CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

NO MATTER HOW many demons Thane and the others killed, the number of opponents only grew. There were simply too many of them. Big, little. Countless hordes of every type.

Without question, this was a planned attack, and all the prince’s doing. Ardeo had weakened him just before the army of demon minions attacked, all for the prince’s benefit. It was a strike meant to end him. And if that failed, a strike meant to disable him.

The more Thane fought, the more blood and strength he hemorrhaged. There wasn’t time or opportunity for one of his boys to feed him Water. A single moment of inactivity or distraction was certain death.

Claws swiped at him. Fangs snapped at him. Poisoned horns and antlers slashed in his direction. All he could do was swing the sword of fire back and forward, left and right, remaining in constant motion to keep the creatures from making contact.

We can’t continue this way, Xerxes projected.

I can lead them away from the club, Thane replied. You can get everyone to safety.

Some of the demons may follow you. But every single one of them? No.

True. If the numbers kept growing, he would be leaving his loved ones here to be slaughtered.

Zacharel, he said to his leader. I’m in trouble. He explained the situation.

I’m too far away to help. Zacharel’s unemotional tone was oddly comforting. But I’ll send the others.

Help is on the way, he told Xerxes and Bjorn. Thankfully, neither asked him if he believed that help would arrive in time.

With a flick of his wrist, Thane removed the head of the demon closest to him—and caught a glimpse of Elin in the hallway, fighting six monkeylike demons on her own.

Little details hit him like bullets. Her only weapon was a dagger. Crimson stained her hands. Blood. Hers? Cuts and abrasions littered her arms. Her clothing—a tank and shorts—was torn.

One of the demons grabbed her by the hair and jerked her to the floor. When she landed, she kicked him in the stomach, punting him across the room. Another creature dived on top of her, but she punched him in the face, preventing him from biting her.

Rage returned some of the strength he’d lost. Thane battled his way toward her with new fervor, mowing down everything in his path. Though she remained on her back, she continued to fight with surprising ferocity, grabbing a demon by the horn and holding him still while she whaled—and while the other demons gnawed on her stomach and legs.

No one hurts my woman.

Fury coursed through his veins, making him insane with bloodlust as he stomped over. Quick as lightning, he ripped an arm off one of the culprits—and stuffed it inside the mouth of another. He—

Froze. Right along with everyone else in the room.

A horrible quiet descended, the air thickening, as if boiling water was being poured throughout. His gaze met Elin’s. He saw pain. He saw confusion. He saw determination.

What’s happening? she asked.

Don’t know, he replied. Are you all right?

I will be.

Thane kicked a demon off her. The thickened air slowed his movements and tempered his strength, but he accomplished his goal. The rest of the creatures fell away from her, moving just as slowly as he had, as she struggled to sit up. With great effort he managed to crouch beside her and urge her back down before covering her with his wings.

I’ve never experienced anything like this. Until I know it’s safe, you will stay here.

I’m not sure I—

Her words were cut off.

The demons looked as if they were shrieking as they ran out of the hall, and maybe they reached the exit. Maybe they didn’t. A horrible darkness covered the entire expanse. A darkness devoid of even the smallest pinpricks of light. It brought helplessness. It brought emptiness. Thane’s senses were suddenly switched off. There was nothing, no one. Except absolute, utter aloneness.

His skin crawled, and his mind screamed—Elin, have to protect Elin. He attempted to drape his body across hers, but couldn’t move an inch. His muscles were like iron, his skin like stone.

Just when he thought he could take no more, that he would surely go insane, the darkness lifted. He blinked to focus. The first thing he noticed: the demons were dead. All of them. Motionless, mutilated bodies covered the blood-splattered floor.

What had just happened?

He was panting, he realized. And sweating. Blood leaked from his eyes and ears.

If he was this bad... “Elin!” He snapped his wings behind his back, and there she was, just as he’d left her. She had no new injuries, and she was still conscious.

His relief was so fervent he could taste it.

“Oh, baby,” she said, sitting up to wipe the blood from his face, showing no reaction to it, the carnage of the past few hours having been so much worse. “Are you okay? I tried to talk to you, tried to move, but couldn’t. It was awful.”

He loved when she called him “baby.” “I’m...” He couldn’t lie. He wasn’t well, wasn’t even sure how he was still upright.

“That was her,” Bjorn said, racing over. “The queen. My...wife.” He cringed as the last word left him. “She tried to take out one of my most trusted allies, to make me helpless against her. You received a mere taste of her darkness.”

What Bjorn experienced was worse?

“If that was your wife,” Elin said, with a shudder, “I don’t think marriage counseling is going to help.”

Bjorn cracked the barest hint of a smile.

Thane’s eyesight dimmed, and the room spun.

Crouched as he was, his weight became too much. He tried to tilt to his side and succeeded, but tilted too much. He fell, a sharp pain shooting through his side when he landed.

“Thane,” Elin said. She sounded concerned, but far away.

Want her near.

He reached for her but ended up thumping Bjorn on the chest. “Elin.”

“I’m here, baby. I’m here. Let Bjorn help you, okay?”

His arm flopped to the floor. Strong hands cupped his shoulder and pushed him to his back. His lips were pried open.

“Here,” a female voice he recognized said. “The other half of the bottle, for a hundred more heads.” Cool water dribbled down his throat. The pains sharpened further, agonizing him as the healing properties in the Water mended torn muscle and flesh.

“—you promise?” Elin was saying, what seemed an eternity later. “If you’re wrong and he doesn’t recover, I’ll find a way to go fire-creeper and burn you alive.”