Chapter 43

Chapter

Forty-Three

Nadia appeared by the table and held up a glass vial. "Is she ready for the potion?" A thick Romanian accent twisted around the witch's words.

Ruin nodded. "Go ahead."

As Nadia tipped the bottle to my lips, I pressed them together.

"Really, Tate? You're going to be difficult?" Ruin sighed and gripped my jaw to pry it open so she could pour the potion into my mouth.

I sputtered and coughed as the bitter liquid oozed down my throat.

The witch's copper strands drifted around her face as she began to chant, and magic penetrated the air. How many times had she lied to me about Ruin? And Nik too. He leaned in the corner, but he wouldn't make eye contact. He'd known what Ruin was up to and never said a word. Why would he, though? His loyalties remained with the demon lord.

Sweat cascaded down my temples and wet my hair as Nadia's power intensified, her dark irises blazing magenta from the magic. As the potion hit my system, the Infernal Sol stirred awake. My back arched off the table, and I groaned while heavy waves of magic wrapped around the amulet. Heat sizzled within me like lava spewing from a volcano.

The amulet did not like this.

Ruin lifted my shirt to reveal the sun tattoo as it glowed, searing my skin. I gritted my teeth against the whimper attempting to break free.

"It's working." He smiled, and if I had the use of my arms, I would have punched him. "You're doing such a good job, Tate."

"Go to hell," I hissed, breathing heavily as pain infiltrated every cell in my body. For shit's sake, it felt like someone had injected me with gasoline and then lit a match. If Nadia hadn't put sigils around the room to block Fane, he would have definitely felt this, even in the witch realm.

Nadia moved behind me and rested her fingers on my temples. "Release the ancient power so strong. Will it to part from this vessel. Break the bind and unravel the twine."

The air ripped from my lungs, and I cried out as invisible knives penetrated my flesh. The room spun, acid shooting up my esophagus. Painful pulses radiated from her fingertips and spread down my chest to my belly button. The sun tattoo blazed bright red, the color of fresh blood.

Ruin waved at Denton. "Bring it now."

The alchemist marched to the table with an elaborately carved wooden box, opening it. "Proceed with caution, sir. The dagger works, but the amulet won't go without a fight."

My stomach clenched as Ruin withdrew the same knife Furic had used to try to cut the Infernal Sol out of me for Venna. The dux demon would have been successful if I hadn't grabbed hold of the amulet and allowed it to control me to save my life. "I'd be careful, Ruin. Things didn't work out so well for the last demon who used that."

"I'm much more capable than Furic," he said over Nadia's chants. "Besides, I'm taking special precautions not to mortally harm you. I want you to survive this."

Sweat leaked down my neck as Ruin lowered the blade to my abdomen. The energy in the room heightened while Nadia's chants grew louder as the wind howled, rattling cabinets and tossing a few items off the counters.

My heart hammered so violently that I was sure the damn thing would bust out of my rib cage. As soon as the tip of the blade touched my tattoo, burning erupted in my center. The glow emanating from the sun tattoo brightened as the knife penetrated my skin.

My back arched away from the table, and a brutal scream clawed up my throat. My vision blurred as the coppery scent of my own blood perfumed the air, gagging me.

"Almost there." After he finished carving into me, Ruin placed the dagger by my thigh, the sharp stabs morphing into a constant throb. "The barrier has been breached. I just need to retrieve it. This will be unpleasant, Tate."

Blood leaked out of the cut Ruin made, pooling on the table. Numbness spread through my limbs, but it wouldn't last. The demon lord was about to reach inside me to pull the Infernal Sol out.

What if it wouldn't release me?

"Uh, sir, perhaps you should allow me to do the extricating." Worry lines developed across Denton's forehead as Ruin's hand hovered over the gaping slash in my gut. "I'd rather take the brunt of any consequences."

Ruin shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm more powerful and can withstand it." His lips tugged into a gentle smile as he gazed down at me. "Besides, I want to keep the pain to a minimum for Tate, even if it puts me at a bigger risk."

Did the asshole want a medal for being considerate? Did he really think I'd appreciate his gesture?

The demon lord's eyes blacked as he placed one hand on my ribs while the other reached inside my stomach.

Blinding agony tore my body in half, and a bloodcurdling shriek belted out of my mouth, so loud I wouldn't be surprised if some of the glass beakers shattered. Ruin, Nadia, Denton, and the lab blurred out of focus as the world became nothing but pain.

