I scream and swipe at them.But it’s futile.My runes flare so bright I have to shield my eyes and then they die just as fast, unable to break the bonds of the cuffs.
I’ve never been afraid of moths.I love them.But as they drive towards me, it’s an attack.They’re not normal entropy moths.These are designed to stab and scrape and slice.They fly towards my chest and pummel into me vanishing inside my body.
I wail and writhe on the floor, ripping and scratching at my skin to get them out.An orb of light grows in the centre of my chest.Heat radiates from between my ribs and a blinding pain sears through every cell in my body.
It rips.
And slices.
And shreds.
And then the moths are flowing out of my chest and hurtling towards Ignatius.They are no longer dark little creatures.They’re suns and stars and the brightest insects I’ve ever seen.They blossom and twinkle and burn their way across the cell, scattering crumbs of light and power in their wake.
The last thing I see before I give up to the darkness is Ignatius’s mouth distending unnaturally low as he consumes them.His throat, then his chest glows as the moths dissolve inside him, and he stands a little straighter, a little bolder.
And then there’s nothing.
22
Architecti
In the end, I’m not sure if we find Interitus or if she finds us.
The trail of shredded shades and broken demon carcasses speaks for itself.Perhaps she was always leading us to her.
Perhaps all of this was always inevitable.As inevitable as me falling for Gellara and all of us fulfilling our fates.
Gellara and I meander back towards the city.It is not done willingly.Given the city’s patience with me as their villain has run out, we took the decision to stop procrastinating and hunt for Interitus.
And the city is where the shade crumbs lead.
Each step we take, our footsteps grow heavier, slower, more laboured.Our spines stiffen, necks grow taut.Until I grab Gellara’s hand to swing her around and against my body.
Cuddled together, we hit the alley wall and then I wrap my arms around her neck and plunge my lips over hers.
She moans against me, the tension leaking out of her the longer and harder I kiss her.
It’s only when her body is liquid against me that I part from her to brush a lock of hair behind her ear.It makes her little horn poke out, one of those adorable things about her that I hold dearest.Her expression is hazy and kiss-drunk.
“What was that for?”she asks.
I slip my hand through hers, lacing our fingers together.
“I need you to do a favour for me,” I whisper against her neck, my lips tracing warm, breathy pecks along her collarbone.She breaks out in goosebumps, giggling.
“Anything,” she whispers.
I nip her skin and she hisses, pushing her body harder into mine.“Anything?”I ask, knowing she will hate me once I trick her into agreeing.What I’m doing is deceptive, but I have to protect her.She has underestimated Interitus, and I won’t play with her life like that.
“Promise?”I say and lick up her neck, sucking her earlobe between my lips.
She shivers, her eyes rolling back in her head.
“Yes.Yes.Don’t stop.”
Only I do.I grab her by the shoulders and stare into her eyes.
Her expression darkens.
