Tied and defenseless, he was unable to protect his brother or Emma. He was of no use to anyone now.
The first Shax opened its wide jaws, venom dripping dangerously close to his feet. It sank its knifelike teeth into his thigh, and he clamped his jaw shut to keep his scream locked inside.
He heard Emerelda titter up the stairs.
Another Shediem’s claws flashed in the flickering light just as the door at the top of the stairs burst open with a boom.
“What the—” came Axel’s voice.
“Grab them!” Dominic demanded.
A scuffle ensued as Blaze fought away from the jaws of the creatures attacking him. Pain seared through his leg. Already the venom penetrated his veins, making the room hazy.
A blast of green light sent the Shediem attacking him shooting back. Sergei rounded Blaze’s chair, and when his eyes fell on Blaze’s leg he immediately placed a hand just above the wound to draw the venom out.
A body thumped to Blaze’s side—Derrik. Bound and gagged, squirming. His curses were muffled.
A second thump, and Emerelda landed on the other side in the same position.
Axel ran past, flashing a grin over his shoulder at Blaze.“Got yourself in quite the pickle, I see.”
“Just a bit,” Blaze grumbled.
Dominic appeared in front of him, and both he and Sergei undid Blaze’s bonds.
Once the coils of rope slid free, he turned to his friend. “Weapon?”
Dominic smiled, handing him one of his swords, which must have been discarded somewhere in the chamber.
He leapt into action beside his brother, cutting through the Shediem like the team they were.
“You okay?” Blaze asked him.
Axel nodded.“A little weak, but I’ll recover. Dominic figured out something was amiss when Emerelda and Derrik were both missing, as well as you. Never thought my ex would be a Shediem sympathizer though.” He grunted, then drove his sword through the neck of a Drude.
Blaze hacked at the many spidery arms of a Nybbas, and he lobbed its head from its body.“It’s worse than that—I’ll fill you in on everything once we’re done here.”
“Including Hadessah, right?”Axel’s tone was grim, and Blaze nearly lost his footing, dodging a swipe from a snarling Drude.
They shared a look, then Blaze nodded.
When the final spray of black blood coated the wall, Axel lowered his sword, breathing heavily.After weeks of being locked up, he was no doubt exhausted.
It was Dominic that spoke first.“Who in the bloody name of—is that Connor? And Malachi?”
Axel turned, staring down into the tunnel. He took a step forward as if to rush to their friend.“Jake?”
Sergei frowned.“What happened here?”
There was no mistaking the muffled laughter coming from Derrik bundled on the floor. Axel spun and launched his foot into the Spellcaster’s gut.
Blaze grabbed his brother and pulled him back.“Stop! He’ll face tribunal.”
“Jake is dead,” Axel snarled.
Blaze nodded, still holding his brother steady while Dominic waited for him to say more. “He killed them out of revenge.” Pushing his brother toward the stairs, he said, “I’ll explain on the way out. We have to get moving.”
The four of them hastened from the underground prison, gulping down fresh air before sprinting toward the manor, following the sounds of war and death.
46
Emma
H er eyes burned.
Her throat felt thick with cement.
Ashes blackened her hands until she no longer
recognized them. Were her nails longer? She raced to her next opponent, though their scent was different. With a hiss, she lunged.
“Emma, what the hell!” the female’s voice grated like marbles in a blender, and Emma gritted her teeth. Faintly, she registered the pixie-like Spellcaster.
Not Shediem.
“Hmph,” she huffed before turning to find more prey.
Just as she did, a solid wall of red, black, and gold marched up the hill. One prince glided on a platform raised in the air above the Shediem’s heads as though riding a magic carpet, only he was sitting regally on a throne. His face was snakelike and pointed, and his skin was made up of gold and black scales.
Her gaze lowered to the prince with molten, lavalike skin leading the formation: her father. He looked in his element here. The beast of war, charging into battle with the newest wave of Shediem.
In one massive fist he clutched a chain, and a winged beast walked beside him.
