Page 103 of The Serpent Prince

Then a loud screeching overtook her ears, and Imani covered them, not caring about the dirt and blood smearing everywhere.

The ground rumbled. Kiran roared, his scream louder than anything else.

Light streamed through a massive slit above them that cracked wider and wider until pieces of dark magic began falling away, disappearing into nothing as the corpses tore through the surface.

Concerned that they would hurt Kiran, Imani held up her hand to halt the creatures. They fell to the ground, writhing.

She felt movement in her peripheral vision and knew that Mateus had taken flight to overpower her from above.

All the shadow magic that had built, now a roiling mass of darkness, blasted into the night air at the threat. The whole vicinity bled black.

Chaos erupted. The screeches from the dead grew to a deafening level, and she could feel her shadows wrap around the death angel, practically choking him. They clamored to break his bones, destroy his organs—obliterate him.

Unlike in the slip and with Malis, Imani’s body was in control. She thanked the gods for her training with two-faced Zadie.

Flicking her wand backward, the darkness receded until she could see the barrier again. Or what was left of it.

The prince stood utterly still as the corpses of the furies surrounded him like a protective detail.

Crawling out of the way, the creatures parted for him as he approached, measured as ever, and stalked toward Mateus. The death angel snarled, cursing the prince for being weak, attempting to goad him into anger, yet Kiran didn’t take the bait.

Kiran said nothing, though his ire radiated from him silently as he held his wand at his side. He stared at Mateus with violence exuding through his snarled face.

Kiran then turned to Imani, and their eyes met. Deep beneath the contrived mask he wore for the benefit of the death angel, way back in his eyes, the lights of care and concern for her burned bright.

Can everyone see what I’m seeing? Imani struggled to breathe as she dragged herself upright.

No. That light sparkled just for her because Kiran and Imani were connected by something mystical. Dark and darker still, they were the two sides of the same coin, one that could not be complete without the other. If she’d accomplished anything over the past few months, it was this certainty.

Right now, at this moment in time, Imani couldn’t believe that she’d ever doubted for even a moment that he would let her die here. Kiran had a bigger plan, one Mateus hadn’t anticipated.

He strode in front of Imani, picked her up, and placed her at his back.

She looked around him and pointed her wand at the death angel, ordering the shadows to loosen their grip so he could speak. They let him fall but still coiled around him threateningly. He dropped slightly then caught himself with his shadow wings and landed gracefully on the ground.

“I’m tearing you apart if you so much as think about separating us again,” Kiran snarled at Mateus.

“I’ve told you before, I am not a beast for you to command. But you’ve grown stronger since we last met.” Mateus’s eyes darted to Imani. “You did fulfill the bargain, and I do not have a death wish; thus, I will keep my end of the deal to leave you unharmed. But afterward, I’m not responsible for what creatures seek you out to kill you before you can leave this place.”

Kiran and Imani both kept their wands pointed at the restrained death angel. His unwavering stare and complete lack of a reaction sent a cold trickle down her spine.

Could he free himself from the shadows since he also possessed doraca magic?

She didn’t know. There was still so much she didn’t know.

Kiran opened his mouth for a moment, paused, shut it, and then bared his teeth. “We’ll see about that.”

“What is your first question? As promised, I will only tell you where and how—nothing more.”

Kiran inhaled thoughtfully, as if contemplating his options. But it was an act. He already knew what he wanted to ask before standing in front of Mateus, indeed had already made up his mind before even walking into this realm.

“Where do the Under king and his horde idle away in exile?”

“The horde king, or Under king, as you refer to him, retreated to the deepest part of his domain with his creatures, but idle is the last thing he’s been.”

“How do I take control of the horde?”

“You kill the horde king.”