It was just that he had a suspicion it was going to be a whole lot harder to delay the demon once it was actually inside his body. The longer he could distract Lupa, the better.

  He let the words flow, free-associating madly. “I mean, I did kind of get the impression that your giant snake-demon friend isn’t real big on consent, but I’d still like it to be crystal-clear that I could not possibly be any more unwilling. You know, just for posterity. I’d hate for my gravestone to read Here Lies Joe, He Was Dumb Enough To Feed Himself To A Demon, Good Riddance. I’d die of embarrassment.”

  Lupa rolled her eyes. “Fine. Accept this unwilling and exceedingly annoying sacrifice. His heart awaits you—”

  “It really, really doesn’t. One hundred percent already taken, this heart. And I’m sorry to say that she’s a lot prettier than Mr. Unktehi. But I’m sure there’s someone somewhere who is just pining to give their heart to a giant horned snake. Has he tried online dating?”

  “Do you ever shut up?” Lupa snarled at him.

  “I’m not known for it, no. I mean, if it was a quiet and dignified demon-raising ceremony you were after, you should have abducted Callum to be your sacrifice.” He kept one eye on the sky as he babbled. Was that a darker shape, amidst the swirling smoke? “Now there’s a man of few words. Which is kind of weird, actually, because his dad and brothers are even more talkative than I am.”

  “The mind boggles,” Lupa muttered. “Are you going to make me come over there and gag you?”

  “Probably. Sorry. Well, not sorry. I mean, you are trying to feed me to a giant snake-demon. You can’t really blame me for not being hugely cooperative.”

  Lupa started to stalk toward him, and then checked herself. Her head turned, nostrils flaring. His heart gave a great bound—but she was staring into the trees, not the sky.

  A pair of men came into view, forcing their way through the tangled undergrowth. They were dragging a struggling form between them. Someone smaller, pale-skinned, with ash-grey hair…

  He’d thought he was scared before. It was nothing compared to the utter terror that gripped him now.

  “We caught her on the edge of the sacred grounds,” one of the men said. The other one, a massive, black-bearded man, was having to use all his strength to restrain Seven. “The Thunderbird dropped her. She nearly snuck by while we were chasing it away.”

  The bearded man suddenly swore, yanking his hand away. “She bit me! The ugly bitch bit me!”

  “We’re out of darts,” the first man said to Lupa. “Do you have any left?”

  Lupa pulled an odd, snub-nosed pistol out of the pocket of her jacket. It had a gas chamber at the back, and a long, fletched dart loaded into the barrel. Sickly neon-green liquid shimmered inside the dart’s chamber. Seven twisted even harder.

  Lupa tapped the tranquillizer pistol thoughtfully against her palm, looking Seven up and down. Her lips pursed.

  “No,” Lupa decided. She holstered the gun again. “It’s the last one, and it will be a while before I can harvest more serum. We need to save this in case any of the other, more dangerous shifters show up again. This one is just a shark. She’s no threat to us.”

  “Beg to disagree,” muttered the bearded man, sucking at his bleeding wound.

  “Just hold her so she can’t cause trouble.” Lupa glanced at Joe, one eyebrow lifting. “Was this your master plan? Distract me so your pet assassin, or whatever she is, could sneak in and stab me in the back?”

  “No.” He could barely get the words out through the terror clogging his mouth. “She isn’t supposed to be here.”

  Lupa’s mouth twisted in a sneer. “Oh. Now I see. True mates.” She shot him a last, searing glance before kneeling down again. “I told you love wasn’t enough.”

  “I’ll be willing, I’ll welcome your demon with open arms, I’ll do anything you want!” He tried to stumble toward Seven, but the world lurched sideways under his feet. He crashed to his knees, barely avoiding falling flat on his face. “Just let her go. Please!”

  “No!” Seven flung herself against her captors’ hands, straining to reach him. “Let him go! Take me! Sacrifice me instead!”

  “You?” Lupa cast her a scornful look. “What would the king want with you?”