It was his golden eyes she noticed first, and her breath caught. Recognition fired in his eyes, but only rabid hatred was reflected back at her. His tattooed skin was marred with gashes and bruises. Foam flew from his mouth when he bared his teeth and snarled loud enough for Emma to hear, even with the fifty yards between them.
Levaroth did not look like himself. He resembled a dog starved and beaten, then set loose in a pen with a weaker dog to bloody before killing.
Though she was no longer weaker than the general. Of that she was certain. But could she kill him? She should, she knew that, but she’d shared so much with Levaroth. And though his tactics of protection were extreme, there was no denying he’d once cared for her. He’d traded his memories for her.
But now, it was clear his sacrifice had backfired. Adrianna had warned her what he’d be like. He’d warned her himself too.
Now, the proof was before her.
Her father’s beastly face split with a triumphant grin. When his troops halted with thirty yards spanning the gap, Asmodeus’s booming, commanding voice rumbled into the sky that glowed with the first rays of morning sun.
“Shediem-Slayer! Murderer of your people!” Silence rang in his pause. Even Levaroth held still, his glare still trained on her. “This dawn I bring you your one ally among us.” He lifted the chain that led to the steel collar around Levaroth’s neck.
Jeers and murderous shouts rose from the Shediem, followed by howls from none other than the grey, stony beasts that padded closer—Gargoloscks.A row of at least fifty children stood behind them, their eyes void of emotion.
“Let’s see if you can tame my monster this time!” Asmodeus tugged the chain and it vanished, along with the collar.
Levaroth sprang into action, sprinting toward Emma like a blur of lightning. At the same time, both sides charged at each other.
“Emma!” a voice rang out behind her.
She whirled, spying him rushing to her.“Blaze.”
Relief coated her voice, but she didn’t have time to react— Levaroth knocked into her, toppling them both to the icy, bloodsoaked ground.
He snapped his teeth at her neck. She pushed him back, fingers digging into the hot skin of his torso. Before Levaroth could lunge for her again, Blaze’s solid body connected with his, sending him flying into the snow. The Shediem growled low and animalistic.
If there was any hope that the man she’d come to know remained somewhere inside, it vanished at the crazed look in his eyes. For the first time ever, she truly feared him.
Blaze raised his sword, poised to strike, and Emma screamed at the same time Levaroth burst into motion. She felt his irontight grip on her arm, ripping her away from the center of the battlefield. Her feet swung wildly, trying desperately to gain a foothold, but rocks and ice continued to move beneath her.
“Leva—” She screamed when her back hit jagged, cutting rock. Her lungs struggled to draw in a breath.
He was still ethereally beautiful, even in his madness. His windswept blond hair covered one golden eye, but she felt the full weight of his hatred.
“Ready to die, traitor?” he growled.
Emma sucked in the frigid morning air before answering. “There was a time you threatened a man for calling me that.”
His eyes narrowed.“Don’t speak, Witch, you’ll only fill my head with lies.”
Emma cocked her head to the side, sadness trickling in besides her fea
r.“What did they do to you?” She reached for him.
Levaroth jumped forward, hands on either side of her head, caging her.“They fixed what you did to me!” His bellowed words had her recoiling into the sharp rock that bit into her back. Before she could say anymore, he gripped her throat and squeezed.
Though fear rioted through her, she didn’t immediately try to steal his power; she fought against the voice in her head that screamed at her to kill him.
Her eyes burned with shame before she unleashed her hold on her power, letting Levaroth’s dark, intoxicating energy fill her. It eased the exploding pain from his hands pressing in on her throat.
With a harsh grunt he released her, staring at her in shock. As if remembering something.
Blessed oxygen entered her lungs again.“I’m sorry,” she said on a gasp that turned into a cough.
“You really are the villain, aren’t you? I’m so stupid for not seeing it before.”
Her voice was rough. “I don’t know. But you thought of yourself as the villain once, and then proved to me that you aren’t.”
