I shuddered. The pull between the two was exhausting me.

“Shay.” Kellan was talking to me again.

“What?”

I hadn’t moved any closer to him. I was held suspended between the two men.

“You need to help me.”

“Kellan, I’m tired.” And I was. My head was falling down. Something was going on in me. I didn’t know why I was exhausted, but my hand started to slip from his. “Kellan. I can’t hold on any longer.”

I felt his refusal. He wasn’t letting me go, and my dad wasn’t withdrawing either. My eyes started to drift closed. It was too hard... Everything was going black…

“Shay!” Kellan’s yell whipped against my face, snapping me back awake. My head straightened and my eyes were wide open. “You have to fight.”

“I can’t. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“Your messenger side wants to go with your father. The rest of you wants to come with me. You’re fighting yourself.”

He had helped me before. He could do it again. “Kellan, your demon needs to come inside me. Do whatever you did before.”

“I can’t. I’m using everything I have to hold your father off.”

“Get Gus and Vespar. Everyone needs to help.”

“Damien and Aumae are helping. Gus is too exhausted.”

“I don’t give a shit.” I scowled. “She has to help.”

Somehow, I focused on Kellan, but then moved behind him. I didn’t know where I was getting the strength, but I reached over him. I sensed where everyone stood. The other angels were standing across the road. A barrier kept them out of reach. I didn’t question that. We needed to use that. Gus and Vespar were behind Aumae and Damien, who stood right next to Kellan. Both had their hands in the air, chanting, and fusing their power with his. They watched this, but couldn’t stop me. The angels behind the barrier became frenzied. They began crashing into the barrier, trying to break it down.

“Shay,” Gus looked around her. “What are you doing?”

“Use your powers. We need you.”

“What do you want us to do?”

Vespar kept his mouth shut. I was trying to get into his head, but he blocked me out. I couldn’t force my way in. I was using too much of my power as it was.

“Shay.” Gus began trembling. “What do you want us to do?”

“Touch Kellan. Connect your mind. He’ll guide you from there.”

I placed both of them on their feet, behind Kellan. He knew what was happening, but couldn’t lessen his concentration from holding off my father.

“Gus.” She was just standing there, looking around. “Do it now.”

“Vespar,” she murmured, nudging him with her arm.

He refused to look at her. He was refusing to help.

“Come on.”

He turned his back on her.

“They saved us. We have to help.”

“She’s the enemy.”

“She’s the reason we’re alive.”

“Kellan’s the reason we’re alive.”

“So help me instead!” Kellan thundered, his voice crashing down on both of our siblings. They covered their ears. Kellan’s fury had reached another level.

I grew determined. The bastards were going to help, whether they wanted to or not. I closed my eyes and began searching inside. My power was throughout me. It wasn’t pooled in any one place, but most of it wasn’t being used. Kellan was right. Some of it didn’t want to move. It wouldn’t. It wanted to go back with my father. I bit down on my lip, and I thrust into my own power. It would help me, just like my siblings. I was choosing, and I was choosing Kellan.

“Move!”

Slowly, so agonizingly slow, it began churning. It began circling around, almost sluggishly, but the more it circled, the more it began to pick up speed. It was a steady pace, like the beginning of a hurricane. It was moving faster, just a bit, and it kept going...faster, faster, more and more. It was starting to whip around, now like a full force hurricane and I was keeping it restrained inside me.

“Shay.” I heard Kellan’s concern. “What are you doing?”

“Helping.” I couldn’t say more. I was using what strength I had to keep it under control. It was beginning to be too much.

I opened my eyes. The twister was rising in me, but I needed to see if Gus was helping. She was. Her hand was on Kellan’s shoulder and her eyes were closed. Her head hung down. I felt her power slip past me, merging with Aumae’s and Damien’s, too. Vespar still wasn’t helping, but he was watching. His forehead wrinkled in fear.

Fine. Forget him.

I was almost ready.

“Shay,” Kellan said. “I don’t know if this is a good idea.”

“Shut up.” My hands lifted out to my side. I was getting ready. “Just be prepared. This is going to be fast.”

“What are you do—?”

A burst of light exploded from me. It was like a nuclear bomb. It hit against my father like a speeding bullet, slamming him back and cutting him off from us. The rest of my power shot out, disintegrating the barrier, and it blasted against the other messengers. It flung them miles away from us. I felt each of them crash into the ground and all of them except one fell unconscious.

I formed pockets of protection, covering Kellan, Aumae, Damien, Gus, and even Vespar. Everyone else was obliterated.