A PIT OF DESPAIR SETTLED in Elise’s stomach as she stared at Veronique. What the hell was she doing there?

“What have you done to him?” she demanded. In the corner of her eye, she caught Lucan’s statue form appearing out of place in an alley next to a warehouse, but she didn’t dare take her eyes off her sister. “Why are you here?”

Veronique had been locked up awaiting trial by the head coven in Paris. Her use of dark magic over the gargoyles was unethical, counter to their coven’s philosophy. She’d likely be stripped of her powers and locked up for some time to come.

Veronique sneered as she paced through the alley between the warehouses. “What do you care about my business?”

Elise resisted shirking at her powerful sister’s accusatory tone. Her old usual self wouldn’t have provoked Veronique, but since discovering what evil she’d done, Elise had to stand up for her niece and Lucan.

She raised her chin. “Since your daughter’s well-being has always been more my business than yours, and he’s her father, I have a damn good interest at stake.”

“Your interest in the gargoyle is far more personal than you let on.” Veronique’s lips curled into a sinister smile. “I see you’re still taking my seconds, Elise. Clothing and now my ex-lover.”

Elise glared at her horrid sister, struggling against the urge to strike her. How did Veronique find out about them? Well, it wasn’t as if Elise had been any good at hiding her feelings. Marguerite had noticed. If Veronique had been tracking them, she’d likely spotted a love-struck grin on Elise’s face.

Veronique raised her hand, palm forward. “How could you betray me like this with him, little sister?”

Uh-oh. Veronique’s posture was a clear threat. Elise lifted both hands to block whatever Veronique blasted her way. She had less than a heartbeat to detect the blue flashes of the disarming spell that Veronique had cast.

Elise barely managed to block the magic with a defensive spell. The blue light ricocheted off a brick wall before vanishing. The intensity of the blast knocked her back several feet. She stumbled and almost lost her footing.

“Cursing him isn’t enough for you?” Elise accused. “You’re going to do so to me, too?”

“I never let those who betray me get away with it.” Veronique arched her brow and nodded at Lucan in stone form. “He should have warned you.”

Veronique made a circling gesture with her arm, summoning energy. She hurled a fire ball at Elise.

Shit. Her older sister wasn’t playing around by launching such a destructive force. Elise called on the element of water to create a shield. The iridescent magic floated before her with shimmers of rainbows reflecting the light. As the fireball smashed into the shield, it was dissolved by the watery magic that swallowed the flames. Heat from the blast still slipped around the shield and warmed Elise’s skin.

She ran behind a dumpster for cover, not that it would do much to stop a formidable witch.

“Why are you doing this?” Elise demanded. “Who will take care of Marguerite?”

“She’s my daughter. She belongs with me.”

“She deserves more than someone who neglected her all these years. And surely, the high coven will catch up to you.”

Veronique let out a disdainful laugh. “They’re pitiful.”

She had to be wily or wise or both to escape. Or, maybe she convinced someone on the inside to let her go.

“But, it’s not in Marguerite’s best interest to be on the run with her mother. At least, her father took some interest in her.”

“It’s hardly in your best interest to criticize my parental decisions.”

The warning in Veronique’s tone sent a shudder up Elise’s spine. She wouldn’t cower to her—not this time. Too much was at stake—Marguerite’s future; Lucan’s freedom. The two people she most loved in the world.

Yes, she loved him. Odd how that certainty flowed through her now of all times.

But, would she be able to save either of them from her formidable sister?

Elise had to try. She gritted her teeth and vowed to do everything she could to counter her older sister.

You can do this, she told herself. Let the light drive out her darkness.

Elise tapped into the bittersweet love that buoyed her, love for her niece and for Lucan. She mustered all her energy within and pinpointed it into a mirroring spell. After she moved out from behind the dumpster, Veronique unleashed a new blast of magic at her.

Elise focused her magic to counter the attack. The red lights that sparkled from Veronique’s magic hit the blue swirl that Elise had cast. It knocked Veronique onto her back and she froze, stunned by her own spell.

Gods, Elise had done it! She’d managed to overpower Veronique. For one brief second, she stared. But, she couldn’t admire her handiwork on her first and only success against her sister.

Veronique cried and stared at her hands. “My magic,” she lamented. Whatever spell she had cast had disarmed her, at least temporarily.

Elise turned to Lucan and cast a spell that reversed the curse. The stone seemed to crumble around him like translucent pebbles with gray borders.

In the next heartbeat, he burst from the stone facade in winged gargoyle form and lunged for Veronique. A primal roar escaped him that echoed with an eerie desperation in the night air—like that of a tortured animal howling in pain, desperate to destroy its tormentor before succumbing to injuries.

He landed on top of her, his dark gray wings spreading wide and then covering them both like a death cloak. Veronique chanted desperate sounding incantations as if trying to draw upon any dark magic that would help her. Bursts of jagged light darted around them, showing she wasn’t completely powerless. Yet, she couldn’t aim well while they grappled. The dark magic crashed into the brick walls, sending some rubble crumbling, or into the air before fading into the darkness of night.

Elise took cover behind the dumpster to avoid being caught in the cross-fire. She ignored the stench of garbage as she watched on helplessly, trying to figure out what to do.

Lucan pinned Veronique down with his body, his legs pressing on her arms to prevent her from projecting any more magic.

He grabbed her throat. “I’ve been waiting for this for thirteen years.”

The ice in his voice sent shivers along her spine. The fury in his exaggerated gargoyle features struck more fear along every inch of her flesh. And the wide span of his dark wings made him appear more like a vengeful demon than a protective gargoyle.

Veronique flailed, kicking her legs out and grasping to reach him. Her mouth gaped open as she gasped for breath. Her eyes bulged and her face turned blue.

“No, you’ll kill her!” Elise shouted and came out from her cover. This wasn’t the right way to stop her. Even though her sister was evil, Elise didn’t want her dead.

“That’s the plan,” he seethed. “She deserves to die.”

“Please. Don’t,” she begged. “She’s my sister.”

“She attacked you. She attacked me. She’s attacked far too many people I care about.”

“But—but—” How could she convince him to stop? “Marguerite loves her. She’s her mother! She’ll never forgive you if you do this.”

His distorted features twisted with conflict. “She’s better off without her.”

“Please, Lucan. Have mercy. For your daughter.” She stepped over and placed her hand on his shoulder. She might be overplaying her hand, but she added, “Release her for me.”

Her pounding heartbeat ticked by.

A rumbling from within his chest turned into a shattering howl. He released Veronique’s throat. As she choked for breath, he pulled ties out and clear tape off of some packing materials near the garbage. He bound her hands behind her back and attached her to the dumpster.

“Where you belong,” he spat.

“Merci,” Elise said. As she was about to touch his arm, he yanked it away.

“Don’t touch me again, Elise,” he spat. “You’re just as bad as she is. I never should have trusted you.”