Page 102 of Fated to the Demon Lord

The other fights had ended, and the demons turned to watch Vaelor’s fight. The way they watched with disdain at Vaelor’s dodging, it was obvious they thought the giant would win.

But Vaelor also had to stay within the stones even in the air, and that limited his movements considering the giant took up most of the space. As he dove to the side, the giant’s massive left fist came up fast and smashed into Vaelor’s right arm, knocking him into the dirt.

My teeth sank into my lip so intensely I tasted blood. No.

The boy in the branches next to me flinched. “Ooh, that had to hurt.”

Come on, Vaelor, get up.

The giant raised a foot, ready to smash my demon into nothing. Vaelor lunged, wings flapping hard, sword in his unwounded hand, and slammed the blade upward, through the giant’s massive chin. The monster whined as he stumbled back, then dropped to his knees. Blobs of black liquid slid down the sword and coated Vaelor’s hands, but he only shoved the weapon up farther into the giant. The creature blinked several times, the orange glow in his eyes flashing on and off before he tipped, crashing into the dirt.

A few of the demons roared in surprise. I frowned, seeing Raxus in his half-troll, half-minotaur body watching with too much interest. I’d hoped he’d die in the early rounds, but he was alive and not even wounded.

Vaelor pressed his foot against the giant’s chin and extracted his sword. Then he aligned the sword with the thick neck. It took three massive two-handed strokes to sever its head. Vaelor roared with each hit, but even from where I was, I could see the tension in his body from his wounded arm.

When the giant’s head fell free, the spirit of a bear-headed demon ascended from it. Vaelor’s blade glowed, and he rose and swiped it through the spirit, ending him for good.

Vaelor landed, pressing his sword into the earth, holding his injured arm close to his body.

He was hurt.

Before I even knew what I was doing, I was climbing out of the tree and dropping to the ground.

“Where are you going?” The boy cried.

My feet flew across the field.

I was going to help my mate.

Twenty-Seven

Somewhere in the background, Throk announced that the rest of the tournament would continue tomorrow. I didn’t care. I focused on getting to Vaelor.

He rose to his feet, his arm dripping with the same black liquid that had spurted from his opponents. It looked bad.

He moved away from the fighting ring.

I hurried up next to him. “You’re hurt.”

“I’m fine,” he snapped, not looking at me as he headed toward the manor.

“But—”

“Know your place, slave,” he snarled.

Shit. Yes. I couldn’t care for him here. I dropped behind him, pulling my shoulders in and stared at the ground.

“Come. We are going to the manor. I have tasks for you.”

“Yes, sir.”

He strode forward, his back straight, the black substance dripping as we walked. A large gash ran the length of his bicep. I couldn’t see the bone, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was broken.

He pushed open the door and stalked into his home. I followed him inside and shut the door. I spun around when I heard a groan, and Vaelor slumped against the railing.

Rushing over to him, I ducked under his shoulder. He leaned on me, and for a second, I worried we’d both collapse. But I forced my legs under me and helped him up the steps to his bedchamber.

Vaelor fell onto the bed, not even caring that he was a mess. My blood and his mingled all over his body. I hurried to my bedchamber and grabbed the vase where I had stored water and dumped it into a small washbasin in his room. I didn’t know where the linens were, so I opened his closet and pulled down a shirt from his collection.