Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

As a battle raged in the distance, I followed the commotion with little regard for my own safety. What if Princess Venna was setting a trap for me, knowing I'd rush into danger? Her demons could surround us any minute.

"Why are you so fucking stubborn?" The demon shifter easily caught up to me with his long legs. "I could stop you if I really wanted to."

I jumped over a low brick wall and then ducked under a thick branch. "Whatever, Maverick. Don't act like you wouldn't enjoy a little violence." Being cooped up in the Silver Ridge compound with the person he was enchanted to kill but couldn't probably did a number on his control.

Of course, no one forced him to follow me to Silver Ridge when Barric insisted I stay with his pack. Fane didn't have to pretend to be my mate. That was all his idea. Even though he claimed he couldn't stand me, he wouldn't allow any other male to steal me away.

"I'm going to regret not throwing you over my shoulder and carrying you back into the compound," Fane grumbled as he effortlessly kept pace with me.

As we dashed through a grove of trees and into a clearing on the edge of Drayton Street, two black-clad figures came into view with ashen gray sub-demons that resembled giant scorpions encircling them.

Fane cursed. "What the hell are fortyno demons doing on Earth?"

If the Infernal Sol had been a little more awake, I might have recognized the demons too. "Are they poisonous?"

"No, but their stingers hurt like a son of a bitch and can render you unconscious."

"Good to know." My heart thumped in an erratic beat as the two ravens stood back-to-back, facing an impossible battle. It didn't matter that they kicked me out of their group and even hated me. I couldn't stand by without helping.

The female sliced at a fortyno and then stabbed her sword through his chest, releasing a fountain of black blood. But it barely fazed the creature. "I don't think these assholes feel pain," she shouted at her partner.

I'd recognize Kortney Tran's sardonic voice anywhere.

"The head, Teague," Fane said into my mind as he darted to the left to assist the male raven while I went straight for Kortney. "You're strong enough to rip it off with your hands."

A shiver raced down my spine every time he spoke through our link. "Got it. No sword necessary."

Good, because I hadn't brought one.

My senses sharpened, and talons burst through my fingertips as I reached for the mystical power within me. The lethal combination of shifter and demon magic that Fane's bite gave me answered, but it didn't take long for the Infernal Sol to stir from its slumber and join the fray .

Hello, my old friend.

Time for bloodshed, I see.

Hold your evil horses. I'm still in control.

Whatever. Let's have fun.

For shit's sake. I needed to stop talking to myself.

As my preternatural abilities intensified, my pupils lengthened into diamonds, the night brightened, and every tiny hair and scale on the sub-demons became visible. Kortney's shriek pelted my eardrums, making me wince from the shrill cry.

I jumped off the ground and vaulted through the air, my boots slamming into a few fortynos to propel myself closer to the raven. Blood raced through my veins, and I salivated for the death of the demon moments away from stinging her.

My kill.

Now that was the demon shifter within me.

I landed on the fortyno's back and yanked his scaly tail away from Kortney. She staggered away, her eyes bugging out as I sank my teeth into the creature's hard neck. A high-pitched wailing erupted through the night.

Bitter, sulfuric flavor burst into my mouth, and I almost puked.

Sub-demon blood is the worst.

Kortney lunged forward with her sword raised, ready to decapitate the thing with me on it. A growl curled out of my mouth, stopping her in her tracks.

"Mine." Getting between my kill and me when I was part demon shifter and influenced by a powerful amulet was a bad idea.

The monster tried to shake me off, but I wrapped my arms around his head, the crunching and tearing of flesh and exoskeleton echoing as I decapitated him. Black blood splattered my face and chest, and as he dropped dead, my boots landed on the ground on either side of his body. I tossed the head aside and wiped blood from my mouth.

"Tate?" Kortney smoothed back a few black strands of hair as she surveyed me. "Holy shit."

A shred of panic sliced through my sternum. Now that she'd seen me in action as a nightworlder, would she hate me? Would she think I was disgusting?

"You are no less than them, Teague. You're just different."

My head jerked to the left as Fane took on three sub-demons like it was no big deal, slashing with his talons and moving nearly as fast as a vampire. The male raven, Axel, sliced his sword through the air and decapitated a fortyno.

Seeing the raven who had once been my friend, more than a friend, assaulted my heart. Fane's gaze flickered between Axel and me, his lip curling in a sneer.

"Pay attention to your surroundings, for fuck's sake!"

Oh, right. We were in the middle of a fight.

I spun and ducked just as a fortyno swung his tail at me. "Bastard!" My talons plunged into the appendage, ripping it clean off. His piercing howl threatened to bust my eardrums.

"Tran, behind you!" I shouted as Kortney remained frozen, watching me fight.

Or maybe tearing the sub-demons head off had petrified her.

She shook the daze off and pivoted, carving her sword through the thing right before it stung her.

I lost myself as I tore into the swarm of sub-demons, checking on Fane every few minutes. As if he needed it. The demon shifter could have handled this all on his own. Had he even broken a sweat?

Soon, the growls and hisses faded as more creatures fell by the ravens' swords or our claws. One remaining fortyno charged at me, his tail raised over his head, poised for attack. A twisted smile curved the edges of my lips, and I longed to feel the monster's life extinguish as I ripped his head off.

But a figure in black suddenly dashed in front of me and kicked the sub-demon out of my path. The man's sword clashed with the beast, cutting the thick exoskeleton.

