“I’m here for you, of course.” Blood coats her teeth.
My scalp prickles, and tightens, as a sense of foreboding hits me. “I won’t go with you.”
With a wicked grin, she tips her head back and lets out a chillingly sinister laugh that has the hair rising on my arms.
“That’s so cute. You think you have a choice.”
“There is always a choice,” I snap. “If you are his soldiers, then why are you trying to kill me?”
The woman bites her lip to stop her smile from spreading. “We aren’t trying to kill you, silly. We just need to bring you back alive, though he never said how alive you needed to be.”
I feel my magic swell in my chest. It’s about time. I reach out with my mind and draw on the trees and vines. The sound of snapping branches and sticks fill the air, and in my mind’s eye, I picture maidens, four of them, made of sticks and vines. I watch as they form, the beauty of nature entwining to make four warriors beside me, each with their own bow and arrows pointed at the demon in front of me.
Her eyes flash in delight. “Oh, this will be interesting. I always did like a challenge.”
With her katana held firmly in front of her, she cracks her neck from side to side, sending me a playful wink. She oozes confidence, and her arrogance makes my skin crawl, but it’s a characteristic befitting a monster. With a forceful push against the ground, she propels herself into the air, closing in on me with astonishing speed. The thwack of arrows being released by the maidens fills the air, but she skillfully deflects each one with her katana. Despite the overwhelming torrent of arrows, she effortlessly evades every single one. Her movements are swift and graceful, like a dancer. One by one, she effortlessly slashes through my creations, causing the vines to crumble to the earth. My fingers flex and curl into fists, and I feel the weight of realization sinking in. I am not going to be able to fight her and win.
Her long black hair whips around her face when she faces me. “Impressive. But you’ll need to do better than that. Or you could just give up and come with me now, save all this drama.”
“I’m not going anywhere.”
The woman bursts into black smoke and slithers around me. She’s proving to me that she is stronger, more skilled.
Reforming closer than before, she grins.
“What are you?” I whisper harshly.
“A demon.” She shrugs casually. “You can call me, Yumekui.”
‘Everly, where are you?’Maxon’s voice reaches through the bond.
‘I think I’m near the eastern border.’
‘Raiden and I are on our way.’
‘I’m not alone. His pet is here.’
The bond between us trembles with Maxon's panic, sending a rush of anxiety surging through me.
‘I’m almost there.’
The demon spins, coming at me faster than I can track. Her katana slices through the air, and searing hot pain spreads across my chest, leaving me gasping for breath. The ground buckles under me, sending me flying backward. My arms shoot out to my sides for balance as I skid backward along the ground. I can't help but glare at the long, crimson line that extends from my left shoulder to the top of my right breast.
The demon smirks, a wicked glimmer entering her eyes as she lifts her blade to her mouth, licking off my blood.
Her crimson eyes glaze over, turning completely black. “Hmm, very nice. Maybe onceheis done with you, there will be enough left for me. Though, probably not. He doesn’t share. What a shame.”
Overwhelmed by anger and disgust, instinct takes over and my arm raises, the air propelling her forcefully into a nearby building. The wall gives way upon impact, collapsing around her with a deafening crash. Completely exhausted, I stumble forward, my legs feeling like jelly. The ability to call upon my magic is slipping away, growing more elusive by the second. I’m not sure I have another attack left in me.
Emerging from the debris, the demon gracefully brushes off the dirt from her kimono. “You are stronger than they were.”
When I don’t answer her, she grins. It only makes me want to send her flying into another wall. “It was so easy getting into the heads of the unseelie king and the seelie queen.”
I jerk forward a step, my pulse spiking. “What?”
“The original plan was to have everyone kill each other after they kill your entire family. Then I’d swoop in and rescue you and bring you tohim. But that mother of yours.,” she spits, anger flashing in her eyes. “She went and ruined everything.”
“You were the reason my family was killed? That Maxon’s parents died?”
