My heart pumped at an alarming rate, every inch of me thrummed with the need to run, to escape the monstrous creature before me. I could do nothing but stare in wide-eyed horror.
Its torso was similar to a human, except covered in black leathery skin. At least eight feet tall, the demon’s even longer limbs were disproportionate to its body. In place of hands were two taloned prongs, each at least ten inches long. What was most frightening was its horrific face, or the fact it didn’t have one, instead a gaping jaw took up the entire bottom half of its head, filled with rows upon rows of sharp teeth.
The terrifying creature flung a pronged arm so fast it took a moment to register what had happened. It gutted Terym, tore him clean in half. Blood and flesh sprayed the creature in a sight so nauseating I struggled to swallow back the bile threatening to expel from my throat.
And King Terym was slain by the very thing he wished to raise from the depths of the earth.
Good fucking riddance.
“Now that that’s taken care of. Brother, what a predicament we find ourselves in,” Bastian said, unaffected by the act ofhorrifying violence he just solicited. He bared his teeth, circling a still kneeling Shade. “I should kill you for locking me in that Gods forsaken place for a millennium, but I think playing with you will be much more—” He took a deep breath. “Satisfying.”
A hand suddenly gripped my arm, and I jumped just as another covered my mouth, muffling my startled screech at the unexpected touch. I met Wista’s swollen eyes. I’d been so focused on the brothers, I hadn’t heard their approach. It wasn’t Wista who held me in their grasp, I turned to face my captor.
“Pierce?” I mumbled behind the hand still covering my mouth. He raised a finger to his lip, motioning me to be quiet, and I nodded my agreement.
The wisps darting around the room paid us no mind while Bastian spoke to Shade. It wouldn’t do us any favors to change that. Having seen what one demon could do, I didn’t want to get close to any of them.
Pierce inclined his head in direction of the steps. I guess now that his king was dead, he wanted to help us escape. Although Terym’s death brought me satisfaction and relief, it was heavily shrouded in the pain of losing Eleanor. I looked down at her face now. So calm and serene.
I wouldn’t leave her behind. Not here.
I faced Pierce, who released me and waited for us to follow his instructions and move.
“I can’t leave her.” I kept my voice low so I didn’t draw attention from the wisps or their master.
“I’ll take her,” he grunted. His hands were gentle when he lifted Eleanor from my lap. She was small and fragile cradled against his chest. “You two go first.”
Crouching low, I sidled up to Wista who was already a few feet away. I hesitated when I reached her, glancing back at Shade. I didn’t want to leave him.
I silently begged him to look at me, just a glance. Something. But his entire focus was on Bastian, who still paced around him.
“He wants you to leave. He wants you safe,” Wista whispered in my ear. She was right, his protectiveness of me had never wavered. He would want me as far away from his brother and the demons he controlled as possible. The thought of leaving him tore at what remained of my heart, I just lost Eleanor, I wouldn’t survive losing him too.
“Adelia, please,” Wista begged, tugging on my arm, but it was too late.
“What’s this?” My heart lurched, and fear crashed through me like a tidal wave when Bastian’s voice rose to reach us. My hesitation had ruined any chance of escape.
Two shadow demons landed behind us, towering menacingly. Their proximity spurred us into motion, and we rushed out into the open.
Shade’s head snapped to me, fear flashing in those silver eyes before his expression shuddered into one of indifference.
Bastian’s dark eyes roamed over me from head to toe, not in a lascivious way, but his intense gaze still sent an uncomfortable shiver down my spine. He lingered on my hands, caked with congealed blood where they’d been cut.
“You’re the one.” It wasn’t a question and I didn’t respond. He had clearly worked out what role I played in releasing him. “It’s you I must thank for my freedom it seems.”
Fire burned in my gut, and I clenched my fists at my sides. I hadn’t meant to release him; in fact, I’d been doing everything I could not to. My sister sacrificed her life to stop this very thing from happening. “It wasn’t intentional, believe me.”
Bastian pursed his lips. “I was going to let you live. But now …” He moved his hands the same way he had to instruct the demon to slay the king.
Heat flared at my back, telling me a fire demon formed behind us, and my eyes found Shade’s. There was no way to fight the demons, not without a blessed blade, if there were even any left in existence. If this was the end, I would go out with my eyes on him. My only regret was we didn’t have more time.
Silver eyes widened, then filled with fury, and a burst of smoke exploded from him. It waged over me, no longer smelling as I knew it to, the florally lilac gone. Woodsy, sandalwood, and something I distinctly knew as him filled me.
The heat at my back vanished in a low sizzle. I turned in time to watch the fire demon dart away, a wisp once more.
Bastian let out an ominous chuckle. “How transparent you are, brother.”
Shade jumped to his feet to face off against his brother, nostrils flared and fists clenched at his side. His inky-black tendrils were darker now, more shadow than smoke. They curled and danced through the air with purpose, heading straight for Bastian.