What the hell?

My teeth bared as a low snarl tore out of my mouth. My kill.

I marched forward, planning to knock the raven unconscious if I had to. He should have known better than to steal my prey.

"Tate!"

My head snapped around at the rumbling voice invading my mind, finding a huge nightworlder covered in black demon blood. His gray shirt was torn, revealing some of the sharp tattoos and scars slashing his torso, and a pair of mismatched eyes scorched into me.

My beautiful beast.

I licked my lips. Fane always looked the best after shredding apart his victims.

"Don't attack him."

Of course he wanted me to back down.

A pulling sensation erupted in my gut, and seconds later, my incorporeal form stood right beside the demon shifter. "Why are you always telling me what to do? Why must you ruin my fun?"

He arched an eyebrow, speckles of blood coating his face. "You don't want to hurt the raven."

"But he stole my kill."

"Get over it." He studied me and then my body standing several feet away. " I don't think I'll ever get used to this."

I followed his line of vision, and ice slammed into my chest at my horrifying state. Black blood splattered me almost from head to toe, but the worst parts were the stains around my mouth and all over my hands. There was no denying I'd ripped into those demons like a savage.

Like a monster.

The realization cleared the bloodlust from my mind and shoved the Infernal Sol's influence down. I staggered back, and Fane's hand pressed between my shoulder blades, the weight of his touch very real even though I was only a ghost next to him.

"Don't be ashamed of who you are." He gently stroked my spine. "You're a warrior, and you should be proud."

I turned to him, hot tears blurring my vision. "They won't think so."

"Fuck them. Why do you care what they think?"

It was hard to let go of my old life. I'd been one of them not long ago and so happy to finally belong.

But it had all been a lie.

Once the last sub-demon was finished, Axel lowered his sword and surveyed the damage. When his emerald eyes fell on me, they widened as a string of curses burst from his mouth.

His shock had me slamming back into my body, and I stumbled forward.

"You really are one of them," he muttered, his lips pressing into a tight line. "When Roxie told me you attacked her, I didn't want to believe it, but…"

Kortney marched by him and socked his arm. "These two just saved our asses, and you're judging Tate for being a nightworlder?" She shook the blood off her sword and then used the rune on the hilt to disengage the blade. "And since when do you listen to Roxie?"

"I'm just saying." Axel flicked his hand toward me. "She killed those things—with her teeth and claws."

I blinked rapidly and swallowed back a sob, unable to speak as my former friend's words crashed into me like bullets .

A heavy presence coalesced at my side, and hot anger pulsated from Fane. "Keep talking, raven, and you'll earn a spot on my bad side. And trust me, that's one place you don't want to be." His grin sent chills creeping down my nape, and it certainly terrified Axel.

Kortney smirked. "Anyone ever tell you how funny you look when you're about to piss yourself, Ax?"

He flipped his partner off but remained quiet.

Fane angled me toward him and captured my jaw, scrutinizing me. He didn't need to see the tears almost brimming over to know how hurt I was. He felt it through the bond.

I expected him to lecture me or tell me to suck it up. Instead, he used his sleeve to wipe the demon blood from my face.

A tear slipped free at his kindness—something so rare these days—and I mouthed a thank you.

He gave a quick nod. "Is this your first run-in with fortyno demons?" Fane asked, his attention sliding to Kortney.

"Unfortunately, no." She pulled out a bag of Whither dust and sprinkled it on the sub-demons. Soon, their bodies would start to sizzle and smoke, eventually evaporating to ash. "We've encountered a whole host of sub-demons that have never been on Earth, not to our knowledge."

Axel had his own bag of Whither, scattering the dust over the dead demons. "Word is, Vlehull, the city closest to the Underworld gate in Bonaventure Cemetery, is falling apart and being overrun by sub-demons."

Fane and I shared a look, knowing why. Princess Venna wanted the title of a ruler and none of the responsibilities. At least Karn had cared about the city. When I slipped into the Underworld on my fated mission, Vlehull had been a thriving place with families and demon kids running around.

"And those sub-demon assholes are somehow accessing the gate and flooding Savannah." Kortney wiped the sweat from her forehead and shook a few wayward strands of ebony hair out of her dark eyes. "We've been super busy, like every night."

"What about any crazed dux or high demons breaking the accords?" I asked, running my fingers over Fane's arm, silently thanking him for cleaning me up. "Have you seen any of them?"

The night of my field test to become a full raven, a dux demon randomly attacked Hawk and me. After that, more had gone wild and broke the most basic rules. They fed from children and killed plenty of humans in the city without batting an eye.

A humorless laugh burst out of Axel as he kicked ash off his boots. "We've had tons of encounters with them, and the high demon lord isn't doing shit about it."

My brows knit, ready to defend Ruin when the crackle of a radio interrupted our conversation.

"Are you guys there?" Roxie's shaky voice came over the line. "We need assistance! We're getting ambushed over here."

Axel cursed and yanked the radio off his belt. "What's your twenty?"

"Mason near the corner of Green Street." Her breath came in quick pants. "Hawk is out of control. He's trying to take them all on himself."

A dose of cold, sharp panic twisted my heart as images of Hawk in danger pummeled my mind. He might hate me for what I'd become, but I couldn't stand the thought of him hurt. Or dead.