Iwait until she’s gone.
Until the soft thud of her footsteps has vanished down the path, and the scent of fear that’s wrapped around her begins to fade from the air—only then do I raise my blade.
The beast growls low, a sound that vibrates the ground beneath my feet. Nyxmaw’s are creatures of ancient nightmares, conjured of shadow and smoke, created by the dark magic that still lingers in this realm’s darkest corners.
It lunges, and I meet it mid-air, blade slashing across its chest. Its howl tears through the now pitch-black sky as blue flame sears through the flesh that hides underneath its tendrils of shadow. It lashes out, claws like daggers scraping against my ribs. I hiss, the sting from its swipe searing my skin. Before giving it another moment to attack, I twist, slamming my elbow into its snout before driving my blade into the side of its neck. Thick, black blood spurts out, coating my chest, the smell vile enough to make me gag. The Nyxmaw collapses to the ground,twitching before it evaporates into a pile of ash in the powdery snow.
“Fucking disgusting,” I snarl, spitting onto its remains.
I lean over, heavily breathing, trying to ignore the pain in my ribs when her scream cuts through the realm. I don’t give myself a moment to think before taking off and sprinting down the mountain, the terrain blurring beneath my feet. The terror in her scream rings through me as I run furiously. If a Nyxmaw has found her, she doesn’t stand a chance.
I skid to a halt, five of them suddenly surrounding me, seeming to step out of the shadows themselves. “For fuck’s sake,” I mutter, lifting my blade again. “I really don’t need this shit right now.”
One steps forward, snarling at me with saliva dripping from its jaws. I snarl in return, not letting it have an ounce of my fear. I don’t fear creatures like this, not when the monsters that lurk in my realms are over forty feet tall.
“Here, kitty, kitty,” I taunt, waving my sword back and forth between my hands. “Hold on, Daisy. I’m coming.”
They attack all at once. One lunges for my throat, and I dodge it just in time, slicing its underbelly open in one swift stroke. Another snaps at my shoulder, teeth grazing my flesh and ripping through skin.
“Motherfucker.” I roar, spinning and slamming my fist into its skull with a crunch. I feel my knuckles crack on the impact, but I won’t stop. I lose myself to the carnage, another beast trying to tackle me from behind. I spin, my sword trailing through the air, cleaving off its head in one clean, flaming arc. Its corpse turns to ash mid-collapse. Now would be a really nice time to have more than a drop of magic coursing through me. I could incinerate every one of them with a flick of my wrist.
The last two come from either side, snarling and snapping. They both pounce at the same time, the one on my left sinkingits teeth into my forearm whilst I focus on the one on the right, driving my sword straight through its eye. The pain is sharp, searing through me like acid. I growl, yanking my arm free, blood pouring down my skin. My healing magic is painfully slow, eating away at the base of my reserve. I turn to face the final beast, my blood coating its teeth before gripping a dagger from the sheath at my thigh and launching it straight into its throat. It falls with a thud, disintegrating into an ash pile with the rest of its pack. I stride over and pluck my blade from the snowy ground, placing it back at my thigh before sheathing my sword.
I stagger forward, heart hammering against my ribs. I can smell her scent, and a familiar smell I never wanted to have invading my senses again. Her blood. I find her cloak first, torn and tangled in a pile on the floor, smattered with dark crimson. I snatch it up, my fingers curling tightly around the fabric until my knuckles turn white. My entire body trembles as I release a roar of fury, the sound splitting the air. It’s a sound that promises death to whoever fucking took her, a sound I hope the entire realm heard.
I conjure my wings, unfurling them slowly. The strain of it has me nearly dropping to my knees. I take a slow, deep inhale and force them open, grimacing through the agony wracking through my body, the sheer amount of power and energy it took just to make them appear battering me. The dark span of them snaps wide, catching the wind. I roll my shoulders, the pain ripping through me thanks to the fucking hideous thing that sliced its teeth across me. But it doesn’t matter, not when her life is at risk. I launch into the air, my teeth gritted and her cloak dangling from my tight grip.
“I’m coming, little flower,” I growl into the night sky.
And I swear to every god that ever existed—I will burn this entire fucking realm down if they have hurt her.
Chapter 29
Daisy
Terror roots me to the spot.
I’m sitting on a large stone platform that juts out at the mouth of a cave carved into the mountain, my body aching and blood growing sticky on my face. I press a hand to where the creature dug his claws into my waist, my fingers instantly coated with the warm crimson that seeps through my dress.
Pale crystal columns line the platform edge like signalling lights, each one flickering, casting iridescent light into the darkness.
A figure steps forward from the shadows, and my mouth gapes. His skin is the colour of burnt ember, a dark, ashy grey flecked with silver. His eyes, gods above, his eyes contain the entire night sky, constellations shifting and rippling within them. From his temples, faint aurora-like wisps drift like smoke from a dying flame. His long, obsidian hair that has streaks of metallic silver almost seems to float gently down his back. And a circlet with a shining opalite crescent moon rests upon hisbrow. He’s tall, lean, carved like stone with veins that seem to glow faintly in shades of purple and green. A cloak made of galaxies and starlight billows around him, the sight of it utterly breathtaking. Beneath the cloak, he’s layered in wool, leather, and fur. I can’t seem to peel my eyes away from him. He’s beautiful in an ancient evil kind of way, breathtaking to look at, but at the same time, terror rakes through me at the sight of him now starting to tower over me.
“Kaelith?” I whisper, pain making my voice wobble as my blood continues to trickle onto the stone flooring beneath me.
He pauses mid-step, genuine shock flashing across his stony features. “And how would a mortal like yourself know a man like me?”
His accent is strange, almost British-sounding. He strides closer, kneeling before me whilst placing a single finger under my chin to tilt it up. The touch is so light it catches me off guard, making my breath catch at the eerie stillness in him. It’s like the entire realm holds its breath when he’s present.
“You are a pretty little thing, aren’t you?” He smiles, the sight utterly devastating. “Tell me, what’s your name?”
I swallow hard, lifting my chin even higher, pulling away from his touch, despite the tears gathering in my lashes. “Daisy,” I say, trying my best to hide the quiver in my words. “The future Queen of Hell.”
Kaelith’s entire facade fractures, his eyes widening. I swear the stars inside them stutter as the colour drains from his face. He whirls towards the creature that dragged me here, so fast his hair whips me in the face. The anger pouring from him is so intense I can physically feel it.
“You fucking fool,” he yells, storming toward him, his voice echoing throughout the cave. “Do you understand who you have brought to me?”
The creature stammers, shrinking into himself. “She is no future Queen of Hell, your majesty. She is but a mortal.”
