She froze in place. Completely.
Rain slashed down, blown about by the furious wind. Three immortal males lay prone on the ground, out cold.
Had that really just happened? Seriously?
She gulped in air. Her fierce hold on the branch had the bark cutting into her palms, and she dropped it. Holy marshmallows on a spreadsheet of fire. She’d knocked out Logan Kyllwood. Gingerly, she nudged him with her bare foot.
Nothing.
She bit her lip. Victory tinged with a sharp warning rippled through her. That would teach him to underestimate her. Man, she had to get out of there, and now. She looked at the soldiers and then at Logan. Could she just desert them all? Logan probably wouldn’t kill the soldiers, but what if they killed him?
Why did anybody have to die?
The rain punished them all, soaking them. The wind added debris, piling up against their hard bodies.
She blinked, trying to see.
Logan grunted. Then stirred.
Bloody hell. She turned and ran into the forest, dodging between trees. The demon would be safe from the soldiers.
She ran faster, rocks cutting into her freezing feet. Would she be safe from him?
Chapter 11
Pain flashed hot and bright through Logan’s head. He tried to move past it, but it caught him and pulled him into a storm so wild he could smell the fury of the gods.
All of a sudden, he was barely ten years old again.
His mama was crying in the other room while he faced his brothers, Zane and Sam, in the game room that had been filled with fun just one month ago. Their eyes, green like his, were serious and sad. Their vampire dad had died fighting against the Kurjans, and now they had to go and live with their demon relatives. His stomach hurt.
No matter how long he lived, his heart would always have a hole in it. His dad had been the strongest vampire ever, and now he was gone. It wasn’t right. Nothing made sense. Everything ached.
Zane was the oldest, and somehow, he looked older than he had a week ago as he sat on the pool table. “Uncle doesn’t like us, but our one goal is to keep Mom safe. He hates her, but he rules the demons.”
“Then why are we going there?” Logan asked, kicking away a tennis ball that had rolled out from under the sofa where he sat next to Sam. “Let’s stay here.”
“We can’t,” Sam said softly, rubbing his dark hair. “We’re half demon, and the demons and vampires are going to war.”
“Let’s be with the vampires, then.” None of this made sense. Logan wouldn’t cry, though. He wouldn’t.
Zane scratched his chin. “Most of our group was taken out, Logan. We aren’t aligned with the Realm and never have been.” Most vampires were with the Realm, which was at war with the demons. “We don’t know any of them, and we’d probably be used against our demon family. So we go to our uncle.”
Sam sighed. “We’ll have to fight.”
“I’ll fight,” Zane said. “I’ll do everything I can to keep you guys out of it until we’re old enough to find safety on our own.”
Logan wanted to run, but there was nowhere to go. Sometimes Fate sucked. “We’ll all have to fight, and you know it.” He’d had some training, but not nearly enough. But he’d soon be trained by demons, which didn’t sound like much fun. Still, if this was the only way to keep his family safe, he’d do it.
Zane hopped off the pool table, his black hair tied at his nape, his dark green eyes somber. Then he moved toward them, dropping to his knees. “I can’t explain it, but I know we have to do this. Someday, no matter what I have to do, I’m going to take the nation from our uncle.”
That was crazy. Nobody could beat their uncle. He was the toughest and meanest immortal alive on Earth. Fear caught Logan around the throat. “Zane—”
“Trust me,” Zane said.
The only way Uncle would step down would be with his head cut off. Zane didn’t really think he could kill the leader of the demon nation, did he?
Zane nodded as if Logan had spoken out loud. “I’ll do what needs to be done. We’re brothers. That’s all that matters.” The fear in his eyes was painful to see. Logan could almost feel it in his gut.
