Dark Beauty (The Deadly Beauties Live On 1)

Arrows fly through the air, and I dive on top of Kimber, knocking her to the ground. Calypso comes out behind Drackus, and they both struggle to free Ella, but Gavin is too strong. He’ll fucking kill them.

“Damn it! How did Drackus find out where we were?” I growl, throwing a hand up and deflecting hundreds of arrows before the meet us.

Kimber grunts while scrambling out of the way of a heavy boot aimed at us, and I disappear and reappear in quick sequence, slamming my hand through the man’s chest before he can get any closer.

Kimber turns away from the sight, and then leaps to her feet, firing arrows into the madness behind us.

“We have to move the crystals!” she yells, running toward the line.

I’m going to strangle her!

“Kimber, don’t!”

Of course she doesn’t listen. Instead, she hops in and out of portals, dodging people left and right, emerging long enough to slice through someone before disappearing again. Drackus roars in pain, and I remember that he’s facing my brother.

Even with all his crazy, Mr. Hyde power being unleashed, he’s not strong enough to take down Gavin.

“Ella!” Calypso yells, trying and failing to get her away from Gavin.

She really should have called us so that we could have filled her in on the plan.

Alyssa and Kane join Calypso and Drackus, and I get torn between which way to go. Especially when the damn crystals charge up, and Kane and Alyssa stupidly run right into Gavin’s trap, the shields caging them in.

Alyssa doesn’t see it until it’s too late, and she slams against the shield that throws her back. Kane dives, catching her, but they’re trapped and they’re sitting ducks for anyone who takes a shot.

Thad charges into the road, but I turn back to go find Kimber. The arrows flying at me keep snapping and breaking, never coming close to touching me, and I launch out a wave that takes down hundreds of men.

The Somage are on my right, and I slide in through the fight, snapping necks and limbs in my search for the stubborn blonde. Suddenly, the blinding lights and roaring warnings go off in unison, and everyone stumbles around.

Kimber is suddenly at my side, and I look around at the glowing lights of the forest as all of our carefully laid traps go to work, entrapping hundreds of my brother’s men. She did it.

“You look a little pale,” she says, smirking at me.

Rolling my eyes, I grab her hand, and we fight through t

he mess that escaped the traps. The Somage and the queen’s men can handle them.

“Drackus!” Kimber yells just as she watches the man who raised her fall to the ground.

He doesn’t get up, and my eyes go wide just as Calypso screams and meets the same fate.

Gavin stands with his hand still around Ella’s throat, because he hasn’t had to move. He’s crushing everyone without so much as having to blink. He’s a hell of a lot stronger than I thought.

Kimber dives to Calypso’s side while Kane and Alyssa remain trapped. Damn Drackus.

“Where are my weapons?” Gavin demands.

He squeezes his hand around Ella’s throat, and she whimpers. He forces her to stare at the trap where Kane and Alyssa are, making them see their daughter’s face as it contorts in pain.

Drackus is still breathing, Calypso, too.

“Looks like you’re outnumbered, Gavin.”

Gavin’s eyes widen when he sees the numerous traps holding back his men, and he glares at me in disbelief. “That’s not possible. I spelled this place for trap crystals and there weren’t any!”

Smirking, I look around and motion to all the traps in place as I kick over the crystal that breaks the trap holding Alyssa and Kane. His jaw tenses as he carries her unconscious body out to stand beside me.

Then, the illusion of the forest drops, revealing that we’re truly in the middle of a vast, bare field that stretches for miles and miles. The paved road is revealed to be a dusty dirt road drives through the middle of the crops, and Gavin looks under his feet in disbelief as the fake asphalt fades from sight. On every side is another trap that is full of his men.