[Rock]I never realized I was afraid of heights until that moment. Of course, I was afraid of dangling in the fuсking air! I was a cave troll, for fuсk’s sake! Gritting my teeth and balling my fists, I focused on where I could see the demon struggling in the distance. Lights streaked all over it as the Templars fought it with their holy swords. As I got closer, I could see other people fighting as well. They looked so small from where I was. When I reached the right place, the wings suddenly disappeared. I was directly above the demon and started falling like the stone I was. A sharp whistle from my right drew my attention. I saw Sean flying above. He pointed down, and I looked where he pointed. The Templars who had been attacking the demon’s back were clearing off. I curled myself into a tight ball as if I were jumping into a pool. My body picked up speed as I fell. I knew the impact would be painful for me, and probably for the demon. As I crashed into the demon’s back, there was a deafening craсking sound and the demon fell forward. My bones rattled as I rebounded off and landed on the ground nearby. I was dazed. It took a moment to get my bearings and stand up.I groaned in pain as I felt my bones rattle and the newly formed fractures in my skin. But I didn’t have time to worry about my injuries. I had to take down the demon before it hurt anyone else.In moments, the Templars were on it and the other trolls attacked, trying to create more breaks around the broken bones I’d caused with the hit. I lurched forward. I saw one of the Templars on the ground. He wasn’t moving and his sword lay just a foot away from his body. Something drew me to the sword. Picking it up, I felt it burn, but I didn’t weaken. The burn was probably from his god’s magic. Iron didn’t burn fae. It just weakened us. I started praying to the goddess in the language of the earth and it was as if pure clarity came upon me. The entire time, I held my gaze on the demon’s left eye. He saw me coming. “Only a Templar and their god’s gift can banish me. I’ll still be alive. You can’t kill me, troll. I’ll come back for you and your descendants for the rest of time,” the demon growled. “My goddess doesn’t follow the same rules as your god. You’re a fae demon now,” I sneered. His eyes widened. I didn’t know why the demons weren’t able to be killed, but the fae that were called demons were just as killable as anyone else. And this demon was inhabiting a fae, making him fae. That was a mistake because it changed the rules for all sides. And one thing that trolls knew how to do better than any other species of fae, was kill another fae. He may have the strengths of a High Elf and the strengths of a demon general, but he also had their weaknesses. I hadn’t seen it before, only recognizing the ways he was strengthened. It was a mistake I would own, but not one I would make again. The other trolls kept their attack up, along with the Templars. I could see the demon struggling, its back was too broken for it to move. It was still writhing in pain and seemed unable to stand up properly, but it continued fighting, attacking in any way it could.My pace was slow but steady. There was a pretty big craсk in my right leg, so I was trying not to put too much weight on it. Spencer jumped down from the demon’s back. “No one can hold a Templar’s sword except the Templar it was given to. You need to drop that.” “I don’t care. What is it made of? What’s the blade made of?” I asked. “Purified iron. You need to drop it, Rock. It’s hurting you in ways you can’t see. Supernaturals were never meant to touch our weapons,” Spencer insisted. “No. Not until that bastard is dead. He took my mate. He killed my friend. This piece of ѕhit isn’t going to get away with it. I know how to kill him, not just Oberon, but the fuсker inside him,” I growled. “Demons can’t be killed.” “This one can be and will be.”Spencer stepped aside, letting me pass. I moved to stand right in front of the prone demon with the sword in my hand. His eyes were still alight with rage and hatred, but his body was too weak to move away from me.Resuming my prayer to the goddess, I raised the sword, feeling its power coursing through me. It felt like lightning against my skin, but it was familiar and welcome at the same time. The magic of it spread over my body, filling the craсks and groves, making me whole with its power. My lips curved up into a smile as I stared down at him. I wanted to remember this moment. After all the pain he caused, I wanted to know for certain that this bastard was dead and I was the one who ended him. High Elves had stronger healing abilities than other elves. It was part of the reason the other trolls were working on growing the breaks and rebreaking what he healed. They were keeping him down so everyone else could work. They were still weakened by iron, like other mortal fae. I realized Oberon had been healing the magical damage while the demon healed the damage done by the iron swords. That was why it seemed like it wasn’t being harmed as much by our attacks or we weren’t doing lasting damage. Certain attacks can cause damage too fast to heal, making some injuries impossible to recover from. Even though I wasn’t raised as a warrior, Forrest’s father taught us everything he knew about fighting and killing. He always said that a troll who couldn’t fight was worse than a troll who didn’t fight. Most species of elf had a few weaknesses in their skulls, caused by the differences in them from the original fae they were descended from. Due to the strange bone growth, their forehead bone thinned and their skull never sealed completely at the top. One secret that was closely held by trolls in case we needed to take out our leaders. All royal elves had a tiny soft spot in their skull. Normally, this was so small that all it was useful for was knowing that a hit there would be more effective than a hit almost anywhere else. It was just a weak point, not some big open target. With Oberon having grown so much, though, his was now about five times larger than it had been. The best part was that even elves didn’t know about it, so he had no idea what was about to happen.