They just had one more stop to make, but Tharen could do it alone.
"Bastian, take Ina and Osa outside to the stables with Graves. We don’t know how long we have left before the whole castle falls." Tharen sucked in a harsh breath. "The demon and I will go to the library. I still have a sprite to save."
The noble cause of being a savior was the only thing making Tharen want to work with the demon. He may need his strength.
At his words, Graves shifted, descending in a swirl of drifting feathers and swaths of fabric. "I will make sure they get there safely," he said.
Tharen held Graves’s eyes. He knew the male yearned to be with their Vincire more than anything right now, knowing what she was going through…
"Hurry, Tharen," Bastian urged. "Don’t get caught up in rescuing more lost things."
The vampire knew him too well. There was nothing Tharen loved more than saving broken things.
"No promises." The Prima gave a wicked half-smirk.
Then, they split up.
It was dangerous, but they had no other options. The maids needed to be safe, outside the crumbling castle. And Tharen needed a sprite… and a book.
Alone with Azgorath, Tharen started to help the demon clear their path.
The halls were utterly deserted. Water lapped against the stone walls, ruining the tapestries and ice sculptures. So much beauty, lost to waste.
But Luella felt they deserved this.
Maybe they did.
The doors to the library were closed.
"Kick it down. It won’t be easy," Tharen said. "The room’s enchanted to protect the books."
Azgorath nodded, cracking his knuckles as he lowered his head, horns jutting out. Then, he charged.
The demon rammed against the doors with such brute force that Tharen felt shockwaves ripple through his body and the surrounding water.
The doors did not budge.
Tharen stood by the demon’s side, kicking against them with his foot under the water. Magic wouldn’t break the enchantments.
He couldn’t give up.
Nyxila was in there. And the Compendium he had stolen back from Luella was hidden once more. Heneededthat book.
"Again." Tharen reared back, poised to strike along with the demon. Their blows were out of sync, Tharen landing moments later than Azgorath.
"Fuck, Prima!" Azgorath yelled, tendons in his neck straining as he pushed against the door. "Stop fighting it. We have to work together. For Lu."
Tharen gritted his teeth. "Go again."
Azgorath stopped him with a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back. "Together. At the same time. Maybe we can break it."
"I said,again!" Tharen hissed, tone laced with frost, just as shards of ice crackled up his fingertips to his forearms. It would do no good against the enchantments. He should know; he putthem there. "Together," the mage added, when Azgorath did not remove his hand.
The demon stepped back, nodding once. Again, they charged.
They hit the doors at the exact same moment, the demon’s brute force, combined with Tharen’s warrior build—and the doors cracked.
Again. The cracks grew.