  Seven’s frantic eyes met his as Lupa started to chant again. He could feel her fear down the mate bond—not for herself, but for him.

  *I’m sorry,* her voice whispered in his heart. *I thought I could save you. I thought I was strong enough. I’m so, so sorry. I failed you.*

  Lupa’s voice rose in a triumphant scream. “On your queen’s behalf I call you by name: Unktehi, crowned serpent, mighty consort! It is time. The way is open. Rise!”

  Just like in his dream, the earth split apart. The demonic serpent rose, blotting out the sky. The two men holding Seven screamed and fled. She lunged for him the instant they let go of her, but it was far too late.

  “Seven, no,” he begged, as her hands closed on his shoulders. He was far too big for her to carry, the demon far too close— “You have to leave me, save yourself! Seven!”

  Somewhere in the darkness behind the demon, Lupa’s shrill laughter rose, cold and triumphant. Death rose above them, horned and hell-eyed, a heartbeat away.

  Seven’s grey eyes looked into his, alight with love.

  One last time.

  “Seven!” he screamed, as she stepped in front of him. “Run!”

  She ignored him. She faced the towering monster head-on, unarmored, unarmed. Unflinching.

  She spread her arms.

  And this was the point where the vision always turned to nightmare. He’d seen her die, over and over, a hundred different ways—quickly, slowly, bitten or burned or just flung aside like a piece of trash.

  She knew what he’d seen. She knew she was going to die.

  But still she stepped forward. Because she had nothing left to protect him with but her own body.

  She couldn’t even shift.

  She couldn’t even shift.

  His dragon was still unconscious, useless. But there was more in the depths of his soul than just his animal.

  He reached within, to the part of himself that he’d denied for so long. To the walls that he’d built to keep it locked away, locked out.

  And he brought them all down.

  Chapter 31

  One moment, she was standing on dry ground, looking death in its burning red eyes.

  The next, she was in the sea.

  A great wave washed over her so powerfully, she staggered. Salt burned in her eyes. She instinctively held her breath, feeling the cool all-enveloping touch of the water. Her whole body was buoyed up, lifting, suddenly weightless. Her braids floated free.

  The huge horned serpent had been gathering itself to strike, but now it hesitated. Its shadowy head cocked to one side. The taste of its sudden confusion and suspicion washed over her tongue.

  “What magic is this?” Lupa demanded, through the roar of the waves.

  How is she speaking? Seven wondered. Why hasn’t she been washed away?

  Yet the hellhound alpha was still standing there, just beyond the serpent. The sea that enveloped Seven didn’t seem to touch either one of them. The ground was still bone-dry. Not a blade of grass stirred, despite the fact that currents tugged so hard at her own body that she could barely stay on her feet.

  The sea wasn’t around her.

  It was in her.

  Heart of the Sea, Joe had said.

  He was the Crown Prince of Atlantis, the Emperor-in-Waiting. He was the Heart of the Sea.

  And he’d given her his heart, just as she’d given him hers.

  Now all his power roared through her soul. He’d opened the floodgates, holding nothing back. His love, his trust, his strength, his utter confidence in her strength, it all poured into her.

  Black sparks danced in front of her eyes. She was growing light-headed from lack of oxygen.

  But she could breathe underwater.

  Her shark surged up. For once, she reached for it, embracing it, this sleek, deadly, beautiful part of her soul. Her clothing shredded, falling away. She was a creature of muscle and teeth, perfectly honed for a single purpose.

  To hunt.

  With a flick of her fins, she soared into the air. No—she swam, through a sea that was tangible only to herself. The serpent snapped uselessly at her. She evaded it without thought, as easily as breathing, and tore a great gaping bite out of its smoky hide.

  The demon screamed, in a voice made from nightmares. It lashed out at her again, but it was big and clumsy and slow. It was no more adapted for dry land than she was. It batted at her like a sloth trying to swat a hummingbird, and with about as much success.

  Again and again, she darted in. The creature’s armor was strong, but a Great White had a bite strength that would shame a Tyrannosaurus Rex. Her teeth tore through the shadowy scales as if they were paper. Burning blood ran like lava down its writhing flanks.

