His gaze locks on me, then shifts to them, filled with nothing short of pure hatred.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing with her?”
Chapter 16
Korithax
There is no word in any tongue, mortal or immortal, that accurately captures the horror of the Drekkar.
The sky above the Northern Ridge is alive. Blood-red lightning streaks across the expanse, making the sky appear like it’s bleeding. Crimson clouds roil over jagged peaks, the ground trembling under the weight of the creature in front of me. The air crackles with dread and terror, the kind that even makes the most sinister of demons pause. Towering over forty feet tall, the Drekkar is a twisted behemoth of scale and shadow. Reptilian in structure, but corrupted far beyond anything that can exist naturally. Its body is armoured in jagged obsidian plating, each scale edged with a venomous green substance that pulses through its veins. Leathery wings sprout from its back like broken cathedral windows, too large for its disgusting body, with membranes black and iridescent, stretched taut over gnarled bone.
Its head is elongated, draconic—but where eyes should be, are hollows of shifting emerald green flame. A maw thatsplits open wider than physically possible, layered with rows of serrated teeth, roars its deafening sound all around us. It sounds like a thousand dying screams, enough to make me slam my hands over my ears.
I don’t take my eyes off its clawed hands, each digit long enough to impale a full-grown man. One successful swipe and I know I’m a goner. Its back has a dozen spiked tendrils—tentacle-like extensions that move with sentience, coiling and uncoiling each time the beast moves. This monster is the reason the north of Hell remains heavily guarded, and the exact reason I’m out here with my strongest soldiers.
This one is massive. Larger than any I’ve faced before.
“Fall back,” I bark to the nearest commander. “Get your men out of the way.”
“But sire?—”
“NOW,” I growl, not giving room for any argument.
The Drekkar lunges before the words are even cold on my tongue. I dodge the first strike, its scorching green flames streaking behind me. It’s fast. Too fast. I unfurl my wings, shooting into the sky as it quickly follows, its bone-trembling roar making my ears throb. We clash mid-air, and one of its claws rips through my side, tearing straight through flesh. I hiss through my teeth, hoping that it only managed to slice its way through skin and nothing else. I move fast, countering its strike with a blade of soulfire, the hottest flame in Hell, driving it deep into its neck. It shrieks—a sound that instantly ruptures my eardrums, making the surrounding mountains tremble. I can feel the blood trickling out of my ears as I watch the reptilian bastard fall, its wings slamming into the nearest cliff face. The Drekkar’s talons gouge the earth, leaving large gaping grooves across the ground. My blood spills freely from my side, dripping down to join the rivers of molten lava that freely run down the mountainside.
I don’t stop, because this is what I was made for. This is why I am to become King of Hell. It takes hours to bring the bastard down, my body aching. I take my final swing, the explosion of power pouring out of me, my hellfire intertwines with the soulfire in my blade, causing the entire realm to tremble. I stand over its corpse, breathing hard, drenched in black blood and my own. Half of my soldiers’ cheer, the other half stare at me in awe. But I don’t take notice, I just turn and walk away, grateful I’ve finally had a match to compete with my strength and rage.
I’m halfwayto my chambers, too exhausted to try and teleport, when a healer intercepts me.
“Your Highness—” her eyes widen, taking in my appearance.
“What?”
“Miss Sandoval isn’t in her chambers for her tonic. She’s been summoned by the Divine Six.”
I stop dead in my tracks.
“They summoned her?”
“Yes sire. She is still with them now.”
Rage floods me, fresh and scalding, consuming me entirely. I summon the little power I’ve not already burned through and attempt to rip a hole straight into the Divine Six’s pretentious sanctum, but it’s locked down tight. Those bastards knew I would try and breach it the second they called her. Fine, guess I’ll do it the old fashioned way.
I appear in front of the golden threshold of their domain in Zeriavoss instead, smoking peeling off my skin in waves. I’m instantly met with guards trying to intercept me. I snap the first one’s neck with barely a flick of my wrist, bone crunching like dried reeds. The second, I grab by the throat and slam into the wall until he stops twitching. I don’t break stride. I throwthe doors open like a god of war. Smoke trails behind me, my footsteps thundering across the marble. My eyes land on Daisy.
She’s stood there in the centre of the Divine Six’s chamber. Surrounded. Small. Confused.
“You fucking dare bring her here?” I growl, my voice echoing around the room like a thunderclap.
Seraphiel rises. “You are not permitted?—”
“Drop the fucking shield so I can take her back to her chambers. Now!”
“She does not belong in Hell,” Seraphiel continues. “Her soul was returned. We do not understand why.”
“I SAID—DROP. THE. SHIELD.” The words aren’t a command, they’re a threat laced with promise. I take a step forward, my wings spread wide. My hands curl into fists that glow with dark black fire. They know me, they know exactly what I’ll do. I will burn this room, I will tear down every gilded edge, shatter every rune, crack the spines of the immortals until they feel what wrath really is.
The shield drops. I don’t wait for permission, I stride straight to her, her eyes wide with fear. She doesn’t fight me as I scoop her up into my arms. I can hear her heartbeat thrumming wildly, feel it pattering against my chest. I vanish before they can even breathe another word.
