Page 114 of Fated to the Demon Lord

I sucked in large amounts of breath, struggling despite the agony. He gripped my shoulder. He had no claws, so he pushed all the harder until his thumb punctured the flesh between my shoulder and neck.

“Please, please,” I cried. Gods, I couldn’t take much more. He grinned as he pulled out his hand and licked my blood, motioning for the next demon to come. “Have to leave something for the others.”

Denara, I need to do something, I need…

You can’t… trust… me. This is the only way.

The second gargoyle subordinate approached. Tears rolled down my cheeks. I wasn’t sure if I had the strength to make it through this one. My heart beat so hard I thought it would burst from my chest, fear spiking almost as high as my pain.

A sadistic grin was on the last demon’s face as he came near, wings spread, the cracks on his skin giving him a shattered glass look. His hands ran over my bloodied side, his fingers looped into my pants. His smirk widened, and he tore my pants off my body. Pain sparked through my wounds as I swung wildly on my pole. He didn’t stop my swinging, just watched as I hung and bit back my sobs in an attempt not to alarm Vaelor.

He dropped to his knees, his hands coming to my hips and ran his tongue over my inner thigh. I trembled. “I know better than to soil myself with a human, but trust me, the others have no such scruples.” And with that he bit into my upper leg, his teeth sinking deep, and scream after scream ran out of me as he tore my flesh away.

They were eating me alive.

Denara—Vaelor’s agony sounded in my mind. His hands were clenched, and he looked ready to let loose.

Almost… there… Gods, page ten better not fail me.

I heard a low growl from him.

The gargoyle rose. He grasped my skin from his mouth and held it above his head. “It’s your turn, brothers.”

The words I needed came to me in my desperation. The words I had memorized and carried with me seeped through the pain. I began to chant, the lines flowing from my lips.

My hedge witch spellbook said that our magic lived in our very blood.

Throk’s smile slid from his face.

My blood that covered all three demons hissed, then bubbled. One gargoyle let out a startled gasp as my blood heated and boiled.

It burned straight into their flesh.

All three demons screamed.

The blood spread fast, growing and infecting different parts of their bodies.

I finished the ending line of the chant. And then watched. I thought it was going to be horrible… but didn’t expect it to be so effective.

Throk’s companions collapsed in screams of agony, spasming and contorting. The blood burned into them, sinking deep under their skin. Their flesh falling away in blood-covered globs.

“Make it stop,” Throk begged. “Please.”

My blood continued to burn and spread. Charred flesh reached my nostrils.

“You want it to stop?” I called to them. “Then unbind me.”

“Yes, yes,” Throk said. The tissue on his face was black, and the blood had burned completely through his flesh at some points, revealing bone.

He motioned to Vaelor, who stepped up and, using his sword, cut me loose. I staggered forward, my wounds making my steps uncertain. Vaelor reached out and caught my arm, bracing me. When I looked up into his eyes, I saw the relief and surprise there—and perhaps a little bit of fear.

Was I a monster? But this was the only way to protect Mother and Gerand and all the peaceful towns of Misophae that didn’t deserve to be destroyed.

I glanced at Creedan, who stood to the side. His eyes were wide, wings half spread, the horror evident on his face.

Once I got my feet under me, I took a painful step away from Vaelor and faced Throk. “Strike down the other two and dispose of their spirits.”

It was a mercy, really. They were in such pain and agony. One had his hand eaten down to nothing. The other was coughing up his own blood.