I flinched as its claws inched towards my face. The tip of a broadsword lanced through its protruding gut. Kai twisted his wrist. The demon dropped to the ground in four separate pieces. Bile coated my tongue. Gross.
“Go!” Kai rasped. His bleeding arm caught my eye.
Where? I wanted to scream at him. But he had already turned and was charging towards the oncoming demons. They wouldn’t stop streaming into the room no matter how hard Kai fought. His angelfire was barely a speck. He’d used most of it bringing me back so he couldn’t even teleport. Now he was just running on pure adrenaline and determination.
Without the bond, I would be convinced he could last forever. Even though fatigue snapped at his heels, Kai continued to hit back at the demons like he was limitless. There were so many things for me to be afraid of in this world. But nothing scared me quite as much as when Kai wasn’t able to evade the blow of a demon’s punch because there were too many other dangers in the way. We were being overrun.
The room was too small.
I groaned as I shoved at the floor with all my might. The effort had the world spinning again. It wasn’t until the room shook that I realised it wasn’t just a result of my weakened body. Something massive was coming. It bled through the Ley sight like a huge red, glowing force. In the periphery of the Ley sight, I caught a spark of white light. On closer inspection, I was surprised to see that it was Fred. He was sealed off dozens of levels above me. There were other guards in the room with him. It appeared that they had been caught in the crossfire. I pressed my lips together. Fred hadn’t run. His cell was on the uppermost level. When stuff had started to go down, he’d stayed.
Of all people, Fred hadn’t chickened out. Neither would I.
Blood coated my hands. It became sticky and made my skin tight when I flexed my fingers. Kai’s enraged roar had my attention pinpointing. A poisoned spine stuck out of his chest. No!
An enormous, hairy leg appeared outside the door. The rest of the demon was too big to fit. It made no difference. The thing slammed its foot against the opening. Rock sprayed into the room.
I raised my arm up to cover my face. Kai backed up to shield me from the worst of it. The spine sticking out of his side was covered in blood.
I lay in a slick of blood.
The walls were painted with it.
My hands moved as though of their own accord. I soaked my palms in blood and drew it into a circle. The Angelical word bounced around in my thoughts. If I spoke the word aloud, what would it do to Kai and me? To Fred and everyone else still in the prison? The little human girl in me screamed that it didn’t matter. My fear was like a tornado. It shattered everything in its wake and didn’t care what it spat out.
My lower abdomen ached like there was no tomorrow. I closed my eyes and thought of those long nights in Ravenhall. I’d sit out in the garden with Basil and absentmindedly draw circles. Without realising, I had etched Angelical words into the circles. At the time, I hadn’t given it much thought. I had been sealed. The words meant nothing. But the writing of the words had quietened my mind.
When I did it now, the ring of red flared with magic so bright, it bathed the room in a frightening glow. All of the demons froze. I glanced inside me at the pool of magic and almost wept. It was full to the brim and churning to be released.
Maybe speaking the Angelical had always been the problem. I was human and a low-magic user. My gift was in the drawing. By writing the Angelical word, I stripped it of the thing that had always botched my pronunciation. My human limitations.
I wrote one last word in the circle. Mawatah. Death. I slapped my bloody hand down on it and sank all of my magic into the circle.
The world exploded in a waved of red. It chased through the prison, up through the crevices, floor after floor, until it reached the ceiling. The roof came off at the same time the wards disintegrated. Every demon mind in the place winked out.
Kai fell to his knees.
I let out a quiet breath as the magic roared from me. I was smiling when I fell unconscious.
59
The scent of sunshine and clean linen woke me. It was a drastic contrast to the acidic smell of blood and guts. My suspicions were on high alert. It was too quiet in here. Outside, a wind chime tinkled.
The bed I lay in was foreign. It was so soft, I almost sank into it. The architecture was not foreign. Seraphina’s beautifully arched ceiling came into view. I groaned. Even the warm sunlight couldn’t chase away my apprehension. Why was I here of all places?
I did an injury check. All digits and limbs accounted for. I could see and smell and hear. So why the soul-deep ache that kept rearing its head?
I turned onto my side and blinked. A velvet ring box sat on the table. For some reason, my hand suddenly clutched at my lower abdomen. Everything came racing back.
I tore the covers off and pulled down my pyjama bottoms. There was no scar. The skin was smooth and unblemished. But when I slipped into the
