Page 61 of Demonic Affliction

“And you still think this is a suicide mission?”

He just laughs. “Don’t you?” He spreads his arms wide. “Don’t you feel it? How small and insignificant are we to this world? To the universe? We don’t stand a chance. Still, I have to try. For my men. For my kingdom. If we are all truly going to die, I want to be able to go into the abyss knowing I tried.”

I turn away from him, watching Rhune and Nyx argue. “I believe in my mate. I trust in her that there is a chance—no matter how small. And I will fight for that chance. I will fight with everything I have in order to keep our bond.”

That laugh again. “You and I are more alike than I thought, Dravik.” With that, he turns and heads back to his soldiers, leaving me to stew.

I don’t have long to do that, though. Willow looks up at me, giving me a sleepy smile that eases all my earlier irritation. Without a word, I settle down next to her on our makeshift bed, leaving enough room for Rhune and Nyx.

“How are your wounds?” I ask, already reaching for her. She doesn’t complain, and when I begin massaging the tired muscles of her feet, her groan makes my heart pound in my ears.

“God, that feels good,” she mumbles, her eyes drifting closed. “You would have made a great masseuse in a different life…”

I do not know what this masseuse is, but the way she says it makes pride swell in my chest. My fingers continue working, and she lets out another series of sounds, causing my cock to twitch to life.

Not here. Not now. Must hold it together.

With great effort, I remove my hands from Willow, helping her into a more comfortable position between us. She needs rest, and if we stayed like we were for much longer, my control would have snapped. It is already so woefully thin around her. I need no further temptations.

“Rest, my heart.” I slide my hand gently over her back. “Rest. We have a very long way yet to travel, and you need your strength.”

Willow nods, pressing her face deeper into Rhune’s chest. Within moments, her breathing evens out, her body goes limp, and I know sleep has claimed her.

Nyx folds a wing over Rhune and Willow, acting as a makeshift blanket to keep her extra warm. Then he and Rhune follow our mate into the dark.

Just before I rest my head, I spare a glance toward Cin. He’s now sitting at the edge of the shadowed tunnel, crouched with his hands pressed to his ears. He doesn’t move. He doesn’t appear to be breathing. If our bond weren’t alive and thrumming, I’d have to run over and check that he was alive.

He’s not dead, but he’s also not here. Cin is gone, and I don’t know what to do to get him back.

Pushing my worries to the back of my mind, I lay my head down and force my eyes shut, begging sleep to claim me, too.

“Everyone get up! NOW!”

I bolt up straight, my hands reaching out in the dark, searching blindly for my mate. My heart thuds loud in my ears, but it's not enough to drown out the chorus of monstrous screams echoing through the cavern.

Danger. Find Willow. Run.

My thoughts run wild as I swipe through the shadows, my hands colliding with Rhune’s sturdy shoulder. Without me needing to ask, he guides my hand to Willow’s head, letting me feel she’s really here.

She’s okay, he shouts through our bond. We need to move!

The three of us jump to our feet, finding Vhalthor’s soldiers standing at attention, weapons raised and eyes scanning the shadows, preparing for a fight. Cin is the only one who seems unaffected by it all. He’s standing off to the side, frozen in place and staring into the dark, like it’s whispering its secrets to him.

The screams grow louder, drowning out all thought, filling my veins with terror.

We might all die before our journey even starts…

20

Willow

Hundreds of horrible, malformed creatures pour from the shadows in a writhing, slow-moving mass. Their shriveled limbs twist and claw, tangling with their brethren and filling the air with stomach-churning cracks as the mass consumes them and moves on. The stench comes next—rot, laced with something sweet, and somehow worse.

And the screams… God, the screams… I’ve never heard anything so heartbreaking and terrifying all at once. They overlap into one long, tearing note that settles into the marrow of my bones, freezing me to the spot and filling my veins with lead.

“Good gods.” Dravik’s face is slack with horror. “How do we fight this?”

No one answers. There are too many—I know that just by looking at them. There’s no way we can fight them all off, even with Vhalthor’s army.