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With another scream that shredded my throat and sent a spray of pink into the air, I shoved forward again, clearing the end of the branch before collapsing to the ground in a breathless heap.
Predictably, Anya was there, hovering over me with a sick, satisfied grin on her flawless face.
I’d claimed to hate a lot of things in my life. Demons, my mom, my twisted family history, social media, drivers who couldn’t figure out how a fucking turn signal worked… It was a pretty long list. But I could honestly say I’d never hated anything as much as I hated her at that moment.
31
HOOK
My nerves were on edge after leaving Never on the island to deal with Anya on her own. It didn’t help that she’d shut me out before we’d even made the trip, which left me with no idea what she was feeling or what was happening with her.
I should have sent some of my men with her. Why had I let her talk me out of it?
Eyeing the crude cage dangling from a makeshift crane fashioned from spare rope and pulleys, I flashed inside for a final inspection. I ran my hands over the rough boards and checked the joints for any sign of weakness. All the while, my thoughts were bouncing between going back to Never and trying to forget the sensation of my blade slicing three deep cuts into Leo’s side.
I’d inflicted that damage moments before I’d loaded him into the skiff and pointed him toward the beach with blood pouring from his wounds.
Cutting him had been worse than the beating he’d insisted I give him, but not by much. For the ruse to be successful, it needed to look like he was too weak to heal himself. Which meant I couldn’t go easy on him, for his sake.
He’d gritted his teeth through the first two slices, but on the third his tiger had risen to the surface, feline eyes blazing, and the wild animal’s roar rolled from the man’s chest.
I’d never felt more like a monster.
And now, I waited, counting off seconds while I carried out my inspection. Half a minute passed, and it felt like I’d been in the cage for a lifetime.
Leo needed time to draw out the Lost. Never needed time to draw Anya to the opposite beach. That left me in a torturous limbo where the next thirty seconds seemed to last twice as long as the first.
I was supposed to give them a solid three minutes from the point that I left Never on the beach, but when I hit two, impatience won out. I pictured the spot I was looking for, closed my eyes, and flashed.
Petra’s camp was quiet compared to the bustle of activity I was expecting. Several of the demon’s minions were standing guard or carrying out tasks, but she was nowhere to be seen.
We’d all assumed that she would send the Lost to round up Leo. What if we were wrong?
Spine tingling, I flashed to the beach, far enough away from the place where Leo should have dragged the skiff ashore so as not to be seen. I needn’t have bothered.
A battle was in full swing; Leo—looking far better off than I’d left him—and my men against Petra’s Lost. Off to the side sat the demon, once again donning the glamour of the exotic island beauty.
I couldn’t waste time engaging in the fight. My mission was to get Petra to the ship and get the ship to the eddy. Making note of the men surrounding her and their positions in the sand, I flashed.
It should have been a simple matter of placing a hand on the creature and whisking it away, but when I arrived behind the demon, in the blink of an eye, she was facing me. Like she had been waiting for me.
Those evil black eyes narrowed. Before I could so much as lay a finger on her, she shoved me hard, throwing me off balance.
Not a great start, but at least having her attention on me would give my people a better chance.
Swords clanged all around us, creating a savage harmony with the grunts of effort and cries of pain that filled the warm, humid air. With those brutal sounds came the aromas of fresh blood being spilled and the sharp reek of sweat that hung heavy over the sweeter notes of the nearby jungle. Even the salty tang of the sea wasn’t enough to overpower the scent of men fighting on a day like today.
The creature’s feminine form smiled cruelly at me, revealing her inhuman teeth. Rather than rushing her, I waited. If I played this right, I would have her where I wanted her.
Hell, why not make it easy on her?
I sheathed my cutlass and held my arms out wide. “What say we settle this the old way?” I threw down the challenge, knowing full well the creature wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to take a swing at me.
It moved like lightning, shedding its glamour as it shot forward. The moment those elongated claws made contact, slicing deep and sending a shock of white-hot pain surging through me, I latched onto its monstrous arm and directed my energy to the cage.
In a fraction of a second, we were back out on the water. Pain filtered into my awareness, along with a gaping wound that slashed jagged lines through my flesh from my right shoulder to my left hip.
I hissed out a breath, a sound caught between a wince and a growl. No matter how many times I was injured, and no matter how quickly I healed, the initial anguish was always fresh and raw.
