Chapter 14

14

Somehow, Ylena had figured some things out. For one, we were in a prison, and two, Rage had a key to get out of here.

She reached into his pocket and grabbed the black rectangle. She held on to it as we approached the cliff and the mist appeared. At first, it was like morning fog, but soon, it was thick and almost tangible.

For a good fifteen minutes, we flew blind.

Until the mist dissipate and we came face-to-face with the cliff wall. Ylena and Levi had to pull back with all of their might before we slammed into the wall. They pulled up and flew to the top of the cliff.

At the edge, they bumped into an invisible wall.

“Where’s the lock?” Ylena asked Rage. He pressed his lips tight. “Tell us, or I’ll drop you.”

He glanced at me, determined to not reveal anything.

With a snarl, Ylena wrapped a hand around Rage’s throat. “You.” She stared me. “Tell me or I’ll drop him.”

Shit. “I don’t know where it is.”

“Liar!” She loosened her grip and Rage slipped a little. His eyes went wide for a moment.

“I seriously don’t know!” I had seen Jasmin holding the key to the wall; there were no markers.

Ylena hissed. “You’re useless to me.” She opened her arms.

Rage fell.

“No!” I screamed, watching as he disappeared into the mist. I glared at Ylena. “What the hell happened to you?” This couldn’t be the same angel who had trained me, who had been such an inspiration to me.

She didn’t acknowledge me. Instead, she turned to the invisible wall and simply pushed the key into it.

The key held and Ylena turned it. A shimmer ran through the wall as it disengaged. She dropped the key at the edge of the cliff, as if it was trash, and with a wicked smile, she crossed the barrier.

Levi followed her.

A couple feet past the barrier, they landed and turned to each other. Without wasting a breath, Levi growled and threw a big bolt at Ylena. She barely dodged it, and the bolt singed her hair.

“You,” she snarled. “I helped you!”

“I’m a demon,” he said with a growl. “You should know better.”

He prepared to send another bolt at her, but she was faster. She threw her light magic at us. Levi’s grip loosened around me and I jumped away from him—and landed right beside the discarded key.

I wasn’t sure if this would work, or if they would find it, but I grabbed the key and flung it over with a small prayer that somehow Rage had survived the fall, and that they would find the key.

With a growl, Levi surged over me, wrapped one arm around my waist and flew straight up, fast and hard, taking my breath away.

With me secured, he sent another bolt her way, and she took to the air to avoid it.

Then Levi zipped away from her.

I frowned, watching as he kept throwing bolts Ylena’s way, until all the dodging made her lose steam, and she was left behind.

Why was he doing that?

Then it hit me. Levi knew certain parts of the underworld, probably the castle and the main entrance and he didn’t want Ylena to follow him.

When Levi emerged past a tall mountain that looked like a strategic wall and into the river of lava, I knew I was right.

And somehow, King Tanner had been prepared for this as at least two dozen demon hunters stood at the bridge.

Levi flew up, toward the infinite-looking ceiling, avoiding any of the hunters and their strikes.

He arced around the castle and went to the gates, which were also heavily guarded.

Levi sped up, and when we were close enough to be hit by the demon hunters, he draped his wings around us like a shield and barreled into the last line of defense, taking a couple of hunters with us as we crossed the portal into the human realm.

On the other side, the demon hunters tried striking him, but Levi didn’t stop. He didn’t even slow down as he opened his wings, flew higher, and disappeared into the sky, taking me with him.

I instantly recognized the gate we had come through, near Winnipeg. Once we left the gate’s grounds, the glamour went up and we flew past the fake farmhouse.

The sky was stained orange and blue and purple as the sun set to our right, which told me we were going south. The ground was covered in fresh snow and it was freezing. I had a thin leather jacket, but it wasn’t enough for this cold.

Though he seemed more demon than human right now, Levi was smart. He flew fast and far from the underworld entrance. We were following the twisting flow of the Red River, which went on for hundreds of miles. At some point, I was sure we had crossed into the United States.

He held me tight the entire time, and only glanced at me once or twice. I knew he wouldn’t let me fall, but I still grasped his arms as tight as I could. However, after hours flying, I didn’t have any strength to hold on anymore and slumped against him.

I looked up at his menacing, yet handsome face. He looked more monster than anything else like this, but I could see the traces of his human form underneath it all.

I placed a hand on his chest, feeling the fast beat of his heart. I had to believe he was still the same underneath the monster, and somehow, I would get to him.

When the sun was gone, Levi veered inland, taking us from the river route, and deep into the woods. He stopped in some hills and found a cave—just a wide overhang under the trees where we could hide for the night.

He dropped me inside the cave and stepped back. Knowing I couldn’t run from him—and honestly, not sure I wanted to—I sat on the cold, hard ground and hugged my legs.

There was no snow here but it was still too cold.

Levi frowned and snarled at me. “Don’t run.”

I didn’t dignify his command with an answer.

He disappeared for a good ten minutes.

I did consider running, but what then? If I wanted to reach past his demon self, I had to stay with him.

So, I patiently and coldly waited for him.

Levi came back with an armful of firewood. He deposited it at the mouth of the cave and sent a spark of darkfire to them. The wood caught on fire instantly.

I scooted closer to the fire, my palms out. “Aren’t you going to sit?”

“I’m not cold,” he said and I almost winced, still not used to hearing his demon voice.

But he had noticed I was cold. He had made the fire for me. He might not understand it yet, but he cared. I needed to use that.

“I know, but I am. If you sit next to me, it’ll help.” I was pushing it.

