Page 87 of Demonic Affliction

“You get his feet.” Nyx moves toward Vhalthor’s shoulders. “We have to move quickly.”

Rhune nods, resolute. “Okay. Let’s⁠—”

The Welwig roots come out of nowhere, thick as my leg and black as rot, sliding around Rhune’s ankles and hauling him into the air before I have time to blink.

A scream tears out of my throat. But it’s too late.

"Rhune!" I cry. “NO!”

They grab Nyx next.

Just as he lunges forward, reaching for his brother’s outstretched hand, more roots attack from behind, coiling tight around his waist and hauling him back toward the edge of the pit.

“NYX! RHUNE!”

I break free of Dravik’s hold, and then I’m running, racing toward that horrible pit. I throw myself toward the edge, arm outstretched, fingers straining for Rhune's hand.

The tips of our fingers brush, and I watch in slow-motion as his body is dragged down into the dark, just out of reach. My fingers close around nothing but freezing air.

“Willow!” he screams, his voice cracking around my name.

The last thing I see is his sad pink eyes, wide and wet and filled with so much pain. Then the dark consumes him completely.

“Willow!”

I turn my face skyward toward Nyx’s voice, and the bond screams at the terrified look in his eyes—the pain contorting his handsome face.

“Willow!” he says. “I love⁠—”

Whoosh.

The roots drag him down in the blink of an eye, the abyss swallowing the last of his words.

I don’t think. I don’t feel. I lunge for the edge—to go after them? To die with them? I don’t know, and I don’t care. I just need to do something, anything to stop my heart from shattering into a million tiny pieces. To save my mates.

Willow, no! the serafyn cries. Don’t do this!

My feet leave the edge, welcoming the open air, and I prepare for the long, endless descent. At the last moment, a pair of strong arms wrap around my middle, hauling me out of the open air back onto land.

Dravik.

He turns me and pulls me against his chest, his arms like a vise as I try to fight to get back to the edge. Realizing I can’t win, I go still in Dravik’s grip, my body shaking, heaving with sobs as the bond in my chest freezes over.

“We have to help them,” I say. “We have to do something…”

He gazes down at me, his eyes creasing in sympathy and a never-ending well of sadness. “I’m sorry, my heart. I’m so, so sorry.”

He doesn’t get to say anything more, because at that moment, a cacophony of screams starts up to our right. When I look to see what the new commotion is for, my heart drops out of my chest.

Dagny and her mates are losing their battle—badly. Though they fight with all they have, they are no match for the endless horde pouring from the Welwig. No match for the power of this world. A dozen hungry monsters break through their defensive line, and my stomach fills with something cold and sick as I realize that they are headed straight for Dravik and me.

Everything inside me wants to scream out for help, but there's no one left to call for. Dagny and her mates are too preoccupied in their own fight to reach us. Vhalthor's soldiers are gone. I don't see a single one of them standing anywhere in the chamber. Vhalthor himself is still lying in a puddle of his own blood. God only knows what’s happened to Cin.

And Nyx and Rhune are… I can’t finish the thought. It hurts too much.

“Dravik…”

“I know, my heart. It’s okay. Don’t look at them. Look at me. That’s it… That’s good. Just keep looking at me.”