Page 75 of Demonic Affliction

With the help of my brothers, I’m able to rise, but I keep Willow tight against my chest, unwilling to let her go for even a moment.

“Please,” I say. “Please, just… just let me hold her. Let me hold her until I⁠—”

“Okay, Cin.” Rhune’s voice is soft. “We’ll take her back when it’s time.”

When I am no longer myself. When I inevitably lose my mind.

Shame and rage war inside me, threatening to crack my chest wide open. Instead of falling to my knees and breaking down again, I pull my shoulders back and stare hard into the surrounding darkness.

Then—tenderly, carefully—I carry Willow out of the forest.

25

Willow

I come back in pieces. The cold arrives first, seeping through whatever I'm lying on and burrowing into my skin. Then the pain, which is a dull pulse in my temples and settles deep in my aching joints.

It takes some effort to open my eyes, but when I finally do, I’m relieved to find we’re out of the forest. Instead of the pale, lifeless canopy, I’m staring up at the ceiling of a small cavern, the dark ice-rock shimmering faintly. Thick roots spread through the rock like streaks of lightning, pulsing with an ominous red light.

I lie there, the previous events flashing through my mind like a horrifying picture book. The screaming. The winged monsters. Being taken. Screaming. Pleading for help. The horrible silence that followed. And then… darkness.

The last thing I remember is staring into the face of one of those things as they wrapped me in that horrible, sticky thread. After that… nothing.

Clearly, something happened. We are no longer in the forest, and my skin has been cleaned of that weird substance—which means we came across more healing pools at some point.

Why can’t I remember?

Panic squeezes, and I sit up, numb to the aching protests of my joints. I’m about to call out, but the feeling of someone watching me causes my words to dry in my mouth.

Glancing to the side, I’m surprised to find Cin’s slitted eyes blinking at me through the shadows.

“Cin…” I reach out through the dark and lay my palm against the side of his face. He goes very still. Then his eyes fall closed, and he leans into my hand, pressing into my touch like he's been waiting a lifetime for it.

As we sit there, more memories come flooding in. Cin tearing through the silk. Cin cutting me free. Cin killing the monsters. Carrying me out. Curling around me on the frozen ground. Refusing to let go even as he fell apart.

“You saved me.”

He opens his eyes, but he doesn’t say anything.

“Thank you,” I say.

“Don’t.” He shakes his head. “Do not thank me. I… I do not deserve it.”

“Oh, Cin…” I brush my thumb over his cheek, and his entire body trembles. “Yes, you do.”

He opens his eyes, his mouth twitching in a sad smirk. “We will have to agree to disagree.”

I let it go. Arguing with Cin about whether he's worth anything has never once gotten me anywhere, and something tells me tonight isn't the night I finally win. Instead, I lower my hand and take a proper look around.

“Where are we?”

“Caverns. Leading to the core.” He twirls a finger lazily in the air. “You can feel it. Magic. Wild. Everywhere.”

I hold my breath, closing my eyes. I can feel the magic in the air when I pay attention. Wild, ancient magic.

It makes my skin crawl.

“The pit led down here?” I ask, opening my eyes.