“I see. So then, you wouldn’t remember anything about calling herserafyn?”
His eyes flare. “Is she…?”
“She’s a female from earth. An indescribably beautiful, ball-busting human, but human nonetheless.”
“Strange,” he whispers. “I could have sworn… it doesn’t matter.” He shoves a hand through his thick white hair, his eyes glossing over with a faraway look.
Out of the four of us, Cin is the most strongly connected to the wild magic of this world. Like all demons, he gains his strength and magical abilities by feasting on souls—essentially absorbing their life essence to create their own. But unlike otherdemons, it’s like the magicspeaksto Cin, like he has some kind of direct link to the source. He can’t access it or wield it, but he can touch it—or rather,ittoucheshim.
Half the time—like now—Cin is trapped in a trance-like state, and no sound or touch can bring him out of it. Sometimes it takes minutes, other times it takes hours, but when he does snap out of it, he seems… tortured. He never tells us what he experienced, and I don’t know if he even remembers. But whatever he sees when he connects with the source, it cannot be good.
“Cin? Are you still there?”
After a couple of seconds, Cin slowly turns his head to face me, though his eyes don’t focus on my face. “I… something is wrong.”
“What is?” I lean in, resisting the urge to shake him. “Is it Willow? The human?”
He shakes his head, his voice lowering to an eerie monotone as he says, “The welwig. They’re hungry.”
“Hungry?”
“Yes,” he whispers, the word a tortured rasp. “Veryhungry.”
“What does that mean? Why does it matter?”
Cin’s eyes flare bright silver, and he lunges for me, grabbing my shoulders in his massive clawed hands. He leans in, his expression twisting with fear as he whispers, “They will consume everything, Nyx.Everything.”
“What the gods are you talking about? The welwig aretrees,Nyx.”
Cin takes a shuddering gasp, stumbling backward and clutching his shaking head. “You don’t understand!”
“You’re right. I don’t,” I whisper, taking a careful step in his direction. “Why don’t you explain it so I can?”
Cin lets out a tortured whine, closing his eyes tight and snuffing out what little light was in the room. “Hungry. So hungry for her… You can’t… you mustn’t let them eat.”
“Her? Are you talking about Willow?”
He shakes his head, curling into a ball on the floor as shudders rack his body. “I… can’t… Please… leave me be.”
“Okay…” My heart clenches as I watch my brother in the throes of unspeakable agony—but what can I do? “I will be back to check on you later.”
Cin’s head snaps upward, a snarling growl rumbling in his throat. “Out! Now!”
Not wanting to cause him any more pain, I back out of Cin’s room, grateful to be in the safety of the tunnels once more. But then, another ice wyrm screech rumbles the ground beneath my feet, and I’m reminded just howunsafethis world is becoming.
With a sigh, I turn and head back in the direction of Rhune’s bedroom, trying to ignore the warnings of the ancient creatures below.
14
Willow
3 cycles later…
A thick clawed finger inches toward me, tapping softly against my outer thigh. I glance up from the book I’m flipping through, finding Rhune laying on his stomach at my feet, gazing up at me with a hopeful expression in his bright pink eyes.
“Yes, Rhune?”
A purr rumbles deep in his chest as his mouth tips into a bright smile. “I just wanted to hear your voice.”
