Eve reloaded with a sigh. “I give us five minutes before the next pack finds us.”
Lionel nodded grimly. “Move, now.”
Malakai brushed a streak of black ichor from my cheek with the back of his knuckles as we fell back into formation. His touch was light, reverent.
“Nice work,” he murmured.
I looked at him, the faintest smile tugging at my lips. “Didn’t do it for you.”
“Liar,” he said softly.
And before I could answer, the team was moving again, through smoke and towards the faint promise of freedom carved into the cliffs below the castle.
CHAPTER
35
The corridor widened into a grand chamber, the arched ceiling high and flooded with moonlight. The beautiful stained glass painted the marble in fractured colors: crimson, violet and gold. At the far end, great windows overlooked the smaller cliffs outside, the wind howling through cracks in the walls.
“This is it,” Lionel whispered. “We can get down from there, easy stuff if we step carefully.”
Ashley was already digging through her satchel. “Assuming I don’t lose my balance and kill us all, sure.”
I stepped up to the windows, placing my palm against it, thin glass standing between us and our way back, freedom so close I could almost taste it. Malakai came to stand beside me, his presence steady and warm even through the ash and exhaustion.
The air shifted again.
It was subtle at first, like the heartbeat of the castle itself slowing, then stopping. Every torch flickered, the shadows stretched long and thin. My stomach turned cold.
“Take cover,” Malakai said, voice low.
The others barely had time to react before the world detonated.
A pulse of power reverberated through the room, deep and concussive, knocking the breath from my lungs even if Malakai shielded most of me with his own body. The windows shattered outward in a hail of glass and I hit the frame hard, heat flaring in my thigh as the wound screamed back to life. Around me, the team was scattered; Nate groaning, Jaden swearing, Ashley rolling onto her side.
And thenhewas there.
The Demon King stepped from the shadows as if the darkness itself had birthed him. Crimson eyes gleamed in the multi-colored light, his expression composed, but underneath it, fury radiated in waves.
“I leave you alone for one moment,” he said softly. “And you start thinking you can run from me.”
No one spoke. Even the air outside seemed too afraid to enter.
His gaze slid past the others until it landed on Malakai. “You, most of all,” he murmured. “My blood, my heir, crawling through my halls like a thief.”
Malakai steadied himself slowly, jaw set. “You don’t own me.” Malakai gave me a quick glance to make sure I was okay, before his gaze turned to his father.
A flicker of amusement touched the King’s lips. “No? Then why do you sound like you’re trying to convince yourself?”
A shot went off, and I saw Eve had pushed herself up on one knee, aiming her rifle right at the Demon King. The bullet went through him, and he turned his eyes to her. A dark black mist slammed into her, sending her flying into one of the pillars.
“Eve!” Lionel shouted, trying to make his way to her as she lay motionless.
Jaden stayed close to the ground, pushing his magic through the floor and spikes jutted up around the Demon King, closing him in a cage. But none of them pierced his flesh, he didn’t allow them to. He seemed to command Jaden’s magic just like he had mine.
The Demon Kingchuckled, before the spikes pulverized right in front of our eyes.
“An earth-wielder, huh?” His eyes landed on Jaden who froze in place. Before the Demon King was able to counterattack, they were interrupted by another gunshot from Nate.