  “Seven!” Joe’s shout cut through her joyous frenzy. He was trying to get to his feet, but he was still weak from the drug. “Look out!”

  At the edge of the clearing, Lupa stood in a perfect marksman’s stance. The barrel of her tranquillizer pistol tracked Seven through the air with utter precision.

  Seven flung herself into a desperate series of twists, spinning through the air like a dolphin. The horned serpent took advantage of her distraction, lunging to intercept her. Its enormous fangs almost grazed her tail. Only a deft roll that left her spine aching saved her.

  She couldn’t keep this up for long. Either Lupa or the serpent, she could handle, but both together…

  She could taste the serpent’s sudden gloating triumph. She sensed Lupa’s churning emotions focusing, narrowing, coming to a decision as sharp as a knife.

  Lupa’s finger tightened on the trigger.

  Seven reflexively tried to evade…but it was pointless. The dart disappeared harmlessly into the dark, missing her by a mile.

  The serpent roared in fury. It turned on Lupa, its eyes alight with vicious, vindictive rage. For a moment, it forgot Seven entirely.

  She dove, sinking her teeth deep into its unguarded throat. She hung on, locking her jaws, as the serpent screamed and thrashed. Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a white blur, streaking out of the forest. Lupa leaped onto the wendigo’s back, and the pair vanished into the sky.

  “Seven! Seven!” Joe was waving his arms. He pointed up, urgently.

  For a moment, she thought he wanted her to chase after the fleeing Lupa…but then her snout prickled. With a sense that humans lacked, she could detect the electromagnetic fields around changing, swirling like the storm clouds gathering above. She could feel the ominous, gathering power.

  She released her prey, swooping down toward Joe. He leaped, grabbing hold of her dorsal fin, locking his legs around her body. She soared back into the sky, carrying him.

  Just in time.

  Pure white light knocked her head-over-tail like a hammer blow from an angry god. The dying serpent vanished utterly, its darkness ripped apart by incandescent power. Every tree around the clearing went up like a firework.

  Scorching heat licked against her belly. She spiraled higher, away from the devastation, carrying her mate to safety.

  Behind them, the Thunderbird hammered lightning bolt after lightning bolt into the corrupted ground, until there was nothing left but fire.

  Chapter 32

  As he rode a giant flying shark through the sky with fire and lightning exploding in their wake, Joe had only one thought.

  This really needs a soundtrack.

  One of Seven’s small, dark eyes rolled to peer up at him.

  *Joe,* her voice said in his mind. *Are you trying to sing Ride of the Valkyries?*

  “Dun dun-dun DUN dunnn!” he belted out at the top of his lungs. He flung his arms wide, tilting back his head. “DUN DUN-DUN DUN DUNNN!”

  Sharks couldn’t smile, but he could feel her laughter echoing down the mate bond. She shook herself a little, making him grab hold of her fin to avoid sliding off.

  *We should land and continue on foot,* she said, sounding rather regretful. *There’s too much risk of being seen.*

  He leaned over to peer down at the forest. They’d left the new fire behind, and were soaring over the smoldering ashes of the old. Fire lines cut through the forest like scars, showing where crews were working to contain the blaze.

  “Don’t worry,” he shouted into her ear—or at least, where he thought her ear probably was. He was a little unclear on the finer points of shark anatomy. “No one will notice us.”

  Her eye rolled again. *Joe. I am a flying shark. I think we may attract comment.*

  “Everything’s going to be fine. Trust me.”

  He put his hands flat against her hide, concentrating. He wasn’t in animal form, but she was. With the mate bond weaving their souls together, the sea surging through them both, it was child’s play to lend her the mythic shifter power to make herself invisible to normal humans.

  Which didn’t mean that no one could see them.

  As Seven back-finned to hover in front of the rest of A-squad, Joe’s wish for a boombox was replaced with an even more fervent desire.

  “Someone lend me a phone,” he demanded urgently. He slid off Seven’s back, holding out a hand. “Someone give me their phone right now. I need to take a picture of all your faces.”

