We headed back to camp after finding ten nuts, a great accomplishment considering I wasn’t gifted with animal senses. Nico had spotted eight of them, and he’d graciously credited me with the two I’d stumbled upon while tripping over a root.
There was a bounce to Nico’s step, and his fingers kept brushing against his hip pouch, as if reassuring himself the treasures were still there.
Watching him this content made our scavenger hunt worth it. Inferna didn’t feel so threatening when he moved through it with such ease, like he belonged here among the wildness.
As we approached the campsite, a man on a horse came into view. He was talking to Henry, one of our elders. In a way, most of us were elders, alive for centuries. Some had been around since Inferna was conceived.
Conceived and then ghosted by the bastard who couldn’t face the consequences of what he’d done.
Henry saw us and waved us over. The man on the horse turned to look at us, and I lowered my head and adjusted the hood covering my hair.
Few would recognize me with my purple hair, but I was always cautious. There had been a few close calls where Lilith’s soldiers had infiltrated our camp, but luckily, we had quite a few magic users and ferocious shifters, so I hadn’t had to fight.
The man took off before we could even get to them. Crisis averted.
“What was that about?” Nico walked in front of me,shielding me still. He was the only one who knew my true identity.
I blinked, and the years dissolved, taking me back to the day we met; the same day my world changed forever.
Water splashed onto my face,and I bolted upright. There was no pain in my body, which was surprising since I had been hit by lightning and fallen off a horse.
I swiped the water off my face and rubbed my eyes to find a man standing over me, recapping his canteen.
“How am I still alive?” I asked no one in particular and looked down at my legs.
They were glowing faintly, and I rubbed my hands over them. They felt normal, but they looked electrically charged.
“You’ve been out for a solid ten minutes. I was in a tree when the lightning hit you.” He pointed to a tree close to where we were.
In a tree? What was he? I narrowed my eyes in consideration. He was a big man, with thick legs, wide shoulders, and a narrow waist. He didn’t live in a village close to the castle because I would have recognized him. It would have been hard not to, with his sandy blond hair that sat in a knot on the top of his head and his bearded face.
He could be a cat of some sort, or possibly a large carnivorous bird.
“I’m Nicolas.” He held out his hand, and I took it. He pulled me to my feet as if I weighed nothing. “Nicolas Beech.”
I didn’t give him my name in return. If there were guards after me, I couldn’t trust him. I couldn’t trust anyone.
“I’ve never seen anyone take a hit of lightning before and live to tell about it. The storm seemed to end right after it struck you. That’s very strange.” He cocked his head slightly to the side and examined my face more closely. “It should have taken all your light, but you aren’t vacant.”
I pulled my hand away from his massive one. “Well, thanks. I should?—”
“Your hair turned purple.” He crossed his tattooed arms over his chest, drawing my eyes to his pecs. He must be glorious without his shirt on.
I grabbed a handful of my hair and brought it around to look at it. My eyes widened at the sight of light purple locks instead of my usual brown ones.
“I have to go.”
I shookmy head free of the memory as we stopped in front of Henry, his face pale as he watched the horseman leave.
“There have been reports of angels in the Black Forest. There is a rumor that Prince Reve is with them.” Henry shook his head in disbelief. “After all this time, he’s come back? With angels? I don’t believe it.”
My heart nearly stopped in my chest. The last I’d heard about the fate of my brother was that he had been a prisoner of Lilith’s and then of Lucifer’s.
“What does this mean for us?” Nico was still standing in front of me, and I was grateful because I’m sure my face had gone pale.
Henry made a noise in his throat. “If he retakes the throne, Prince Reve was much more progressive than his father. This is our chance to get a spot on the council, and we can finally stop being treated like shit. Hopefully, he’s back to claim his throne. He’s the only one powerful enough to take it back from Lilith.”
I wasn’t sure if it was possible to defeat Lilith. Not only could she control the weaker of the demon races, but she had a lot of support from the higher-ranking demons. They wanted to go to Earth and make it their own, which was what she was offering them in return for their loyalty.
