Intended Series Collection: Books 1-6 by Abigail Grant (best summer books .txt) 📗

Fight me all you want. This is the end.” Barron taunts me with my cousin’s voice and the anger inside of me rises through my skin.

I crouch as much as I can against Barron’s pull on my arms and push off of the muddy ground. The back of my head smacks against the demon’s and my arms are released. I spin around, ready to fight to the death.

He watches me, barely fazed by the hard hit to his head. “I am getting tired of the waiting. Are you ready to die?”

Something catches my eye behind Barron and I try to school my features as Aella’s best friend steps through the magical barrier with an arrow knocked on her bow. She aims her arrow at the back of what was once Jedrek Cole and her blonde ponytail waves behind her head in the cold breeze.

“No, Barron. I’m not ready to die. Are you?” I ask him the question simply, with hope rising in my chest.

His mouth begins to open with an evil retort as Kassy releases the string from her fingers and the whistling arrow finds its target clean through the demon’s neck. The image is shocking, but I still revel in the idea of Barron finally being gone.

My cousin’s body falls again, for the final time, to the cold earth. His black eyes fade back to Jed’s natural brown hue as his body is pulled below the forest floor, never to be seen again.

I look back to Kassy where she stands shaking in the cold, staring at where Jed’s body was only moments ago. Her wide eyes refocus and find me. “Help her, please!” she yells to me over the roaring of the fast pouring rain.

I obey and run back to Aella’s side. I place my hands beside the stick that was thrown into her and push all of the energy that I have out of me. I can feel the weakness inside of me. I know it’s not enough to help her.

“Come on!” I scream to the gods wherever they are after all of this time. “Help me!”

The sky just continues to thunder above me as the rain falls. I feel helpless and dead already without the woman I love to keep me alive.

I reach my head back to the dark sky and as I am about to yell to the absent gods once more, a stream of lightning shoots through the trees and strikes Aella in the chest.

Her body shakes from the hit and I groan in pain as electricity fills my body. Aella’s eyes fly open, revealing a glowing gold and in an instant, the four elements flow out of her toward the opening to hell.

I squint against the glow of fire that touches me without burning my skin. The whirlwind of air spinning around the fire charges it forward. A steady stream of water blends into the air and the mud beneath us rises in clumps, joining the twisting flow of power.

As quick as it started, the wild tornado dissipates and I am left sitting in the rain beside my beautiful enigma as she closes her eyes once more.

Chapter 12

Aella

Voices whisper around me as I stare at the red light peeking through my closed eyelids. I can’t bring myself to open my eyes. My whole body feels heavy against my bed, or at least I think I’m in my bed. I can’t remember even falling asleep.

“When, Maggie? It has to be soon, right?” Gavin’s voice is quiet as he talks, and an aching of some sort fills his words.

The bed sinks beside me and Aunt Mag’s melodic voice enters my tired mind. “I’ve checked her as well as I can, hon. Danielle has been in here every few hours as well, even with what she’s going through. El is completely healed, she just needs rest.”

Everything is quiet for a minute. I try to communicate to them and soothe their worries, but my body won’t cooperate. I don’t know what is causing the sadness in their voices, but I hope I’m not the cause of it. I can’t speak, so I try to reach out to Gavin with my mind.

I’m here, Gavin. I’m okay. I love you.

A small gasp resonates from my right and a warm hand strokes my cheek. I can feel the familiar tingle of my Intended’s touch. “Aella. I can feel you here with me. Open your eyes please, love.”

Tender kisses are placed on each of my heavy eyelids and my slow breath picks up in reaction to the wonderful feeling. “Mmmm.” I push the sound through my closed lips.

“That’s my beautiful wife.” I can hear the tone of Gavin’s voice change from sorrow to joy.

Oh yeah. I forgot that I’m a wife.

Sudden memories of the moments before I awoke here fly back to me. Gavin being tortured in hell, going in there to save him, trying to close the opening. Oh no!

My eyes fly open and I try to sit up in bed but fail miserably. My head pounds and my chest hurts, causing me to fall back onto the plush pillow.

“Jed! He was there!” I fight back tears that threaten me as I yell for my new cousin who attacked me with black demon eyes.

“Shhhh. It’s okay. Calm down.” Gavin pulls me onto his lap and I scan his face. He isn’t freaking out like me. He has small bags under his eyes, but he looks relaxed. His gold eyes are dimmer than usual and I can feel bits of sorrow through our bond.

“Gavin.” I breathe out his name, trying to calm myself. I look around the room and see that I’m back in Gavin’s house in our bed, only the two of us. “Where did Aunt Mags go? I thought I heard her.”

Gavin shifts me onto his lap so my legs straddle his and he holds me close. I feel so weak that I’m certain without him, I’d be lying limp in our bed.

“She left