This was a hundred times worse than when the Infernal Sol had attached itself to me in that demon church. Hot tears streaked my cheeks, my flesh so cold they burned like acid as they ran down.

"Fane! I need you!"

Even if he couldn't hear me, my instinct was to reach out to him. Ruin said otherwise, but this definitely felt like it would kill me.

Death would be merciful right now. Hell would be merciful.

Something in the atmosphere changed, a noticeable shift that tore my attention away from the searing anguish and back to the lab. The white walls and everything in it sharpened into focus again, and my tattoo emitted a glow so bright it was hard to look at.

Ruin still had his hand inside the incision, trying to pry out the amulet.

This is such a lovely home. Don't you want me to stay? Don't you like these powers?

The dark voice invaded my thoughts and coiled around my soul, attempting to suffocate my rational side. This could be my only chance to be free of the Infernal Sol, but did I really want Ruin to have it? There was no telling what else he'd use the amulet for besides making Soulvation.

Was it safe to allow him to take possession of such a dangerous, powerful artifact?

And what if I needed it? What if a time came when Fane or the Anders were in trouble, and I could have used the amulet's power to save them? I wouldn't be this strong without it. I wouldn't be enough.

I wasn't enough for Jayla. How could I be enough without the Infernal Sol?

Even though I was well aware that the amulet was influencing my thoughts, it didn't make them any less true.

Maybe holding onto the Infernal Sol would be better…

Yes, keep us together. We can protect ourselves and those you care about. Don't sacrifice their safety for your sanity.

The amulet's power twisted around my existence, digging in even as the demon lord's fingers wrapped around the blood-red stone.

"I think I've got—" Ruin froze, his expression twisting in horror like someone witnessing a catastrophic event.

A shriek burst from his mouth as his veins began to sear, and his skin reddened while his eyes became burning orbs of crimson.

"Let go of me, Tate!" Ruin struggled in the amulet's grasp.

"I can't control it." My heart hammered out a frantic beat, blood dripping down my nose.

Denton moved to Ruin's side and tried to pull him back. "It's not working." He turned his attention to Nadia. "Stop the spell."

Her chant sheared off, and the wind stopped howling, but the Infernal Sol still clung to the high demon lord.

He deserves what he gets .

Ruin's gaze drilled into mine as he silently pleaded for me to release him.

A blast of power erupted out of me, hitting anything in range. Screams pierced the lab, Nadia and Denton were tossed back, and metal bent and glass shattered. The high demon lord trembled as a vibrant glow encased his whole body.

"Don't let the amulet consume you, Tate," Ruin whispered, a pained smile melting over his lips. "I wanted to save you from that."

And then he exploded into dust.

The force of his death blasted through the lab, blowing everything back like a bomb. If the table I was strapped to wasn't bolted to the ground, I would have flown across the lab too. Ringing filled my ears, and blood and ash lingered on my tongue. I blinked hard to clear my vision.

Ruin was—gone.

I hated the aching in my chest. Ruin deserved to die for what he'd done. The person I knew never existed. He was a lie.

So why did I want to break down and cry because he was gone?

Movement on my right caught my attention, ringing still blaring in my ears, and Nadia appeared above me. Her violet eyes held a sheen of satisfaction as they roamed over the gaping cut in my abdomen.

"I warned the demon lord of the dangers this would pose." She tsked, a smile pulling at her lips. "He should have listened."

Why wasn't she knocked out like everyone else?

Knots fisted in my gut as she waved her hands over me and chanted under her breath. Had she known exactly what would happen when Ruin tried to grab the amulet? Did she betray him?

"You wanted this." As I coughed, blood spurted out of my mouth and more still leaked from my nose and the wound in my stomach. "You knew Ruin wouldn't survive."

The witch gave a lazy shrug. "Ruin's loss is my gain." She slipped a thick gold necklace from her pocket, a large sun-shaped medallion dangling from the end.

Chills slithered over my sweaty flesh at the similarities between it and the one the Infernal Sol had originally broken out of to burrow inside of me.

"I may have kept a small piece of the puzzle from Ruin." The witch's long fingers brushed over the metal. "You can't simply reach inside and grab the stone. You must coax it into a proper vessel."

"And you just happen to have one?"

"This came from an ally within Maleor Suprema who hid some of the former grand witch's effects before they could be locked away after her demise." Nadia's Romania accent thickened as she let the medallion sway above me. "She used to have a vast reliquary of the most powerful objects imaginable."

