AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER20
Riley held her hand out, warning Deruthel to stay back. “I won’t let you kill him. There has to be another way.”
Deruthel’s leather-like skin folded above his eyebrows as he arched them. “Ask him how he created a stable portal. There are three bloodlines used. Only sacrificing one of those three will close it permanently. And only if the circle of betrayal is complete.”
She glanced back at Colton. “How did you create the portal?”
He took a ragged breath. “It was a combination of yours, Dannika’s, and my blood. I was the only person that could have gotten all three. Because you and Dannika trusted me.”
She put her hand to his face. “We still trust you. This wasn’t you. This was Ashkara. Don’t attempt to take responsibility for his actions. You will find another way.”
Colton gripped her arm. “I saw inside Ashkara’s mind. You can’t fathom the destruction and hunger that lives within that monster. He’s a vortex of annihilation. There is no fighting that.”
“I’m not suggesting we allow him to come here. We make a temporary truce with Deruthel and close the portal. Deruthel wants a war. He craves it. Since, this is his last one, we should make it worth his while.”
Deruthel chuckled, but the sound was grating. “You believe you have a chance. Your faith is misplaced, but I admit it will make victory that much sweeter. You are however correct in your assessment. Once my father is imprisoned in his current world, I do not wish this one to fall too quickly.”
She narrowed her gaze on the Demon general. “So you agree not to kill Colton?”
“If I kill him, the portal will not close.”
Her heart stuttered. “What are you saying?”
“For the circle to be complete, you must kill the betrayer.”
Riley hissed. “I will never kill Colton.”
Deruthel’s knobby shoulders moved in what she interpreted as a shrug. “Then my father will win.”
Riley glanced between Deruthel and Colton. It was clear they were in agreement on what should happen. “I will find another way.”
Deruthel’s claws clicked together. She thought it strange that she was coming to understand the general’s idiosyncrasies. He was thinking. Using that enormously intelligent multidimensional brain. She had no doubt he was looking for a way that ensured she killed Colton and closed the portal. How was she supposed to outsmart a being with hundreds of years more experience than her?
“I’d like to make an informed decision.”
“I have answered all your questions. I have no intention of being dishonest,” Deruthel said.
“That’s my first question. Why? You have answered every question, but why be honest with me?” she asked.
Deruthel blinked. The black pupils seemed to saucer out as if he were perplexed by her question. “Why would I lie? Do you think I doubt my abilities? I have never failed and I will not now. So the answer to your question is because I don’t have to. I don’t step foot in a new world until my victory is assured.”
“You haven’t won yet, so how can you say victory is assured?”
“Think of it as a recipe. Once all the ingredients are ready, you simply put them together. You follow a series of steps and the outcome is assured.”
Riley had to admire his intelligence. His analogies were always relevant to this world. His arrogance was perhaps his only flaw, though he had earned it. If they were going to have any chance against him, they needed to feed that arrogance. “I’m not gonna lie. I know we have little chance against you now that you have your entire army here. But if blocking Ashkara gives us a snowball’s chance in hell, then I will take it.”
Deruthel’s lip quivered. He wanted that war, and he wanted control. “If there is a way to save your mate and close the portal, I will take it, provided you help me. There is one stipulation, though.”
“What is it?” she asked.
“Provided I do not kill your mate, you need to become my bride when he is dead,” Deruthel said.
Riley swallowed the acid at the back of her throat. She would make this deal knowing that if Colton left this world, she’d be following him. “I agree to your terms, but I will never kill him.”
“You may change your mind when you understand the full extent of Askara’s power. Colton will beg you to kill him when the choice has been ripped from you. His death or the death of every living thing on this planet. That is the choice you will have to make.”
“I agree to help you imprison Ashkara. Then the truce is over,” she said.