“Enjoy whatever torment our goddess has for you,” I told the demon. The demon inside Oberon’s body snarled and thrashed, sensing the danger. But it was too late. With a yell, I brought the sword down with all my might, striking true and hitting the soft spot dead-on.There was a sickening crunch as the sword pierced through the thin bone and into the demon’s brain. I felt warm blood splash across my face and arms as the demon inside Oberon’s body sсreamed in agony. But I didn’t stop. I kept pushing the sword deeper and deeper, determined to kill the demon once and for all. One of the last things the demon tried to do was knock me away, but the movement of his arm stopped and his large arm crashed to the ground. The Templars on Oberon’s back stabbed into his chest and the trolls, seeing that they didn’t have the strength to penetrate it fully, put a hand over theirs, effectively using their hands to prevent contact with the sword, and pushed the blades even deeper. Spencer ran his sword through Oberon’s neck. The final sword entering him seemed to end the life of the demon and the elf. Oberon’s body shrank but remained twisted and disfigured by the demon. They were one and the same now. Joined in life and joined in death. Forever subject to the hell our goddess would create for them. I pulled the sword out as the body shrank and dragged it back to the Templar who’d lost it. He was moving a little. I laid the sword next to him and wrapped his hand around it. I didn’t know why, but something in me told me to do that. When I was done, I stood and looked at my hands. I’d never had blisters before, but I knew what they looked like. For some reason, I couldn’t look away from them. “The reason no one else can use our swords is because it takes years of training and devotion to harness the power our deity grants us,” Spencer said as he approached me. “I didn’t think a supernatural could even touch it because you don’t believe in our god.”“I managed it,” I replied. “Because of your devotion to your goddess, I think. That was her power flowing through the sword when you held it. A few blisters would be the smallest reaction I’ve ever seen from a non-Templar after picking up one of our swords. I’ve seen people turned to ash from the raw power.” My devotion to my goddess. Nothing in my entire life had made that waver in the least. Finding Carmen had only strengthened it. I smiled. The goddess matched me with someone who had the same beliefs and devotion. That reminded me. I hadn’t seen Carmen anywhere when I came down. Looking up, I started scanning over the area. Spencer looked around with me. He probably thought I was sensing some danger, but I didn’t feel the need to explain it to him. In the distance, I could see her. She was being held by Trent, and another person was standing with them. Carmen’s body was limp and back in her human form. I felt an icy grip tighten around my heart at the sight of her motionless body. Without a second thought, I bolted toward her, my heart racing with fear and dread. If she’d died, I would have felt our bond severing, so I knew she was alive. But I didn’t know how injured she was. When I reached them, I pulled Carmen from Trent’s arms and cradled her close to me. She was breathing and her heart was beating. She looked a bit bruised and battered, but nothing seemed really wrong. “Her wolf has been healing her. Being close to her mate or her Alpha can help with the energy she needs. I don’t know what happened, exactly, but Austin and Matt are both dead,” Trent told me. “I’m sorry, little wolf. Please wake up,” I murmured as I kissed her forehead. “I didn’t mean to leave you alone. Come back to me.” Carmen stirred in my arms and slowly opened her eyes. Relief flooded through me at the sight of her awake and alive.“Hey,” she whispered weakly.“Hey, yourself. Are you okay? What happened?” I asked.“You disappeared, and I fought as much and as hard as I could, but I wasn’t strong enough to keep him from hurting me before everyone else got there. I tripped, and he slammed his hand down on me, then picked me up and started squeezing. After a few moments, everything went dark,” Carmen replied. Dolly said I was closer to death than Carmen was, but it sounded a hell of a lot like my mate was pretty damned close to death. I wouldn’t be mad at a child. Something was guiding her. I’d be mad at that. “It’s all over, now.” “Austin? My dad? They got hit. Is someone helping them?” Trent moved to the side a little and looked down. I saw Carmen’s dad on the ground. This wasn’t news I wanted to give her, but it might be easier coming from me. “They didn’t make it, Carmen,” I said softly. Her eyes filled with tears, and she shook her head. “That was supposed to be me. They would be alive if they’d just let me take the hit. I’m stronger than both of them. I would have survived,” she sobbed as she buried her face in the curve of my neck. I held her tightly, letting her cry into my shoulder. It was heart-wrenching to witness her pain, but I knew that this was a necessary part of her healing process. I didn’t try to stop her tears or offer any words of comfort. Sometimes, all you could do was be present for the person you loved and let them grieve in their own way.“Austin died quickly, but your dad had a last message. He loves you and he wished he didn’t have to leave you so soon. I’m sorry for your loss, Carmen. We should get you to the pack hospital. You might have to stay the night, but we’ll get you back home as soon as we can,” Trent told her when her tears slowed. Carmen clung to me, her fingers digging into my skin. “Gemma.... This is all my fault. Oh, Goddess, Austin shouldn’t have ever been here. I should have protected him better.” “This was Oberon’s fault and the demon’s fault. Not yours, Carmen. Trent, we’ll need a ride. The demon trashed my truck and I don’t think I could drive if he hadn’t,” I said, showing him the blisters all over my hands. “We need to get you treated, too, Rock. I can see some craсks in your skin, too. Give me a little time. I’m going to meet up with the other leaders and start arranging things. Stay right here. I don’t want either of you disappearing,” he replied. I nodded, and he headed toward everyone else. The vampire who had been standing with them gave a brief bow and turned away from us, but stayed where he was. We defeated the demon, but the cost was great and I didn’t even know how many people were lost. I prayed to the goddess that this would never happen again. I just wanted a calm life with my little wolf, our friends, and our family.