Anguish and detestation coat my tongue like a vile poison. Pain shoots up my spine to my head, feeling like my brain is on the verge of exploding. Then a feeling of something slithering wraps itself around me like a snake, holding me in place.
“Nnnephilimmm.”
The word takes up space in my mind. One I’munfamiliar with in a voice that isn’t my own. It's a deep sound, like multiple voices talking at once, hissing the word in my ear.
“Nnnephilimmm.”
Again. The same word.Nephilim. The word came up in the contract a few times, but I didn’t know what it was. My attention was elsewhere, on James. I cared for nothing but his blood painting the road and the life leaving his eyes.
If I knew these were the creatures…
I still would have done it. I don’t regret it. James deserved his ending. My only regret is that it wasn’t my sister—or hell, even Erin—who pulled the trigger.
“What do you want?” I think I ask the question out loud, but it could have easily been in my mind. Regardless, the pain in my head increases as the creature's answer forms in my head.
“Deathhh…to…allllll…for HIM.”
If I didn’t know better, I would think the Nephilim is laughing, using the fear and anguish around the room to feed some sick part of it. The same fear threatens to drown me where I stand. The world feels too much, too heavy. The poignant smell of death surrounds me, not just a few, but hundreds of bodies. Blood pools around my feet, soaking into my shoes.
“Warrr…cominggg…”
These thoughts of blood and bodies aren’t my own. They feel like a memory of the past…but not mine. Clashes of swords strike against metal. There’s something I should understand. Something more than what the Nephilim is saying. In the distance, there’s someone perched upon the mountains, letting the chaos unfold before them.
In a trance, I move closer, needing to see who this mysterious person is. So familiar and yet different than anything I’ve ever seen before.
I don’t get a chance to see, though, because in the next second, there are arms around my waist, pulling me back against a solid body.
I scream.
Chapter 9
Oziel
The last remaining guard and Garvan drop to their knees the moment the Nephilim’s piercing scream reverberates around the room. My body tenses, and I clench my jaw through the pain, forcing my hands to stay balled up at my sides. The demon king can’t show weakness, not when my people are always watching and waiting to doubt my ability to lead.
Perhaps bringing Isabelle down here was a mistake.
Isabelle takes a step closer to the cage, just as I asked her to do. Another foolish mistake. The giant beast inside moves to the bars, as if an invisible string connects the two of them. At any moment, the imprisoned Nephilim could reach out and snatch the human, killing her instantly, along with my hopes of defeating our enemies.
I act without further prompting.
The Nephilim’s high-pitched wailing becomes more unbearable the closer I get. I bite down on my tongueso hard, my mouth explodes with the taste of my own blood. My powers are waning fast.
Once I’m close enough, my arms snake around Isabelle’s torso, bringing the woman back against me. She screams and fights me, a kitten clawing for freedom. If this were any other circumstances, I would call it foreplay. But as it is, I can’t enjoy her lithe body moving against mine with pain lacerating my body.
I summon my strength, shadows engulfing us. The sensation of icy water washes over us, and the world around us becomes gloriously silent. That is, until my shadows deposit us in my dining room and Isabelle falls from my arms to the ground. She lands on her hands and knees, retching up the contents of her belly on my newly polished flooring.
Pity.
“What…the…fuck?” Isabelle hisses through panting breaths.
“You’re welcome.” Did they not teach humans manners in her world? And Mescos thinks demons were rude. I suppose Isabelle fits in perfectly.
“You’re welcome?” Her shrill voice does little to ease my spiraling nerves.
Echoes of pain pulse through my body, and my ears still ring with the screams from the Nephilim and my betrothed. My power is all but depleted. I haven’t felt my true power for months, ever since the arrival of the rose and curse.
“You had no right to pull me out of there. No fucking right, Oziel.” Isabelle rounds on me. The brave—or possibly foolish—woman glares at me through dark,heavy lashes. If black cats were human women, Isabelle would be the leader of them.
