking away tears, and Nathan’s eyes were closed. Elena’s head bowed, and Brie and Saber both had their shoulders hunched forward, and while Killean remained focused on Declan, Willow, and Ronan, he was far paler than normal.
The glow the stones emitted no longer flashed when they touched. Instead, it had become a burning thing that pulsated in the air. Demons scrambled across the ceiling, but none dropped onto them. The points of their swords, raised over their head, discouraged it.
They were still coming from all sides. And once Willow, Declan, and Ronan stopped fending them off, the demons would be on them like rats on cheese.
“We need you guys!” Killean shouted.
Ronan glanced over his shoulder at them before turning his attention to Willow and Declan. He jerked his head at them, indicating they should fall back as the demons slashed, clawed, and tried to leap over them.
Declan said something to Willow; she hesitated before turning and sprinting toward them. Saber couldn’t hear what Ronan told him, but Declan fought for a few more seconds before running toward them.
When Willow made it to them, she didn’t hesitate before thrusting her sword up to join theirs. They all turned their heads away when the light intensified.
The power vibrating through Saber’s body quaked his core. Declan arrived and, grasping his mate’s hand, lifted his sword into the air.
That wheel was spinning completely out of control and about to splinter apart. They were racing toward the end, and Saber suddenly found himself longing for more time when he’d already had so much.
He’d done nothing but push her away, but he wanted more time to get to know his sister better. And he would give anything for mornings spent in bed with his mate as their love and relationship progressed.
Watching their children play in fields of grass or run through meadows was a dream he’d never contemplated until now. He wanted to be an uncle and father, but as the power grew and the shrieks increased, he became increasingly convinced none of those things would happen.
But even if they wouldn’t happen for him, they would for the rest of the world. The Alliance would lose more members after this; some mates wouldn’t survive, but their children would, and the world would, and that was enough for him.
There was a time when he wouldn’t have cared about any of those other people, vampires, or hunters. He would have walked away from this to save himself. Sure, the world would still end, but at least he’d have more time to enjoy it before it went to shit.
However, that time had passed. And he wasn’t that man anymore. Saber had chosen to do better when he stopped being a Savage, committed to it when he joined the Alliance, and embraced it when he met Caro.
The second Declan’s blade touched theirs, the power vibrating through the swords became so forceful that Saber couldn’t control his shaking. Against his side, Caro trembled and rested her head on his shoulder.
The demons’ screams reached a fevered, earsplitting shriek that rattled his eardrums until he was sure they would burst. He expected them to break into a frenzy and fight with everything they had, but they turned and raced back toward the doorway.
“Ronan!” Declan yelled to be heard over the demons.
The creatures no longer came at them, the light had scared them away, but some had focused their attack on Ronan while the others attempted to flee. They couldn’t let those demons get away.
All the demons needed was foroneof them to fall, and they’d defeat them all. Because of that, more went after Ronan, who was having an increasingly difficult time holding them back.
CHAPTERFIFTY-ONE
“Ronan!”Kadence’s shout of terror was so loud it briefly drowned out the screams of the demons.
“We have to go to him!” Saber shouted.
But before they could move, Ronan turned and sprinted toward them. The red and black color flooding his skin imbued him with power as his strides ate the ground between them.
He was almost to them when two demons pounced on his back. One tore at his back, while the other sank his fangs into Ronan’s throat. Ronan’s step faltered as his face contorted.
Kadence started toward him, but Nathan seized her wrist and pulled her back. The twins glowered at each other as Kadence thrashed to break free.
