Shewas the one who entered his life and changed his destiny, setting him onthisviolent path when she left him with the old couple who let him run off, only to die in that alley.
Faced with his reality, despair and guilt almost brought her to her knees.Forgive me, Nate. I will do whatever it takes to ensure your life is different now. Better. Just get through this fight and live, please—
The bald demon grabbed Nate and flung him away. The weight of his wings had him tripping back, and he hit the arena barriers.
No, no!C’mon, Nate, you can do this!
He lurched back to his feet, his grunts reaching her despite the ruckus of the arena. The enormous demon flashed toward Nate and grabbed his wing, spinning them around like a cyclone. The sound of flesh tearing free, bones breaking, filled her ears—
A scream exploded from her throat. “Na—!”
“No!” Aba slapped his palm on her mouth, suppressing her cry. “Hush, it’s almost at the end, don’t distract him.”
End?Her knees shook, her sob cemented in her throat as the cur tore off Nate’s wing. Ely stood there utterly powerless, her gaze fixed on the man she loved, who might not leave the pit alive. The bear-like demon tossed the wing aside, horrible sounds of grunts and scritches echoing, and she realized the bastard was laughing.
Nate staggered around, listing to one side from the weight of his single wing, blood pouring off his back like a broken faucet.
“Come on, my love, you can do this,” she begged, tears burning her eyes.
A snarl suddenly erupted, and despite being gravely wounded and with one appendage getting in his way, Nate leaped up into the air. His arm arched like a sword, his impossibly long talons like deadly blades slicing clear across the bald demon’s neck before he landed on his clawed feet and stumbled several steps.
Growls and sounds of choking resounded in the arena.
Shouts tore across the crater of death. “Finish him, finish him!”
Ely had no idea who must finish whom. Her heart thundered in her ears as Nate slowly turned, then he leaped up at the demon, grabbing his head. He grunted, trying to yank Nate off him, and staggered about. Nate’s biceps bulged as he twisted, his face contorted into an unrecognizable mask of rage and hate, the symbiont stone on the middle of his back glowing red.
The sheer horror of what was happening froze her in place as he broke his opponent’s neck and tore the head free.
The headless demon collapsed to his knees, blood spraying everywhere like an unplugged geyser, then he fell forward. Nate tossed the head down. A second later, the demon’s body and head shimmered and vanished. Cheering erupted, almost deafening her.
A screech of rage tore free, and Nate fell to his knees. His skin darkened, scales rippling over his torso.
A squad of demons appeared in a dust cloud, surrounding him, their deeper green cloaks billowing around them, blocking Nate from her sight.
“What’s happening?” She grabbed Aba’s arm.
“Those are Azgor’s personal guards,” he growled. “He’s being taken.”
“What?Why!”
“Because the bastard knows the change is happening and wants his prized possession with him.”
“But he gave Nate a decade to work off his debt. Said he would return the other part of your soul!”
“Mere words, child. Azgor doesn’t care about that as long as he gets what he wants. My son. This fight should never have happened! C’mon.” He stormed off.
Ely pushed past the crowd, following Aba, but her attention remained fixed on the arena. She couldn’t see Nate with demons surrounding him or hear anything either, with the uproar in the place. Aba stopped, and she nearly crashed into him.
He glared up at the private box, at the tall, green-haired demon. “Azgor!”
The archdemon cast her a narrowed look before dismissing her and staring down his nose at Aba, his hand on one of the hellhound’s heads. “You dare confront me?”
“And you can’t let the past be,” Aba retorted. “I’ll take my son now. Release him.”
“He belongs to me.”
“You brokered a deal with him for a decade!” Aba snapped. “He won this fight. Release him!”