His brows furrowed. For a moment he didn’t respond. He shook his head, clearing it of whatever memory had surfaced.
When his eyes met hers again, they burned hot.
He’s gone. I can’t reach him. Emma heaved a breath, preparing to spring into action at the same time he did.
They collided, clawing, snarling. Pain ruptured in her arm, and a warmth soaked the sleeve of her shirt. Emma gasped, trying to get a grip on him. But he was too fast, batting her away without allowing their skin to touch.
She looked to his lips in a burst of clarity. It might be the only way.
But before she had the chance, her body was snatched forward by the collar of her jacket. He slammed her back against the rock, the jutting edges cutting into her, and her head hit with a solid thunk. Stars dotted her vision. A sound somewhere between a cry and a groan escaped her lips.
Levaroth slammed her against the rock a second time and her limbs turned to jelly. Everything blurred.
When she crashed into the rock a third time, blackness consumed her.
47
Levaroth
Kill her.
Drain her blood.
In darkness the king was made. So shall I serve the
darkness and my king. The traitor went limp, falling to the snow. Behind her, the rock was painted with her blood, and he breathed in the scent deep. It smelled like his—dark and powerful, but tinged with something lighter.
Sunshine.
He spit at her prone, unmoving form. She was unconscious, and he so hated killing when he didn’t get to watch the life leave their eyes, but he’d have to make do. His orders were to kill her as fast as possible. Already she healed much faster than she should. Soon she’d wake and be at full strength again if he didn’t hurry.
Kill her.
Spill her traitor blood.
He cupped her face, palms brushing against her cool cheeks, preparing to snap her delicate neck.“Such a pity,” he whispered to the unconscious girl, “I fell in love with you, only for you to be my downfall. And now I’ll be yours.”
There was a time when he believed he’d have done everything over the same way just to meet her. To feel her presence, her warmth. To smell the sunshine in her blood.
But now he’d kill the pitiful creature that caused him so much pain.
He smiled at the thrill of her approaching death.
“Levaroth!”
The voice that echoed on the mountaintop behind him was familiar but difficult to place. When he stood and spun, he spied the Giborim filth that had no doubt secured the Shediem-Slayer for his mate.
He hissed.“Stay back, filth!”
The Giborim halted, his eyes first fixing on the streaked blood coating the rock, then down to the heap that was the girl. When he lifted his gaze back to Levaroth, the coldness in his grey eyes turned into a tumultuous storm, raging and unpredictable.
Her sweet blood froze in the winter air, her wounds already sealed.
He was running out of time. Unsheathing his only blade, he raised it above his prey.
And brought it down.
A roar rumbled over the mountain before the Giborim’s body crashed into his, knocking the knife from his hands less than an inch above the traitor’s chest.
He tumbled back, the two of them landing blows, dodging others. Blood and spittle went flying. He hoped his blood infected the Giborim’s wounds.
Let him suffer a million agonies while dying a slow death. Pathetic self-righteous creature.
Another crack to his cheek sounded, but he didn’t feel the pain. He wasn’t capable of feeling pain anymore.
They rolled again and he was pressed into the cold, wet snow, the Giborim’s face screwed up as the rage took over.
“You’re no different than me,” Levaroth spat just before a punch landed to his throat and he wheezed.
“I am nothing like you!” the Giborim roared, his fists pummeling Levaroth’s flesh. Cracking his bones.
“Blaze, stop,” a small, weak voice rasped.
The Giborim didn’t even pause.
“Blaze, stop! You’re killing him!”
He couldn’t die, she needn’t have worried. He’d never die. Forever he’d be trapped in his infernal existence.
In darkness the king was made. So shall I serve the darkness and my king.
The Giborim brute did pause then, just realizing the Shediem-Slayer was conscious, though she swayed where she sat.
That, or his own vision swayed. He couldn’t tell the difference anymore.
“He deserves to die!” the Giborim choked out. “He nearly killed you.”
