The demon freezes in place, eyes wide. Its jaw goes slack, black blood dripping thickly from its maw. I grimace as the demon finally falls to the side, landing with a thump. My hands tremble with adrenaline and I toss my head back, a scream wrenching from my throat. A drop of cold rain lands on my cheek and I open my eyes to see a torrent of rain falling towards me. I take a deep, shuddering breath as the rain soaks through the fabric of my tunic. It washes the demon’s blood towards me, and I step back with disgust.
I run from the maze, towards the sound of fighting. I burst out of the hedges and see Moritz’s men grappling with the demons. The ground is slick, the dirt paths turning to mud. The Fae soldiers’ faces are twisted with fury and exertion as more demons sweep into the walls to replace the ones that have fallen.
I whirl towards a demon, my sword slicing through its thick neck. It screeches but doesn’t die. I bring my sword down again, hacking through the thick muscles and scaled skin like a man possessed. Black blood flies over me, splattering my face. I feel it drip down over my eyes but it’s not long until the rain washes it away.
More horns sound, muffled by the rain, and I know the demons have breached the gate. Fear lances through me. We’re falling. I stare towards the door embedded in the castle stones that lead to the hidden tunnels that are our only hope of retreat. Time flows slowly as I watch more and more of Moritz’s best fall, their blood coating the demons’ claws and teeth.
I spin away, transforming almost instantly into my beastly form. I fly upwards, just out of reach of the demons’ claws. To my horror, I see a group of them scrambling up the wet stones of one of the towers. I drag my eyes away from them, even as some stones come crumbling down. This castle has stood for thousands of years, since before my father’s father. I blink against the rain flying into my eyes, if we lose here, this castle will fall.
As I wheel around the castle, it’s as if the walls surround my palace have completely disappeared beneath the hordes of demons scrambling over them. The men below are panicking, but they fight hard. It’s as if Sadal only showed half of his force’s strength during the last battle. It’s as if he was only toying with us. I soar towards the walls and plow through a pile of demons trying to claw over each other in their desperation to reach the carnage below.
I leave the castle behind as I fly over the never-ending waves of demons. They pour endlessly from the forests and over the surrounding hills. A flash of lightning illuminates the dark day, and I spot a red tent in the distance. I feel a wave of anger. Sadal will be there, hiding from the rain, smiling as my people fall.
I fly towards it, wings beating powerfully to carry my swiftly. Another flash of lightning, followed by roiling thunder, and I see Sadal’s small figure in the distance. This time, nothing will stop me from killing him before he has a chance to take his strange, powerful body of shadows. Nothing will stop me from striking him down before my castle falls.
I can see his grin now. His eyes are on me and I drop to the ground. I shift out of my beastly body before my feet have touched the ground. I draw my sword without hesitation and stride towards Sadal. Shoulders hunched. I seethe. The demons ignore me, just streaks of black in the fog of the strange storm that rolled in.
Sadal leers at me when I stop a few feet away from him. Maaz is nowhere to be seen, likely with her Bloodbane forces. I squeeze the hilt of my sword and shake my wet locks from my face. “Sadal,” I growl.
“Altair,” he says, tilting his head to the side. “Things aren’t looking so good for you.”
“Let’s finish this now,” I say, lifting my sword towards him.
Sadal laughs, his shoulders shaking. “Altair, I never took you for a fool. Well, not this big a fool. You can’t kill me. I’m a god.”
“Not for long,” I hear a soft voice say over the force of the rain.
My eyes drift towards the voice, heart singing as Verity’s slim figure appears behind Sadal. Her hood is drawn up against the rain, but I can see the light glinting in her eyes. It’s enough to make me forget the flash of silver I saw in her hand. I step forward, relief flooding through me at the sight of her. Her eyes are narrowed, lips pale with cold or fear, I don’t know.
“Darling,” Sadal purrs. “Can’t you see I’m busy?”
Verity doesn’t answer, I see her hand dart towards him and her lips twist into a snarl. I see the dagger in her hand fly towards him and my jaw goes slack. I lunge forward, knowing her attack with such a small thing won’t be enough to kill Sadal. He’ll strike her. I’ll lose her.
She cries out as Sadal’s hand snatches her wrist. He squeezes so hard the dagger falls from her hand, clattering to the stones. He narrows his eyes at me, a scowl twisting his handsome face into a gruesome expression of cruelty. “Excuse us, Altair, I’m afraid my wife needs punishing,” Sadal says
