Her lips turned icy as her magic flowed into her lover. Demon and witch magic didn’t mix and energies clashed as they tried to combine. Still, Ciar didn’t push her away. Pain gripped her, invisible claws shredding her insides. Her magic didn’t want to leave her and she had to tear it from herself and force it into her lover.
When she’d given all she could afford she slumped away from him, trying to catch her breath. Until she recharged, she was almost as weak as a human.
“What the hell did you do this time?” he demanded, his voice stronger.
She grinned as she gasped for breath. “Better?”
He hesitated for a moment, no doubt taking stock of his body.
“You might hate my magic,” she said. “But you gotta admit, sometimes I get it right.”
His brief grin was her only reward as they heard the roots tear away from the contained demon. Ciar pushed to his feet, striding toward his cousin as Rouke kicked away the last of the vines.
“Hello, cousin,” Ciar said. “I’m feeling better.”
He struck out without warning, his fist catching Rouke in the stomach. He went sailing backward only to crash into the plastic slide. Mikayla grinned viciously. Looked like her powers had served her well this time.
Ciar advanced on his fallen enemy. There was no mercy in his eyes.
“I left the demon realm to avoid a situation like this,” he hissed. “But you had to be stupid enough to follow.”
“You started this, half-blood,” Rouke snarled as he rose to his feet. “You stole my fiancée.”
Ciar snorted. “No one can make Alina do anything against her will. Keep that in mind if you truly mean to take her as your Lady.”
Rouke bared fangs before throwing himself at his cousin.
Mikayla watched the two men grapple in the middle of the playground. It went against everything in her to sit back and leave Ciar to fight alone. If the fight turned against him, she didn’t know if she could stop herself from interfering, even if her actions brought trouble to the witch community.
Forcing herself to turn away from the battle, she glanced at Alina. The woman looked out for the count.
“Hey,” Mikayla called as she forced her battered body to move. She stumbled to Alina before dropping to the sand at her side. “Wake up.” Mikayla checked for a pulse and found Alina’s heartbeat was strong beneath her fingers. “No time for a nap.”
Trying not to take too much glee from her actions, she snapped her fingers. Her depleted magic was still strong enough for a few simple spells. An electric shock raced through the prone demon, bringing her around with a painful gasp.
“Sorry,” Mikayla said unsympathetically.
“What the hell did you do to me?” Alina demanded, panting for breath.
“Helped you. You need to get in the game.”
Alina flicked back her tangled hair and looked out across the playground. “Ah,” she murmured when she saw Ciar and Rouke fighting.
“Apparently I can’t do anything because I’m a witch, but you’re not. You need to go help Ciar.”
But despite her order, Alina stayed curled on the ground, watching the men battle.
“Go,” Mikayla demanded.
Alina glanced at her. “No.”
Shock froze Mikayla. “Excuse me?”
“This is their fight.”
“How can you say that?” she said, noting the calculating gleam in Alina’s eyes as she watched her lovers war. And in one clarifying second everything made sense. “You want to see who wins,” Mikayla said dully. “You don’t want to help in case you accidentally pick the losing team. Do you even care who is victorious?”
“I want Ciar to win, of course,” Alina replied. “But if he doesn’t, I’m not letting him pull me down with him.”
“Selfish bitch,” Mikayla hissed. “How can you say you love him?”
Alina smiled cynically. “Don’t give me your self-righteous lecture on the virtues of love. Love is all well and good but it doesn’t help you survive. Power does. And in the demon world, that’s all that matters.”
“You’re wrong. If Ciar goes back to you after all this, I may have to curse him all over again.” Mikayla pushed to her feet, not wanting to be anywhere near the cold-hearted woman.
On the sand, Rouke twirled out of Ciar’s reach, narrowing avoiding getting slashed with sharp nails. He leapt back from Ciar as he panted harshly. Despite Ciar’s handicap, he was more than holding his own with his cousin. The sight brought a smile to Mikayla’s lips.
But her joy quickly evaporated when Rouke growled several words she’d never heard before. The air before him rippled as he reached into the waving air to draw out a deadly looking blade.