Chapter 18Varos

Chapter

Eighteen

VAROS

A fter assuring myself that Sasha was safe and that every soldier who had come to take her from me was dead, I found the nearest beelennya plant. I had to wash away as much of the blood on my mate as I could. My rage would keep simmering until it was gone. The High General was already going to die, but now that he’d hurt her, I was going to make him suffer in the most painful ways. I had many, many ideas of how to do it, too, since he’d done them all to me over the years.

I watched as Sasha put her shirt back on with a grimace, lamenting about how disgusting it was. My lips twitched as she complained about the new holes in her favorite jacket. I didn’t find the idea of how those holes had gotten there funny, but my mate was cute when she was grumbling.

“I hope they can be patched. Stupid arrows.”

I chuckled, sticking the tip of my finger in the one on her shoulder. “You know, back when I was a boy, all clothing was repaired when damaged instead of discarded. Even for a prince.”

She eyed me as if she were sizing me up. “Is that what you are? A prince?”

I sighed, reaching down for her satchel and sliding it over her head, knowing she’d want to hold on to it. “All four of us. Our mother was one of the first demons created after the Underworld came into existence. The Diety that designed the Underworld did so with multiple rulers in mind. Always several kings to rule over all. It was the only way to keep such a vast amount of deadly breeds of demons under check. There’s just no way to control them all with just one leader.”

She looked thoughtful as she picked up Max and scratched behind his ears. “I know it’s been a while since I lived here, but I recall Lucifer being the head of all the other royalty.”

I shook my head in disgust. “He always had big aspirations. He doesn’t even have a right to a throne.”

Her look of shock wasn’t surprising. Lucifer’s father had been a soldier. When he died, one of the other kings, who’d had his eye on his mother, took her as his chosen mate, giving Lucifer ideas for the throne. My brothers and I had our suspicions about what truly happened with his father. It was all too convenient. Knowing now what we did about Lucifer and how far he would go to get what he wanted, made everything that happened leading up until now suspect.

“We didn’t know him before the accident, but after Lucifer moved into the palace, we had to spend time with him when we had our classes. There was something about him that none of us liked. He was arrogant and spoiled, and I often saw a calculated look in his eyes. He was also intelligent and cunning.”

“Do you think he planned all this,” she gestured around us, but I knew what she meant. He got rid of the four of us, making way for more power for himself. “How did he get away with it if he isn’t even an heir to the throne?”

I gritted my teeth and took her hand as we walked quickly down the path. We were still far from the portal and every minute that we spent in the Underworld, Sasha was in even more danger. I didn’t trust the High General to not employ more dangerous tactics to retrieve us. “Friends, I would think. Or people he hired.”

“Or threatened,” she said thoughtfully. “He has witches working for him, right? They don’t like working for demons, never have.”

Witches were captured and brought into the Underworld shortly after the realm was created. As soon as the portals were discovered, demons began to explore. At some point, witches were brought back as slaves once it was discovered the kind of power they held. The Kings set them free as soon as they uncovered what was going on. After that, many made a home in the Underworld, but it was entirely possible they were still being used without their consent.

“It is definitely something the demon I knew as a boy would have done.”

We walked in silence for quite some time, rushing toward our destination. At some point, Max had jumped back onto my shoulder and curled his body into a comfortable position to rest. Sasha never broke stride as we walked at our quick pace. She was just as determined as I was, and again, I couldn't help but be impressed by her strength and capabilities. She was as well trained as the best soldiers in the realm.

The sound of wings caught both our attention, while at the same time, Max made the high pitched trill I had already come to recognize as his warning call. I cursed and pulled Sasha’s hand, darting into the forest for cover. Even though the tree limbs were sparse, they would still provide enough cover that a flying predator would have trouble swooping down for an attack.

“Harpies,” Sasha bit out as we searched the sky. I looked to where she was pointing and saw she was right.

Harpies were often employed by the High General for aerial defense during battles against rogue demons who attempted to attack villages or steal the grazing animals that provided meat or materials for clothing. With their speed and strong control over their maneuvers while flying, they made a quality asset to the army.

They also made for a deadly enemy if you were the prey they were after.

“We need to bring them down. There is no way to stay hidden from them for long.” Harpies had, arguably, the best eyesight of all the demon breeds. The one thing harpies couldn’t do was fight well on land. Their feet had talons that were long and curved, deadly. But their hands did not, and their strength was all in their wings.

Sasha began pulling knives from the hidden places in her clothing. “I only have a few knives left, but if you get their attention, I can take them down. I just need them to stay in place long enough to aim.”

I grabbed my mate by the shoulders and pulled her into my body, giving her a fierce kiss. “Leave it to me,” I growled and stepped away, setting Max on the ground. I pointed a clawed finger at him. “Stay here.” He sat down with a trill and glared at me with his large purple eyes.

