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I fight with all I’ve got, killing left, right, and center. The demons know better than to attack the Fouuer, who simply stand by while I single-handedly take out as many as I can.
I slay another demon when a cry rings out behind me. I wheel around and lunge for an enemy, his blade dripping with blood as he stands over a fallen priestess.
My sword plunges deep into him, his eyes rolling back into his head as death takes him. He was the last to fall. I turn around, spotting Calindra on the ground, her veil caked with blood. Shana is by her side.
“The bastard slashed her face!” she cries. “But she is alive.”
“Don’t look at me, I’m ruined,” her friend protests, hiding her torn face away from everyone.
“Get her under control,” I tell Shana. “We’re getting out of here.”
I shoot one last glare at Eras, but he looks down in shame. It’s at that moment I realize he, like the handmaidens, is just a pawn in the eyes of Karona. I turn away, knowing he’s not the enemy here.
If only I could have slayed Karona with my blade.
21
SHANA
My whole world has been flipped upside down, and still, I fear the worst is yet to come. There I was in my cell, thinking about Carus coming to save us, only for it to become reality.
We should have listened to him and left when he said to, but it’s not every day that Karona herself decides to grace Aerasak with her presence. None of us handmaidens could resist listening to her, and that was our big mistake.
Now each and every one of us knows what she truly thinks of those who serve their lives doing every good deed in her name. My mind is still a blur from it all.
There is still the matter of Carus and the manner of his return. I’m eager to talk to him as he takes us back to the temple, casting a portal to teleport us there.
Soon, we’re back within the temple grounds. I look at Calindra, her veil a bloodied mess as it acts as a bandage for her wound. A group of handmaidens surround her, whispering words of affirmation and support for their injured friend.
“Bring her inside and look after her. I will join you all shortly,” I say.
Some turn and look between me and Carus, who sits on a bench visibly exhausted from his fight with the demons. No doubt, the handmaidens will ask me more about my relationship with him when I get inside. They can wait, though. Right now, I finally have the chance to talk to him.
“Carus,” I call out, approaching the dark elf. “You and I need to talk.”
“Yes, we do,” he replies, fully rising.
I stop and stare for a brief moment, still wondering at the fact he came to save me. Indeed, he was my last hope, but he could have left me to die if he wanted to.
I thought I was nothing more than something to fuck, but maybe there’s something more to this dark elf. One thing is for certain, that his coming to rescue us all is one impressive heroic act.
He reaches out for me, taking my hand in his. I allow him to do so, not protesting like I usually do. A deep sense of gratitude overwhelms me, reminding me that despite everything that happened, Carus still wants to stand by my side.
“Why did you come and help us?” I ask.
He tilts his head in confusion. “Like I said earlier, I was hardly going to sit idly by and let you rot in that cell.”
“Well, yes, but… I don’t understand why you think this way of me. I thought you got off on tormenting me.”
“I know what you’re thinking,” he says. “I had to come for you, Shana. For me, there was no choice in the matter, the same way I have no choice in this bond we share.”
“Bond?” I retort. “Carus, you’re making no sense right now.”
“Did you ever stop to think why I’ve been coming to you night after night?”
“Because you’re an insatiable dark elf,” I tell him nonchalantly.
“I thought so, too, at first. But the feeling kept nagging at me, and then it all became clear as day.”
