If he wished to have a place in her life, he would need to prove that much to her. Even if allowing Naia to keep her power and Ash to live frightened him to his core, he was confident that he could fight to keep himself alive and protect Marina from following the same fate as Ruelle.
With that, he bit into the back of his lip, tasting the cherry ooze to distract himself from the dip in his stomach, and gave a silent order, through the waves of his consciousness, so all of his Heralds could hear.
Return home, and leave Hollow City be.
22
THE DAEMON OLETHROS
Marina
Corpses,each covered in an icy cloth, lined the alleyway below.
“Five fresh recruits of the Blood Heretics.” Soren propped his elbow up on his knee, looking over the ledge of the building. His hood obscured his profile as he looked down at the massacre. “It’s bad fucking news. Another Olethros. The Daemon.” Soren looked back at her, the city’s crimson glow casting over his masked face like a dying neon sign.
The days of unnerving silence from Acacius had come to an end. He’d made his move.
Marina leaned forward to look around him. A crew of Blood Heretics filled the alley, a smattering of individuals in suits and long trench coats. Snow slowly piled on their shoulders as they used spells to clean the blood from the concrete and gently load the bodies into nearby vans.
She ran her fingers through her blonde hair, knocking the snow free. “You saw the monster?”
Soren nodded once. “Sure did. It’s just as the books described it.”
He referred to apocrypha written by the deities’ most favored scholars, who ventured into Tavora and supposedly caught a sighting of one of the creatures. The credibility was misguided, but Soren confirmed that the reports matched perfectly, giving more weight to their inked words.
Marina massaged her sternum with her fingers in an attempt to process the information without rash action. She was unable to take her eyes off the limp hand flopping out from underneath a sheet as its body was loaded into the darkness of a van.
Soren cocked his head, studying her intently. “You actually look disappointed.”
Marina crossed her arms, not bothering to hide the emotion on her face. “If the Daemon are in Hollow City, then Ash is in immense danger.”
Betrayal, yet again, cracked through her insides. Though, her hope in Acacius, the belief that he might actually care enough for her to do the right thing, was all her fault—especially when he’d made his feelings on Ash and Naia perfectly clear from the beginning.
“Is that all?” Soren’s voice softened, a friend asking about a friend.
Marina pursed her lips and drew in a sharp breath through her nose. “Perhaps you saw wrong.” She shook her head, doubtful. “I?—”
Soren rotated his body and flicked his chin to the heart of the city, where the buildings pierced the dense fog into the upper atmosphere. “If you want to see it for yourself, it fled that way when the Blood Heretics arrived. My guess is that it’s hiding up on one of the buildings to keep from being seen.”
Marina peered out into the darkness, the steady blanket of snow drifting in its depths. What was she even saying? Soren wasn’t one to make assumptions. He knew what he saw.
“I just don’t want to believe it,” she murmured, pinching the bridge of her nose. “It’s nothing against you.”
“Lord Acacius is selfish, and from what I’ve heard, he gets off on creating bullshit for others to deal with.” Soren brushed the frost from his hood and continued to watch below as the Blood Heretics loaded up the last of the bodies.
Marina pressed her tongue against the backs of her teeth, her disappointment squeezing her chest.
Soren reached out and lightly pinched her arm. “I’m here to help, Marina. Just tell me what you want me to do and I’ll do it.”
She searched his eyes, the tension slowly leaving her shoulders. “Thank you, Soren.”
He blinked at her, dramatically placing his hand over his heart. “Nina, did you just show gratitude?”
She turned away, her cheeks flushing. “Nevermind, bastard.”
Soren chuckled, playfully maneuvering to reappear back in her line of sight. “Are you expressing your deep-set appreciation?”
She scowled, waving him off. “Go. I don’t want to worry about Ash.”