  Nobody moved.

  “Oh, come on.” Joe folded his arms, raising his eyebrows at them. “Haven’t any of you guys ever seen a shark before?”

  *No,* Fenrir said. The hellhound’s mouth hung open, his tongue flopped out as though he’d forgotten it existed.

  “Yes,” Wystan said weakly. “But not in a forest.”

  “You. Uh. The.” Rory appeared to have lost the ability to form a complete sentence. “What. How?”

  Edith’s hands suddenly flurried like confetti. She let out a loud, whooping cackle.

  “That,” she gasped, flapping with delight. “Was. Awesome.”

  “I know, right?” Joe flung double horns at her. “Totally metal.”

  Seven nudged him with her blunt snout. *All right, enough fun. Poor Blaise looks like she’s about to faint, and I think Callum may never speak again. Ask them if someone would kindly lend me something to wear. I’m not a mythic shifter. My clothes don’t come with me.*

  “Oh, right.” Joe turned back to the squad. “Seven needs clothes. She can’t parade into fire camp buck-naked.”

  There was a small moment of confusion during which Callum, Blaise, and Wystan all simultaneously tried to hand Joe their jackets. He was briefly buried in yellow Nomex.

  “She doesn’t need to construct an impromptu tent, guys.” He plucked out Callum’s jacket as being the biggest, and held it out in front of Seven so that she could shift without flashing the whole squad.

  As she shrank back into human form, he let the sea recede as well. The ocean withdrew, leaving them both standing on dry land once more.

  But he could still feel the waves, whispering deep in his heart. The sea would always be there. Had always been there. It was a part of him, as much as his animal.

  As much as his mate.

  “Thank you.” Seven wrapped the heavy fabric around herself. Callum was tall enough that it covered her nearly to her knees. She glanced around at them all. “What are you all doing on the edge of the forest? Surely you weren’t heading out to the lines at this time of night?”

  “We, ah.” Rory swallowed hard. “We…were coming to rescue you?”

  “We saw the Thunderbird streak over fire camp, heading for the forest,” Wystan said. “The hellhound pack turned it back. We were trying to help the Thunderbird break through when Cal regained consciousness and screamed that you were in danger.”

  “It seems you didn’t need us after all, though,” Blaise added.

  “Nah.” Joe slung an arm over Seven’s shoulder. “Seven could handle it.”

  She leaned into his side. “We could handle it.” She frowned. “Wait. Why was Callum unconscious?”

  Callum held out Seven’s stunsword, without a word.

  She took it, looking puzzled—and then her eyes widened. “Joe. You didn’t.”

  “Sorry. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

  “It was a terrible idea.” She smacked him lightly in the arm with the hilt of the weapon. “The whole thing was a terrible idea. Promise me you’ll never do anything like that again.”

  He took her into his arms, protective coat and stunsword and all. He bent to press his forehead to hers.

  “I promise,” he whispered against her lips. “No more secrets. No more running from fate, or trying to fix everything on my own. As long as you promise to be at my side, always.”

  “Always,” she murmured, and claimed his mouth.

  After a long, long moment, Rory cleared his throat.

  “We’re all very happy for you both,” he said. “Now will someone please explain what just happened?”

  There were explanations. There were drinks (sadly non-alcoholic, given the restrictions of fire camp). There was food (terrible). There were more explanations.

  And at the end of it all, there was his mate, in his arms.

  She stretched out as much as she could in the limited confines of their pup tent. Normally they would have slept out in the open when on a job, but they’d wanted some privacy.

  “I could sleep for a week.” She let out a huge yawn. “How much time do we have until we have to get up?”

  “About four hours.” He traced the creamy curve of her bare shoulder, marveling at the contrast between soft skin and the hard muscle below. “Doesn’t really seem fair. We saved the world. We should at least get the day off.”

  “That’s the problem with saving the world. Most of the time, nobody realizes.” She rolled over to face him, face to face, her hand sliding over his hip. “But I know what you did.”

 

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