That was fine. I would break free of this damn ritual arcana and get up to kick Alvin’s ass on my own. I just had to push. The ritual arcana fought back. It nearly suffocated me as it enveloped my entire being. I could feel it trying to shove me down, but I would not let it win this time.
Alvin’s outstretched hand trembled. My hound snarled deep within me. Defiantly, I held his gaze so that he would know the exact moment that I broke free of his hold. All I needed was my mouth, so I focused my attention there. I filled my body with the force of my will and pushed the ritual arcana back until I could move my tongue.
Though I wanted to let out a sigh when my jaw came unclenched, I didn’t have full control of my chest yet. Though my breath was shallow, I had what I wanted.
However, Alvin still had the blade tucked under Ryder’s scales. While Alvin struggled against me, he couldn’t focus on the blade at my mate’s throat. I had to buy Ryder some more time, so that the command could run its course. There was a chance that if I pushed against the ritual arcana any more, then I would lose what I’d fought so hard to win.
As it was, we seemed to be caught in a strange three-way standoff. Alvin held both me and Ryder at his mercy, but so long as I could use my determination to undermine Alvin’s binding ritual, then Ryder still had a chance.
My control slipped when I realized that Alvin meant to use Ryder as his final sacrifice. Alvin had learned that the ritual was stronger when he spilled blood, so he sought to spill the blood of the largest creature in the area: Ryder.
Like hell would he usemymate as a sacrifice in his god-awful ritual!
I pushed the ritual arcana back. It clung to me stubbornly, like wet clothing refusing to be shed. I peeled it away and filled the empty space with my own power. It wasn’t the power of my command or the arcana that allowed me to call upon lightning. Instead, I used the cold, vindictive resolve that assured me I was on the right path.
Though I trembled with the chill of it and what I would have to do before the night was over, it was working. I could win this. We could survive.
“Every time you laid a hand on me, you hardened me,” I said smugly.
Alvin’s lips twisted with hatred. “You’re nothing but a lowly cur, a mutt that I will use to maintain my power here. Don’t act as if you can ever be better than me.”
“Your ego is so fragile that you fill the cracks in it with the deaths of others.”
Alvin’s eyes flashed wide. His ire flared red-hot—or maybe that was the burning brazier reflecting in his expression. He dropped the blade and stormed over to me. Victorious, I grinned up at him.
“Once more, your ego has proved to be your downfall. Alvin Combs, you do not deserve to breathe. I revoke your right to go on living. You will die today, and you will meet justice in the afterlife. I say this with my entire being: get fucked.”
I didn’t have to pour my arcana into my voice. The words came to me, unbidden. They were the final seal on his fate.
Perhaps that was what had been on the passage stolen from the records. If another Barghest had visited town, then it meant they’d had a purpose. The Alpha of that time might have been like Alvin. That Barghest had seen the horrors and leveled her judgement upon the wrongdoers.
“Ryder! Make it pour!”
Alvin’s head snapped up. He whirled around just in time to watch Ryder toss his head and let out a furious roar. The skies opened up. A sheet of rain fell down upon our heads. The brazier hissed. The light flickered and dimmed until it finally sputtered out of existence.
“No!” Alvin snarled.
Ryder spared no time before twisting toward Alvin. I caught the flick of Alvin’s fingers just as the ritual arcana dug itself into my body once more. My body jerked of its own will. Alvin ducked behind me, placing my body between him and Ryder.
Even though Alvin didn’t have the blade, he could still summon claws that he pressed into my fragile human skin. Alvin thought that he would escape once again. I was tired of letting him go, though.
Ryder hesitated. He looked between me and Alvin. Those uncertain eyes were filled with love and rage. Ryder wanted to protect me. Maybe he thought that he’d failed.
Neither of us could fight the ritual arcana stinging my insides like a hive of angry wasps. There wasn’t anything we could do until death severed the connection.
“Do it,” I whispered.
Perhaps thinking that I was talking to him, Alvin dug his claws into my neck. I didn’t break eye contact with my mate, though.
“Do it.”
I had more than one purpose in life. Though I’d been put here to stop Alvin from hurting others, I knew that I had more to look forward to. Nothing would stop me from returning to my mate. Not a damn thing.