The Darkest Warrior (Lords of the Underworld 14)

His gaze on his wife, he decided, I'm willing to chance it.

By unleashing a tendril of magic and lifting his hand, he extracted the shears. The moment the artifact encountered air, it solidified. He opened and closed the shears. Once. Twice. How was he supposed to--

The magic that held him in place ripped apart, as if cut. Just. Like. That.

Satisfaction had no time to sprout. Rage overtook him. Attack!

Sprinting forward, boots flinging sand, Puck returned the shears to his chest. They melted into his skin, searing him, annnd he breached Sin's wall of magic, as easily as he'd done in the past.

Puck had a split second to take stock. Sin had already begun to heal. Gillian stood a few feet away, gearing for another clash.

Unleashing a battle cry, Puck tackled his brother. They skidded across the sand in a tangle of limbs, even mowing over the Oracle. She never roused.

They bit at each other. Punched, kicked and stabbed. Two predators, with one purpose: victory at all cost.

Adrenaline added kindling to Puck's rage, the emotion so hot no amount of ice would ever cool it; Indifference would never be able to hide it. With expert maneuvering, he pinned his brother beneath him, knees to shoulders.

"You do not hurt Gillian." This time, he was the only one to attack. Punch, punch, punched. Bits of flesh and muscle tore with each impact. "You do not look at Gillian."

"I will do that and more." Blood wet Sin's teeth as he grinned. "She's your greatest weakness." His brother shuffled his legs between them, planted his feet against Puck's chest and kicked with enough vigor to break his sternum.

Breathing hurt, but it didn't slow him down. He launched at his brother a second time. He didn't just punch; he clawed. He didn't just bite; he ripped and tore. He didn't just kick; he punted specific organs.

Sin...let him?

"How could you do this to me?" Between each tide of rage, he caught a glimpse of hurt. "I loved you, only wanted to protect you."

"Yes, but for how long? One day, you would have betrayed me." Sin hit him with a blast of magic, flinging him backward. "You're only upset I struck first."

Sin speed-raced, grabbing a sword and moving beside him. Their gazes met--and he paused. He might wear Puck's face, but he couldn't mask his emotions. In his eyes blazed hatred, uncertainty...and the barest threads of affection and hope.

The same emotions continued to bubble inside Puck. Affection wouldn't be tolerated. Sin had taken everything from him, and Puck had wasted away...and found Gillian.

The hope only intensified.

Gillian, at Sin's side, a sword in her grip. She swung. Whoosh! The blade sliced through Sin's wrist. His hand fell to the ground, still clutching his weapon.

He roared in fury and anguish, blood spurting from an open artery. Gillian prepared to swing again. Her next target? Sin's neck.

"I'm sorry, Pucky," she said, tears in her eyes.

Old instincts surged. Must protect Sin.

No! Must destroy Sin.

Puck needed a second to think, only a second. He hurled his body at Sin, knocking him to the sand.

Gillian missed his throat by a mere half an inch.

Lying beneath Puck, a panting Sin morphed into his true form. Gashes littered his cheeks, neck, and stretched all the way to his--

Puck did a double take. Sin had a butterfly tattoo on his chest. The mark of a demon.

His brother was possessed?

No time to process the revelation. Sin kicked him, sending him flying. As his brother stood, he grew a new hand. A regeneration as fast as William's.

"How do you want this to play out, Puck? Tell me, and I'll respect your wishes." Gillian remained in place, sword held steady. "I'm happy to give him a little internal body bling. Or, if you want him alive and unharmed, I'll back off--as long as he stops attacking you."

Sin looked between Puck and Gillian, his pupils dilated to the size of teacups. Envy, sadness, relief and anger played over his features. "She loves you."

"Yes. As I love her." A love that burned hotter than his rage, hotter than anything he'd ever known. It had no beginning and no end. It just...was.

"The prophecy," Sin whispered. "You have your loving queen at your side."

Yes. One brother would unite the clans with a loving woman at his side. The other would die.

Sin swallowed. "One of us will die today. I suppose it must be me. There's no changing fate, is there?"

"Puck," Gillian insisted. "Dead or alive? And by the way, there is a way to change the outcome of a prophecy, there must be, and we're going to prove it."