He huffed and didn’t oblige. He stood on the other side of the fire, tall and regal, ready for a battle. In the distance, an owl hooted and a branch cracked.

His body tensed.

“Relax,” I said. “It’s just an animal.”

“They can attack.”

“Oh, I doubt they will get too close.”

Levi was the most dangerous animal in these woods, I was sure.

I felt my stomach contract with hunger. When was the last time I had eaten? I had no idea where my bag was. I had probably dropped it somewhere in the underworld, before this whole ordeal started.

Levi paced in front of the fire while I trembled with each faint, chill breeze that blew our way.

I was giving him some time to calm down and be bored before I struck.

Finally, when he paused and looked up at the bare trees, I found my opening.

“What’s your plan?” I asked. He looked at me. “What will you do now? Just stay here with me? Let me die of cold and hunger? Start a war? What?”

His brows curled down. “I want my revenge.”

“Revenge. Against what? Who?”

“My enemy.”

“Ylena? The angel who was in the underworld with you?” He grunted as if to answer yes. “Why do you want revenge against her?”

His frown deepened.

He didn’t know. Levi had been so lost to the monster, he didn’t know why he had been fighting her in the first place.

“Why did you take me?” I tried another approach.

The demon stared at me, his eyes dark, intense. “I don’t know.”

“That’s not a good answer.” I pressed a hand to my chest. “Did you feel something here?”

He glanced down at my hand and averted his eyes. He did! That had to be it. Feeling confident about this, I stood, walking around the fire and closer to him. His gaze was fixed on me the entire time, and his body tensed as I approached him.

I halted a foot from him and placed my hand on his chest again, like I had done when we were flying, but this time, nothing else was distracting him.

“We’re bonded,” I told him. “You’re tied to me and I’m tied to you. We feel each other. We have feelings for each other.” I leaned in closer. “You like me.”

With a growl, Levi caught my arms and pushed me against the closest tree, its trunk wide and hard on my back. He bared his teeth right in my face.

“There are no feelings.” His voice was even deeper now, rougher, chillier. I went rigid, afraid I had pushed him too far too fast. “I don’t feel anything. I just want my revenge and you’re standing in my way.”

He snapped his sharp teeth and punched the tree right above my head. The trunk creaked and cracked with his strength, but it didn’t break.

I paled.

“You’re nothing to me,” he said with a snarl.

He turned his back to me and pushed up, flying away.

I slumped against the tree, breathing hard.

Shit, what had I done?

* * *

As the night became darker and colder, I did consider leaving. But to go where? I had no idea where I was, which direction I could go. I didn’t have my phone to reach anyone or look at the GPS, and I could hear animals prowling nearby.

I could fly up, try to see something in the distance, but in this darkness?

It was better if for now if I stayed with the dying fire. I did get up at some point, to use the “restroom” and find more firewood, but I never went far, afraid of getting lost or being taken by surprise by the animals.

It didn’t take long for me to get sleepy, even though I was freezing and starving. I lay down beside the small fire, as close as I could get without getting burned, hugged myself, and closed my eyes.

When I woke up, it was still dark, but I wasn’t shivering anymore. Levi lay beside me, his body an inch from mine, and his wings covering us both. It was like a cocoon of warmth, like a cozy blanket.

I glanced up at him, but in the near darkness, it was almost impossible to see anything. Still, I stared at his face, and I knew that underneath the demon, underneath this evilness that had overtaken him, he was still the same.

The one who cared for me, even though he shouldn’t. Even though he really didn’t want to.

And that gave me hope.

I stayed as quiet as I could, watching him as he slept. His chest moved up and down. I wondered, was this the first time he had truly slept since he disappeared with Ylena?

My heart squeezed—half pain for him, half the bond pulling me toward him.

I rolled to my right side, tucked my right arm underneath my head, and faced him fully. I let my left hand hover over his stonelike chest, not really touching, but close. My fingertips brushed against something on his waist and I paused. Gently touching my fingers to his side, I realized what it was.

I brought my fingers to my line of sight.

Blood.

I sat up, pushing his wings from above me.

Levi groaned, but besides stirring a little, he didn’t wake up. Frowning, I scooted closer to him and saw it.

A large wound on his right side, the blood dripping down his back and drenching the ground.

What?

I shook his shoulder. “Levi.” He groaned but kept on sleeping. I placed a hand on his forehead. He was burning up. “Shit,” I muttered as my heart squeezed.

I stared at the wound. Why wasn’t it healing? Or was it healing slowly? If it stayed open for long, it would get infected. But I had nothing with me. My bag was gone, and I didn’t even have my phone to call for help.

I leaned into him. “Levi,” I called again, but apparently, he was too far gone with the fever to realize what was going on. A demon this big, this powerful … this wound had to be deep and wreaked havoc on the inside to have him knocked him out like this.

I hovered a hand over the wound and lowered it again. There were angels who could use their magic to heal, but I had never mastered that when I could use my magic. Now that it was all messed up, I couldn’t risk doing more damage.

But I couldn’t let him stay like this either.

I shot to my feet and created a plan in my head. I would fly out and?—

An unnatural heap caught my sight and I did a double take. Was that a mound of mountain lions? My mouth opened as I realized they were dead, with blood smeared all over them. I followed the trail of blood, and found it actually started a few feet from where I was.

Wait.

I gaped at Levi’s feverish demon form. I had been alone last night. Or had I? Had Levi been close the entire time? And when mountain lions got too close to me while I slept, he killed them all?

My heart tugged.

I took off my jacket, held on to it, released my wings, and took to the skies.