Page 89 of Demonic Affliction

“Willow…”

Cin turns to face me, and my breath catches as I see the madness swirling in his eyes.

The Welwig parasite in his soul has overpowered him, but somehow, he is still fighting for me. Fighting to save me.

“Willow,” he moans. “Run…”

My heart thumps once, twice, and I snap out of my grief-stricken trance. I couldn't save Dravik, Nyx, or Rhune, but Cin is still here, and I refuse to lose him, too.

Under his order, I push myself up and run in the opposite direction.

I get about ten paces away when a root snags my ankle, and I go down hard, palms smacking against the ice. I manage to twist around, and I freeze, overcome by a wave of pure adrenaline and panic.

Cin stands over the pit's edge, haloed in an aura of ancient, pulsing magic. It’s dark and beautiful and utterly wrong, and for a moment, I can do nothing but stare. The roots wind up my shoulders and around my neck, then haul me upright by the throat, forcing me to face Cin.

I gaze into my eyes, and my windpipe tightens. He’s the one wielding the roots. The Other—the Welwig—has won the battle.

Slowly, the roots tighten around my throat. I claw at them with my one good hand, nails scraping uselessly against wet, cold bark. I can't get a grip on them. I'm not strong enough.

Never strong enough…

Kill it! Spoon screams. End it! Save yourself, Willow!

“Hungry…” Cin growls, his eyes mad with the Welwig's influence. “So… hungry...”

Willow! That thing is not your mate any longer! the serafyn cries. The Other has control of him! Kill it!

I shake my head, even as Cin advances, even as the roots tighten around my windpipe. “No,” I whisper. “No, I won’t do it.”

I love Cin too much. I have lost so much already, and I can’t lose him, too. Not when there is something left to save. I'd rather destroy it all than be the one to end his life.

Using all my willpower, I bring my hand to my side, giving up my fight against the roots. Instead, I look into Cin's eyes, hot tears streaming down my face.

“I know who you are, Cin,” I say. “You’re not a monster.”

He roars, the sound raw and pained. Cin’s expression flickers between the male I love and that of the deadly entity inside him, and I know he is still in there.

A small, sad smile spreads across my face as my vision narrows, whiting out everything but his face. “You’ll never be a monster to me. They can’t make me see you as one. Never… never… never…”

Cin roars again, louder this time, his whole body shuddering like something inside him is tearing. There’s a flash of clarity in his eyes, and his power loosens the iron grip around my throat.

“Willow,” he says. “My Willow. I’m so… I’m so sorry… I can’t hold it any longer… I can’t… can’t protect you from it…”

With great strength and effort, Cin turns his head, looking directly at that horrible black pit. And at that moment, I know exactly what he’s thinking.

“CIN—DON’T!”

But it’s too late. He did.

Just like Dravik, and Nyx, and Rhune, Cin’s body disappears over the edge, falling into the dark, never to return.

“NO!”

The Welwig magic holding me in place releases, and I race toward the edge of the pit, collapsing to my knees. I reach into the dark, searching for a glimpse of him—a sign he might still be alive. But there’s nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing…

Cin took the last piece of my heart with him.

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