the demon released her with a squawk of anger.

hold it, she told herself. now that she had the radiance, she had to hold it. her life depended on it. but she was so weak.

sweat broke out on her brow and ran down her temples. lyon's face swam in her mind's eye. the pain in his eyes when he found her in the dungeon. the heat as he made love to her. and the tenderness when he'd asked her to stay behind. safe with hawke.

finding her dead would destroy him.

she held on to the radiance with everything she had until she was shaking from the effort.

finally, the creature released her hair. her chin slammed into the cement, shooting her head full of stars, but she held the radiance, knowing it was her only way back to lyon.

she heard her assailant jump to the asphalt below, screw the lid on the bucket, and hurry away.

still, she stayed radiant, feeling the warmth slowly heal her and the glow renew her strength. when she was able, she lifted her head and rolled onto her back, away from the edge. a small, exhausted smile tugged at her mouth.

she'd survived.

her senses swam outward, seeking lyon, sharing her triumph. his relief rushed over in a blazing kaleidoscope of emotion she could only believe was love. the gray clouds above turned to silver crystals through her tears. he'd never told her he loved her. he'd never said the words. but the love that flowed out of him, even from this distance, filled her with a warmth that eased all the pain, all the fear, all the loneliness she'd ever known.

she felt him near and managed to push herself up on her elbow as he ran up the ramp. he swept her up and into his arms, burying his face in her hair. for a long time he didn't say a word, just held her, quaking.

finally, he pulled back, his pained gaze searching her face. "you're okay."

"i'm fine."

his eyes grew tormented. "i felt you slipping away."

"he was feeding off me. like a draden."

"that's what he was. a draden grown into a clone." his expression shifted, turning amazed. "how did you ever go radiant here?"

kara lifted her shoulder in a small shrug. "it was either that or die." she looked at him with all the emotion in her heart. "and i couldn't leave you."

the love that shone from his eyes made tears form in her own. he kissed her long and tenderly, then pulled back.

"you'd better put out your light before anybody sees you." he started down the ramp, carrying her as if she weighed nothing.

"he filled a bucket with my blood." kara let herself release the radiance.

"we believe the witch plans to use the clones to free the daemons. probably as soon ass this one returns. we're going there now, as soon as jag gets here with the car."

"lyon, don't leave me behind again. they've already got what they need from me. i'm not in danger anymore."

"if those daemons are freed, we're all in danger." his gaze met hers, his amber eyes at once infinitely soft and hard as stone. "but i'm never letting you out of my sight again."

a sense of urgency charged the air in the hummer as they finally reached feral house more than an hour later. for the entire drive, lyon had cradled kara against him in the backseat, reassuring himself over and over that she was all right. that she was alive. he'd never felt so helpless in his life as when he'd sensed her life draining away and had been too far away to stop it. he'd died a hundred deaths as he'd run, trying to reach her before it was too late.

but his little warrior had saved herself.

"he's already here," paenther said. the car hadn't come to a full stop when the men flung the doors open and leaped out.

lyon pulled kara out behind him. as much as he wanted to keep her away from the witch, he wouldn't leave her behind again. as the breeze rushed over him, something rancid crawled over his skin.

"ritual magic," tighe said. "they've already started."

"let's go!" as lyon ran for the house, he pointed right. "paenther and jag take the rear." all rituals took time to complete, but there was no way to know how long ago they'd started. they might have nearly a half an hour to stop the daemons from rising. or mere seconds.

lyon, kara, and tighe ran for the front steps. while lyon pushed kara behind him, tighe opened the door and slipped inside.

"all clear," he called softly. they had no way to know if the real foxx, hawke, and kougar would try to ambush them. no way to know what the witch had done to their minds.

the three raced for the door to the lower chambers, but as tighe reached for the doorknob, his hand stopped abruptly.

tighe swore. "a barrier."

hell. lyon slammed his fists over every inch of the door and never touched it. the entry was completely sealed off with magic. tighe slammed his shoulder at the portal and bounced right off.

"it's sealed tight."

lyon grabbed kara's hand and nodded. "back door." but they hadn't even reached the kitchen when paenther and jag came bounding into the hallway.

"it's blocked off magically," jag said. "we can't touch them."

"are the others here?" paenther asked.

"haven't looked. tighe and jag, find them." as the two warriors took off, lyon met paenther's gaze. "what do you suggest?" he asked his second. "how are we going to break through?"

the black-eyed warrior scowled. "in my animal form, i could breach that kind of magic. we all could."

"how?" kara asked, the color high in her cheeks, the scars across her throat fading, though paining him still. "why in your animal forms and not your human?"

lyon squeezed her hand. "it's through our animal forms that we acquire the mystical power we need to fight this kind of magic."

"so if i were ascended, you could get through?"

"yes. but you're not."

"how about we try punching a hole in the floor and dropping in on them that way?" paenther suggested.

"let's do it."

"i'll grab some tools out of the storeroom."

as paenther took off, kara pulled on his hand and stepped in front of him, her blue eyes hard as steel. "ascend me."

her words ran through him like a sharp bite of electricity. "no." he refused even to contemplate it.

tighe and jag came down the hall. "no sign of them. not even pink."

lyon's fists tightened. at the sound of kara's wince, he realized he'd about crushed her hand. "sorry."

"they're not dead," kara told them. "hawke's clone said the clones can only live as long as the original lives. she won't kill them until she no longer needs the clones."

"until she's freed the daemons," jag said. "they'll probably be satanan's first meal."

frustration and urgency lapped at lyon's nerves until he thought he'd go mad with it. he had to reach that witch!

