“Stay out of the way,” I yelled over my shoulder at Amelia as I bent to scoop up my blade. Or at least, I tried to.

My second sword was jerked out of my grasp, the blade skittering along the floor and into the hands of a witch I didn’t recognize. He was of average height, bald, and he wore a very nice suit. Not Gucci, but nice, the cut flattered his body. A bubble of fear trailed up my throat. The witch didn’t scare me, but the demon possessing said witch, that one I did know all too well, and he was more terrifying than any coven. Of course, that didn’t stop my mouth.

“What the fuck, Orion, you thinking you can speed things up?” Shit, shit, shit. Bert had been wrong, Orion wasn’t going to wait on killing me, and we were going to end up dying because we stupidly believed the gods-be-damned doppelganger demon. I faced him, the chaos raging around us, Amelia cowering behind me.

“No, no, not at all, my dear. Things have changed. I’d like to help you survive a little longer, though you do seem intent on pushing the boundaries of your life at every possible turn. You see, you have something I want very, very badly. Especially since you have spirited away little Zane. He would have been perfect. But I think the irony of what I have planned now is much, much better.” He smiled, perfect white teeth that could only have been gained through expensive dentistry and thousands of dollars flashing at me.

“Go fuck yourself.” My hand gripped my whip and I wished to hell I hadn’t dropped my smaller blade. Sure, it wasn’t much, but it was something. Better than nothing, which at that particular moment I wasn’t far from.

Orion let out a sigh. “I can’t stay long to play, that is the downside of being me, I suppose. But”—he lifted a finger—“I realize this coven is no longer working for me as I wish, and I no longer have a use for them. Too unruly. Unlike our precious Milly.”

“Don’t you fucking well talk about her!” It was stupid of me, but I couldn’t help it, I couldn’t just let him talk about her. Behind him, I saw Erik appear, but a witch knocked him back, held him against a wall.

Orion shrugged. “Milly is biddable as always, more so now that she is no longer with child.”

Horror flickered through me. “She died.”

“I brought her back from the brink. Demons can heal, you know.” He winked at me like he’d given me some super secret handshake. But all I could think about was the fact that Milly wasn’t dead. That she’d survived and was still bound to Orion.

Before I could say anything, his hands swirled upward, clapped above his head. A wave of magic blew out from around him, a boom resembling thunder close on it’s heels. The magic ripped through the ship and the metal groaned with the invisible impact. A crack in the floor below me ripped along a seam, bolts twanging out with a speed I couldn’t follow with my eyes, and salt water spewed up in a spray. “I will save you the trouble of killing them all.”

The water plastered my hair over my face and I pushed it away, frantic to keep my eyes on Orion. What the fuck was he up to? It almost seemed like he wanted to help me, but how could that be?

“Why would you do that? They’re your allies.” I carefully circled around to where my smaller knife lay on the floor and scooped it up. Amelia stuck close behind me and the coven seemed oblivious that their benefactor was about to do something very, very bad to them.

Orion tipped his head to one side. “You have a precious gift and I want it. They would kill you with no real care of what they would take from the world. From me.”

A witch ran behind him in an attempt to get out of the spray of water. He reached out and touched a finger to the back of her head, like a gun. Hell, he even made a shooting noise with his mouth.

The witch’s forehead exploded, blood and brains splattering out in front of her. Amelia started to scream as the witch’s body fell to the metal floor, her blood mixing with the sea water.

Through the water droplets falling in a briny rain, I stared at Orion. Did I dare try to take him out now? No sword, no magic on my side, nothing but what I’d learned from Erik, and my knife. My hands ached at the thought of doing that again. Of the pain that would rip through me.

“Yes, that was unpleasant, wasn’t it?” He let out another sigh. “I must say, I was surprised you had the gumption to do that … considering.”

I frowned at him. What the fuck was he talking about?

Orion’s eyes widened and then he laughed. “Ah, I see you are, as always, somewhat oblivious. Then I will not tell you; far be it from me to steal your secrets away.”

Fear thumped through me, the pulse of my blood and heart in tune with the primal understanding that I couldn’t kill Orion. I didn’t know how and I was too afraid to try again, even though he stood there threatening me.

“What? No ‘thank you’?” he said softly, stepping toward me. I stepped back, stumbling over my mother who had fallen to the floor, sobbing.

“You aren’t helping me, not really. You’re doing whatever the fuck you want just because you can,” I snarled as I scrambled back to my feet. Without looking, I grabbed for Amelia and again hauled her behind me. I couldn’t even look where we were going. I was too focused on Orion, on his face and eyes, which seemed to suck me into them.

And he was so close.

His face was right in front of mine and a distant part of my brain knew he’d caught me in some sort of thrall, but it was too late, I couldn’t stop him. Didn’t know how.

“You will come with me, Rylee. I will care for you and when it is time, I will end your life mercifully.” He reached up and stroked a hand down my cheek, wiping away tears I’d not even known I was crying. “No more fear, no more fighting, you can finally rest. You can finally be free of all this. I will save you from it, from the pain and hurt.” Leaning close, he brushed his lips across mine, drawing a shudder from me. I swayed on my feet, unable to detangle my eyes from his.

I couldn’t think, couldn’t make my brain function around what he was saying and his touch, how it made me feel. Safe and unafraid. Like with Liam.

With every ounce of willpower I had left, I struggled to pull myself out of his thrall. I wanted to Track Liam, and use his love for me as an anchor. Of course, he would be too far away. So I Tracked Erik. Tapped into his emotions, felt his strength flow through me, felt his love for me as his niece wrap around my heart and … fuck this shit.