“You cannot have us both,” the demoness gasped. “Make your choice, my Prince; disable me, or save her.”
Mara stilled, as did Sitri’s hound, both waiting for the Prince’s decision. With a growl of frustration, Sitri abandoned his stance and scrambled to my side. He kneeled and returned his weapons to his belt. Agony ripped through me with every movement, and cold crept into my muscles.
“Sitri?” My strained voice came as a whisper. “Can blood loss annihilate a demon?”
He bit his lip and peeled the sticky, blood-laden armor away from my skin. When Sitri saw the extent of the damage, his jaw clenched. It must have looked bad.
“I should never have brought you here.”
I winced. Sitri’s words stung nearly as much as Mara’s blade.
“It’s not fatal—or it won’t be, so long as we get you out of here quickly,” he said.
A yelp drew both our attention, and I glanced up to see her wedge the knife between the hellhound’s ribs. Mara slid it between the hound’s bones, across its chest as if filleting a cut of fresh meat. Even as injured as she was, she felled the beast with ease. I’d begun to understand what made her such a deadly adversary. Mara had a knack for finding the subtle gaps in her opponents’ armor and exploiting them. She was fast. She was smart. Most importantly, she was precise.
The Prince gritted his teeth, and I struggled for every breath. The battle was lost. We both knew it. For the second time, I couldn’t help but wonder how the fight would have gone if I hadn’t made myself a target.
“Horrors!” Sitri called to the demon horse as he wrapped an arm around my back. The other hooked under my knees. One firm heave lifted me into a bridal carry, sending another shock wave of pain through my stomach.
I whimpered, though I didn’t resist. Sitri’s warmth brought me comfort as my own heat drained away. His steed came running. As it halted, he mounted it, still holding me tight in his arms.
“Let us return,” he ordered, and with no need for direction, the demon horse was off.
Each of its hoofbeats shook more pain and blood from my body, leaving a trail of my essence in its wake. As we rode towards safety, I stole one last glance back at the battlefield. All had gone silent. Mara stood over the motionless hellhound, eyes gleaming like an animal’s in the dark. The demoness didn’t give chase. She had no reason to.
She’d earned a decisive victory, and with it, her escape.
“What happens now?” I asked. My eyelids drifted shut.
Sitri’s hold on me tightened. “We get you back to Lantyca for healing, and then we regroup. We have no other course of action now.”