"move the rug," he ordered, pointing to the runner in the hallway. "we're going to try going through the floor."

paenther returned a minute later with two hatchets, a crowbar, and a pair of heavy mallets. they worked quickly, but it was soon apparent that no matter what they did, they couldn't create a hole.

jag scowled. "the bitch was thorough."

"you have to ascend me," kara said loudly enough that every man straightened and stared at her.

"no," lyon said. "we don't know who your mate is."

she met his gaze, her eyes calm and sure. "it's you. you're going to ascend me." she turned to tighe. "can four of you do the ritual?"

tighe's startled gaze swung to lyon. "yes. if necessary." he turned back to kara. "i think you're right. i think lyon's your mate. but if he's not, you'll die, kara. none of us is willing to risk that."

kara pulled her hand from lyon's and stepped away from his side, making his beast roar in protest. she faced tighe. "if the wrong man ascends me, will you still gain the power you need to shift into your animals?"

tighe looked to lyon, his eyes pleading for help.

kara turned impatiently, her gaze flicking between jag and paenther. "i need an answer. will you get what you need to reach the chambers and stop her from freeing the daemons?"

"yes," jag said, the word low and pained.

paenther nodded. "but if the feral who ascends you isn't your mate, the power that renews us will kill you, kara."

she turned back to lyon. he felt the strength in those eyes, strength that outweighed his by two metric tons. "if you don't stop that ritual, the daemons will kill your friends. and then you. and then me. they'll go on a rampage that will destroy everything and everyone we know and love." she shook her head slowly. "there's no choice, lyon. and there's no time. you need to ascend me, and you need to do it now."

she was right. dammit to hell, she was right. and it was killing him.

he couldn't lose her. none of them could afford to lose her. she'd demanded they use her once and would do it again even knowing she might die. he marveled at her courage and knew she was the finest radiant they'd ever had. would probably ever have. the ferals needed her in their midst. at their heart.

she was their heart.

she was his life.

lyon shook his head. "i can't lose you."

kara's eyes softened and she stepped in front of him and took his hands in hers. "i'm not going to die, lyon. you're my mate. i'm sure of it." she squeezed his hands with strength like steel. "you can't let those daemons be freed, lyon. and right this minute, the witch is down there freeing them."

though his beast roared its denial, lyon knew she was right. nothing mattered but stopping the daemons. no single life weighed in that balance.

he closed his eyes against the pain of what he must do, then opened them and met her certain gaze, and he nodded. "paenther, prepare the circle out back. we'll meet you there in a minute. she needs to be prepared."

"roar..." tighe's voice held a pain they all shared.

but lyon didn't relent. he couldn't. "we're shifting, but for kara's sake, keep your clothes on. you can buy new ones later."

his blood was like ice at the thought of what he must do.

but it was the only way to save his world and the people he cared about. the people he loved.

the only way.

"get undressed," lyon said, stepping over the wreckage to reach the largest of the three closets in the radiant's bedchambers.

kara stripped out of her clothes as she watched him, her love for him stronger than anything she'd ever felt in her life. she was sure of what she was doing. they had to be able to reach their animals.

but she wasn't positive she was going to live through it. deep in her soul, she knew lyon was the love of her life, but whether the earth knew that was another matter. and if the earth disagreed, she was dead. but this death would be different than the one she'd faced before. this time it was on her terms. for the right reason. in the arms of the man she loved.

lyon came to her with a blue gown, its sleeves long and full. she lifted her arms for him to put it over her head.

"not yet," he said. he tossed the gown on the bed, yanked off his shirt, and pulled the silver armband with the lion's head off his arm.

"what are you doing?" she asked, as he hooked it around her upper arm, squeezing it tight. "i thought you needed that."

"this is the way it's done." he picked up her gown and she lifted her arms for him to slide it over her. the dress fell to her ankles in a soft, silken cloud, the wide sleeves brushing the backs of her hands.

lyon pulled his shirt back on, then gripped her shoulders, his hands steady and firm, his eyes dark, deep, and pained. "you are the most amazing woman i've ever known." his hands slid to frame her face. "i love you, kara. if there was any way but this, i would choose it. but this is the way it has to be."

she covered his hands with her own. "i'm not going to die, lyon. you're my mate. i know it's you."

he kissed her softly, then pulled away, closing his eyes as if he couldn't bear for her to see the pain in them. "let's go."

as they went out the back door, she looked at the dark sky with trepidation. "what about the draden?"

"we have a sacred circle in the backyard. the men have already raised the feral circle. we'll be as well protected here as on the goddess stone."

the sacred fires were already lit and the flames cast shadows over the faces of the three men waiting for them. tighe, paenther, and jag stood barefoot, divested of jackets and belts, but otherwise fully clothed. she suspected they usually shifted in the nude and was glad for lyon's intervention. it was hard enough to accept what she was going to have to do in front of them, but to watch their bodies reacting to it would have been too much.

no, she amended. it would have been uncomfortable, but that was all. she was more than prepared to do whatever she must to give these men the power they needed to defeat zaphene and save the world.

lyon squeezed her hand. "don't call the fire until i say." he pulled her into the center of the circle and into his arms. his mouth covered hers in a fierce kiss of love and possession and aching loss.

he thought he was going to lose her. she could feel it in the way he held her, could sense his sorrow in every touch. he thought she was going to die.

but when she tried to pull away to reassure him, he held her fast. his tongue slid against hers with frantic strokes, sending fire pouring through her body until she was clinging to him, moaning with need, a second away from release.