Puck stood slowly. He had no idea what he would say, until the word left his mouth. "Alive." He had too many unanswered questions. How had Sin become possessed? When had it happened? Which demon did he host? Did the demon lead him now? Had the demon led him all those centuries ago?

A blur of motion before something--a chimera--charged past the shield and slammed into Sin.

"That never gets old," a familiar voice announced.

Stunned, Puck met William's ice-blue gaze. The warrior loomed inside the wall of magic, along with a few others. Winter and Cameron, who appeared sane, Keeley and Torin, Rathbone, Galen and Pandora. Even Hades had come to watch the final showdown. Everyone who'd played an active role in Puck's life since his possession.

"Hey, guys," Keeley said with a wave. "I remembered there was going to be a party today and insisted the hubs and I join the fun."

Gillian gasped, her features brightening. "William! Peanut! How...what..." She stepped forward, halted, keeping her weapon trained on Sin. "I knew you were alive."

"Nice to see you, too," Winter said, her pique clear. "I'm well, thanks for asking."

"Winter." Grinning, Gillian offered her a thumbs-up. "You're only half-cray now. That's awesome."

Winter flipped her off but also returned her grin.

Peanut trotted to William, who scratched him behind the ear and said, "That's my good boy."

Gillian's grin widened as she exchanged excited greetings with Keeley and Torin.

Meanwhile, Cameron spat curses at Torin. He still blamed the keeper of Disease for leaving them trapped inside a prison realm, and longed to attack. Understandable, but not allowed, either.

Keeley and Torin had helped Puck win Gillian. In Amaranthia, they fell under his protection.

"Cameron," he snapped. "You will do nothing."

Careful. Distraction can kill. Puck fixed his attention on his younger brother, bent down and withdrew a pair of daggers from the sheaths on his ankles.

"William, can you ensure Sin remains here until I decide my next move?" he asked. "Trapped inside his own magic walls?"

"I can," Hades said, sounding offended that he hadn't been asked first.

Very well, then. Determined, Puck closed in. Sin scowled at him--and flashed. A new ability, and a testament to the level of magic now charging his runes.

Puck tensed, knowing his brother would have to reappear...any second now...

Sin reappeared next to Gillian. Only, he no longer looked like Sin or Puck. He'd shifted into Gillian--an exact replica.

The real Gillian's jaw slackened. "What the--"

Sin plowed into her, taking her to the ground. A clear attempt at misdirection. Which card is the queen?

When one of them finally broke free, both stood to unsteady legs.

William cursed. "Who is who?"

"I...have no idea," Winter said.

Hades scratched his head. "I have an idea. We kill them both."

Puck tossed a dagger, end over end, nailing the vaunted king of the underworld in the heart. No one threatened his wife.

"Fool." With a frown, Hades plucked the weapon from his breastbone. "I'd need a heart for that to work."

"How about we just stab them both?" Galen suggested, and Pandora nodded her agreement. "Just until the impostor fesses up."

Puck tossed another dagger, the tip embedding in Galen's shoulder.

"

Ow!" Scowling, the winged male yanked the weapon free. "What was that for? I didn't threaten her life."

"Suggestions to harm Gillian will be met with swift and severe retribution." Puck's gaze returned to his two possible wives, and in an instant of startling clarity, he understood how Gillian had guessed Sin's true identity. He recognized the sweetness of her scent, and the emotions glittering inside her eyes--anger, dismay and indignation.

"Suggestions can be ignored without bloodshed," Galen grumbled, rubbing his wound. "Just sayin'."

Now that Puck knew which was which, how should he proceed?

"I'm Gillian," one of them snapped.

"No, I'm Gillian," the other one said, her voice an exact match.

"You're dead," Cameron said to Torin, and finally attacked.

Puck grew a vine of thorns between the two males.

The distraction, slight though it was, came with a steep price. Sin-Gillian took an offensive position, throwing himself into real Gillian a second time, slashing and stabbing.

Real Gillian--now wounded--had to take a defensive position, and do everything in her power to save herself without hurting her opponent. Because she knew Puck wanted Sin alive.