I glanced back at Sasha, who gave me a nod to indicate that she was ready, her deadly blades gleaming in the waning light of the sun. I stepped out of the trees and back onto the path, seeing Sasha move closer but still under the cover of the leaves.

“Out for a late day flight?” I called out. The three harpies immediately turned in midflight toward the sound of my voice, demonstrating their impressive skill.

The one who was clearly the leader screeched out a battle cry. She swooped down, speeding toward me as quick as a heartbeat. I waited until the last possible second before ducking, narrowly missing her talons that were aimed at my face. As she circled around to get ready for another dive, the other two attacked simultaneously, each of them seeming to be aiming for my arms. It was apparent that they intended to pick me up to carry away. As if I’d ever be prey that easily.

Before they came within ten feet of me, they fell to the ground with a hard thud, skidding to a stop amid a cloud of dust and debris, knives I hadn’t even seen fly past me embedded into their chests. The leader gave another shriek, this one full of outrage, as she watched the other two take their last breaths.

A knife to my heart would hurt, and I would be weak until the wound healed, but it wouldn’t kill me. Nearly all demons could heal from severe wounds, but very few had the ability to survive what would be considered a fatal wound. Harpies were strong and talented fighters, but they weren't virtually immortal. Not like I was. Not like my brothers were. And, now that we were mated, Sasha would have those same abilities.

I turned to my mate, realizing for the first time that since we were now bonded, she would survive any injury. I had simultaneous feelings of relief and terror. Terror because if the High General captured her, she could be subjected to the same torture that I had been with no end to look forward to. It would almost be a kindness for her to die. I had to make sure that never happened.

The harpy swooped through the air, preparing for another attack when the rays of the waning sun glinted off something on her talons. As she aimed for me, I readied myself to dodge again, but at the last minute, she changed directions and aimed for Sasha. Sasha had her arm back, ready to throw the dagger that was clutched in her fist, but it was too late. The harpy didn’t even try to dodge the branches in her way, simply plowing right through them with a feral snarl as she held her taloned feet out, aiming for my mate’s face.

I watched as if time had slowed to crawl as Sasha released the knife. It found its mark right into the chest of the harpy, but in doing so, she was left exposed to the talons that were too close to dodge. With a roar of fear and outrage, I ran to her side, tossing the dead harpy off of her. She wasn’t supposed to be the target. It was supposed to be me.

As the harpy was tossed away onto her back, the sound of bones snapping as her wings were crushed under her weight drew my attention. I glanced briefly, immediately dismissing her as I turned back to my mate. But that brief glance had me whipping my head back in her direction to take another look. Bright metal glinted in the light that was over her feet like socks. The sight of it made me sick, and my breath froze in my lungs.

Turning back to Sasha, at first, all I could see was the blood covering her body. Though I knew that typically, she would be able to heal from any wound now, my mind raced with the implications of that strange metal that the High General had used to do permanent damage to me during the last months of my imprisonment. I had scars left behind when usually no marks would have remained. Though fortunately, many wounds had eventually healed, all I had to do was reach up to feel my horns to know some things wouldn’t.

“Princess, where are you hurt?” I ran my hands through the blood, checking her face and chest, looking for the injury.

She groaned and then held out her hand for me. As she sat up, she glared down at herself. “Fucking harpy. I’m never going to get all this blood out of my jacket. Let me up, Varos.” I reluctantly stood up, gripping her hand tightly to pull her up with me.

She immediately swayed on her feet. “Fuck,” she breathed out, clutching at her stomach.

My heart was racing as the cold fingers of dread trailed down my spine. I gently placed my hand over hers, where she held her stomach and pulled her hand away slowly. As I took in the sight before me, my vision began to grow dim around the edges. Sasha’s shirt had been ripped open, and though it was a bloody mess, her abdomen was clearly exposed by the torn cloth. And I could see things I never should have been able to.

“Fuck!” I barked out, my mind spinning wildly. I wanted to kill the harpy all over again. I also needed to clean my mate up, but there was nowhere to take her. We were in the middle of the north forest, far from the cave we had stayed in, and we were even now being hunted. I quickly gathered her in my arms, needing to do something, anything to help her.

“Wait!” she called out, turning my face to hers with bloody fingertips. Her eyelids were fluttering as she fought to stay conscious. “You need to collect my knives. I don’t have many left, and we might need those in case of another attack.” I snarled. Just the thought of another attack coming while she was so vulnerable made me want to rip apart the realm.

As carefully as I could so as to not jostle my mate, I yanked the three knives from the bodies of the harpies before sliding them into the back pocket of the pants I had grown more accustomed to wearing. I whistled to Max, allowing him to climb up to his preferred perch on my shoulder. Then, with desperate urgency, I began to run.