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The figure was a male—with shoulder-length black hair and pale skin. His attire was black too, and unlike anything I’d ever seen. Strong hands toyed with what looked like a pocket watch, its chain hanging from his fancy coat and something that looked like a skinny cravat tied around his thickly corded neck muscles.
He stopped, surrounded by the guards, with a sneer on his full lips, revealing perfect teeth as streams of black smoke shot out of his palms and fingertips.
A fucking demon.
My temple throbbed, hands sweating as I watched the tendrils of blackness swoop into the guards’ chests. They crumpled to the floor while the male stood in the center like a god.
I knew what this was. I didn’t know exactly who he was, but I knew what he wanted. He wanted to take my Emmaline.
Over my dead body.
He rushed forward with incredible speed, catching Emmie by the hair. She screamed in agony and I gripped her wrist even harder, knowing I’d leave a bruise, but refusing to let go of my best friend. Twirling around, I kicked the asshole in the shin. He laughed a throaty laugh full of malice.
“Let her go!” I screamed.
He laughed some more before slapping me in the face, the impact so intense, I lost my footing and my hold on Emmie’s wrist. I fell on my ass, clutching my cheek with one hand while I braced myself with the other. Looking up, I found the male’s gaze fixed on me, dark and threatening.
His muscular arm wrapped around her waist, a large hand covering her mouth and muffling her cries. She thrashed in his hold, but he didn’t move an inch. She was an ant in the clutches of a giant.
While I was taller and stronger than the average female, Emmie was frail and petite. I lunged at him, punching him in the throat. He staggered back, coughing, but never letting go of the princess.
I didn’t know males like him existed. Tall, strong, and mean. Nothing like the boys in Frentani.
“Let her go, you dick!” I screamed again. This time, he didn’t laugh. This time, he looked angry.
“You shall pay for that, bitch.”
I saw red. Iridescent, incandescent red. Who did he think he was, calling me a bitch when he was the one barging into our lives with malicious intent? I was simply defending myself, defending my princess. “You can’t take her.”
His grin re-appeared, apparently enjoying the challenge. “Says who? You?”
“Yeah, me. You’ll take her over my dead body.”
The bastard chuckled. Emmaline was still thrashing in his grasp, sobbing and helpless.
“My pleasure,” he said, before hooking his fingers on my golden belt and pulling me to him. A flutter sounded behind him, and I craned my neck to find leathery black wings, bony and shiny, with two large talons protruding from them.
Definitely a demon, and a powerful one at that.
My feet left the ground. I kicked back, trying to hit him so he would drop us. Maybe I’d break an arm or a leg when I hit the ground, a possibility far better than being kidnapped by a demon.
“Emmaline, hold my hand.” She took it, while the shadow demon continued to flap his wings, pulling us up, up, farther and farther from the ground until we were so high above, I could see the city of Vestini, the capital of our realm, sprawled out.
The only home I’d ever known.
I could see the castle in the distance and the stretch of the gardens we’d just left. I could see the gray clouds covering the sun and the lanterns down every street flickering on and off, failing us like the sun had failed us. Like the guards had failed us. Like the people cowering down below had failed us. Like I had failed my best friend. Because once he flew us into the light, our world changed forever.
CHAPTER TWO
Reetah
A jolt of pain coursed through my veins. The feeling of swallowing sand sat in my throat. My stomach growled. I moaned, moving to my hands and knees as I shook my head from side to side, only to regret it when more pain hit my temples, radiating all over my skull.
I tried hard to open my eyes, but my lids felt like dead weight. Heavy and stiff.
“Get up.”
And then it all came flooding back. The male. The demon. The ominous shadow in the white light.