The girl crawled on her hands and knees toward them— likely too weak to walk. Laying a hand on her mate’s shoulder, she said,“His mind is all messed up. It’s not his fault.”
“Should’ve killed you while you were lying there all helpless,” he said, blood gurgling in his mouth and running down his throat. He wasn’t sure where the blood was coming from. His healing was slower than usual. He hadn’t fed in weeks.
So weak.
The traitor had the gall to look at him pityingly. She touched his face and he flinched away, certain she would finish the job.
But no pain came.
His energy wasn’t being siphoned from his skin. She tried again, stroking his cheek, and felt instead a prickling of heat.
“What are you doing?” the Giborim asked accusatorily, his brows crashing together.
Her skin visibly paled, the pink disappearing from her cheeks while he felt his healing increasing in speed. His wounds knitted closed, the bones fusing back together.
She was giving him her power. But why?
Her shoulders slumped and her hand fell away, her breaths coming in labored pants.
“Why would you do that?” the Giborim shouted.“Now he has the strength to try to kill you again!”
She shook her head slowly.“He won’t.”
He barked a laugh. He wouldn’t just try; he’d succeed.
“I need you to come back to me,” she whispered, bending over him. Her lips were so close, and her scent muddied his senses.“Adrianna told me you made a deal for me. You sacrificed yourself to help me. You used to love me, I think. Or care about me, anyway.”
Her words were absurd. He never loved her. They’d always been enemies. Yet something flickered to life in his mind: a flash of the ebony-skinned Spellcaster and his bargain. To break her father’s mark in exchange for his memories of her.
He didn’t know what she was doing until her cool lips pressed to his.
More memories flooded his mind, rolling in wave after wave. He sucked in a sharp breath. The wall that held it all back crumbled, and soon his arms wrapped around Emma, pulling her to him, deepening the kiss.
She opened for him, tasting him as he tasted her. Her sweetness, her beauty.
She saved him.
Her feelings for him were in ever
y dip of her tongue, in the sheer riot of emotions he tasted rolling off her—relief, bliss, trust.
Love.
Emma Duvall loved him.
She broke the kiss first, her breathing heavy for a different reason. A sound of disgust came from behind her. She turned to look at the Giborim and Levaroth followed suit, catching sight of the hurt and anger written on his face. He stood a ways away now, no doubt spiraling at what he’d just witnessed.
Smug satisfaction that Levaroth didn’t try to quash lit his chest.
“Blaze, I had to. Adrianna hinted that only I could break the spell. It was just a guess, but—”
“I get it,” Blaze said, voice icy like the wind.“We need to go. The others will need us.”
“I can help you get to Asmodeus. I’ll have to pretend I’m still a mindless killing machine, but I can get you close enough to kill him.”
Emma nodded, guilt plainly written on her face. His chest ached. It wasn’t just the kiss that was causing the guilt. He’d felt her emotions, tasted them on the air.
She loved him and she was conflicted because he was sure she loved the Giborim too.
But they’d have to deal with that mess later. They had a war to end.
“Come on.” Levaroth helped her to her feet. “Let’s get this over with.”
48
Emma
H er heart felt fractured. She’d meant to break the spell only, and if she’d told Blaze what she planned to do, he’d have tried to stop her. But once it’d started, she
couldn’t stop. Everything had vanished, and it was just the two of them: a flicker of warmth in the biting cold. In his arms she’d been assaulted with the truth of her feelings for the demon.
He was stubborn and possessive and had caused her all sorts of grief, but he’d also sacrificed himself for her. He’d protected her. Cared for her.
She hadn’t been brave enough to acknowledge it before, but now it was undeniable. And Blaze had seen everything she’d felt, she had no doubt. She didn’t want to hurt him; if there had been any way to shield him from the kiss, she would have. Now she was plagued with shame. And what would happen now? They had discussed a future together when all of this was over. Would he still want a future with her after what she’d done?
The Throne of Broken Bones (Weapon of Fire and Ash Book 3) Page 36
