Page 87 of Fated to the Demon Lord

Too shocked to know what to do, I remained where I was. I wanted to comfort Vaelor. I wanted my hedge witch book to curse Lanzin out of existence.

“I did what I must to survive,” Lanzin replied with no remorse in his expression. “To hold on to the inkling of power we had left so that we could someday reclaim our position at court. And now you throw it away.”

Vaelor roared and grabbed his brother by the throat, a dark rage on his face. Lanzin drew his sword and tried to strike, but Vaelor faded to mist right before the sword made contact. He pushed his way into Lanzin’s body, his brother’s eyes flooding orange.

Lanzin’s body spasmed. His hands went to his head, and he screamed.

Shit. I could only imagine what Vaelor was doing to him to cause him to react in that manner. Lanzin stumbled as he fought Vaelor’s control. He fell backward out of the window, the glass shattering under his weight.

I raced to the opening. Careful of the broken glass, I peered out. The rain was coming down steadily, but I made out Lanzin’s form lying in the mud two stories below.

Vaelor came into existence and stood over him, his body shaking with barely controlled vengeance. “Go. Before I kill you.”

Lanzin rose, holding a bleeding arm. He spat at Vaelor’s feet. “We are no longer brothers. If you won’t help me redeem our family name, I’ll find someone who will.”

He turned and staggered off into the darkened forest.

Twenty-Three

Vaelor remained in that spot long after Lanzin disappeared. The rain poured down, revealing the sorrow and devastation that my demon lord dared not show. After a time, he blurred and reappeared in the room. He wasn’t wet at all.

“He’s gone,” he rumbled. He faced the fire, his back to me. “You need to leave. Now.”

“How can I leave you like this?”

He spun to face me, agony and pain etched into every line of his face. “Do you see what I am? Do you see what I bring? You must go. You must leave me. Make me lose you, Denara… make me lose you for good, and maybe you won’t die. Promise me you’ll never come back.” He took an agitated step toward me before stopping.

“Vaelor, please.” I reached out to him. How could he turn me away in this state? Didn’t he see how much he needed me?

“Leave!” he roared. “Or so help me. I will possess you and take you back. I will make Erlinen tie you to a tree and promise not to loose you until I am long gone.”

His jaw squared, and he moved closer to me, his wings spread, as if he’d do just that.

I lifted my chin, my fingers gripping the bone in my pocket. “You may find I am not so easily taken over when I don’t wish to be.”

He seemed a bit surprised, but it didn’t stop him. “Then I will carry you and wait until someone comes to check the boundary. It does not matter to me.”

I fell back a step only because I knew he spoke the truth, and it would work. “Fine, Vaelor. I’ll go if that is what you want.”

“It’s the only way.” This time his gaze turned pleading.

“No, it’s not.” My eyes stung and my chest ached. “But I will go because I can’t force you to let me stay.”

I stepped outside the door and shut it behind me. I felt his presence on the other side and heard his soft whisper: “Goodbye, Denara.”

I walked down the steps and out of the inn. The first raindrop struck my face, cold against my skin, and slipped down my cheek like a tear. I drew the hood of my cloak over my head and crossed the yard toward the stables through the growing rain.

Once mounted, I turned my horse back the way I had come and rode into the storm. The rain soaked through my cloak, blurring the road ahead. I pressed a hand against my chest as a sob escaped me, sharp and broken in the dark.

This time I was leaving, but the pain struck me with a similar intensity. Another instance where I wasn’t enough. And even though part of me understood why, Vaelor’s pain was still crushing both of us.

I’m not sure how long I rode like that, my tears mixing with the rain.

Eventually, the downpour turned into a drizzle and the gusts of wind that whipped up my cloak sent a chilling air that numbed me inside and out.

I followed the stream back to where I began and hopped down, empty and defeated. My sword hung next to my saddle, and I pulled it out slightly to cut my finger. I walked over to the tree to add my blood and make my promises. Vaelor wasn’t my family by blood, and yet he felt like it. There weren’t many in this world that I claimed as mine, but somehow he’d become that to me. Mine—and I didn’t know what to do about it.

Before I could utter the words to reveal the town, tendrils of mist slipped out from the darkness of the trees. A shiver ran down my spine that had nothing to do with the breeze ruffling my wet cloak. The lines of mist curled forward, moving closer inch by inch.