My heart hammered against my ribs, forcing more blood to ooze out. Ruin's last words, a warning, played through my mind. Don't let the amulet consume you . He wouldn't waste his dying breath to tell me a lie. Had he felt just how much of a hold the Infernal Sol had on me?

This was my chance to be free—except my limbs strained against the binds, attempting to escape the witch's magic.

Why did the thought of Nadia taking my amulet send me into a jealous rage?

Because you don't want to give up all this delicious power.

I ignored the wicked voice in my head as Nadia held the empty medallion over my sternum and chanted.

"Bring forth this power so ancient and consuming. I beseech you to infect this artifact of the darkest elements. Forged in the bowels of the Underworld and imbued with a thousand deaths." The wind kicked up again as Nadia continued to cast her spell. "Come to me. Take this offering. Be free of fleshly confines and unleash your wickedness. This place will know true fear. Heed my words. Let my intent be clear."

Fire poured into my veins again, but instead of erupting in a blast to throw Nadia back, the amulet hummed within me. It moved like worms wriggling against my organs.

A wave of panic crashed over me once I realized Nadia's spell was actually affecting the Infernal Sol. Soon, the amulet would rear its crimson head.

I thought you wanted to stay with me!

My chest heaved, waiting for its response. What would happen to me without the Infernal Sol? Would I still be strong enough to fight my enemies? Would I still be strong enough to match Fane's power?

I wanted to punch myself. When did I become dependent upon this horrifying demon talisman? I was strong long before the Infernal Sol chose my body to inhabit.

Perhaps I'll find a better deal with the witch. She's not as headstrong as you. She won't fight me like you do.

A manic laugh slipped out of me, pulling Nadia's brows together as she continued to cast her spell. And here I thought you liked a challenge. Apparently, I'm too tough for you to handle.

What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I goading this thing?

Oh, sweet child. I do love a challenge. That's why we must part.

"No!" I cried out as the stone breached the surface and floated right out of my open wound. Hot tears slid down my cheeks as betrayal coiled around my chest, stealing my breath.

Nadia's smile spread unnaturally wide, something right out of a horror movie, as she guided the stone into the medallion where it fused to the setting. "A perfect fit." She stroked the amulet, smearing my blood around.

My nails dug into the metal table, barely scratching it. Nadia's potion, the spell, and the blood loss prevented me from even growing as much as one talon. The emptiness nearly drowned me. I felt like I was swimming in a murky lake without a single speck of sunlight to find my way back to the surface.

"Finally," Nadia whispered, the chain swinging from her finger.

Obviously, she'd never been loyal to Ruin. She'd wanted the Infernal Sol for herself the whole time.

But what the hell did she plan to do with it?

"Now that I have this?—"

A pair of claws suddenly tore across her throat, spilling crimson down her chest, and Barric emerged behind her.

"You won't be doing a damn thing, witch." The head alpha dropped Nadia to the ground, and the Infernal Sol slid across the lab, smacking into a stainless-steel cabinet. She continued to choke on her own blood as it pooled beneath her until her every ounce of life faded from her eyes.

Barric loomed over me, a snarl curling his lips. "Ruin's not here to protect you anymore, Tate." His luminescent gaze lowered to the wound in my gut. "That might not even matter. You won't last much longer if you don't take care of that nasty thing."

"Go to hell," I hissed, struggling against the binds. Unfortunately, my asshole father was right. This gash left unchecked for much longer would kill me, especially now that I didn't have the demon amulet.

I peered around him, glaring daggers at the stone set in the golden sun medallion as if it betrayed me.

It did betray me. If I could just get it to come back to me …

Barric's cruel laugh jerked my attention to him.

"Are you feeling a little less powerful without the help of that amulet?" He stroked the sweaty strands of hair from my cheek, making my skin crawl. "I bet you can't even come close to matching my power now. It was all the Infernal Sol's doing."

The chains dug into my arms, cutting my flesh as fury burned through my veins even though I feared he was right. "I'm an alpha's daughter, and Fane turned me. I've still got plenty of power, Barric. Why don't you release me so I can show you?"

He smirked. "I think not, Tatum." His fingers dug into my jaw as he forced me to look at him when my attention wandered to the amulet again. "You are the reason my fated mate is dead. Your existence ruined everything, and I'm going to rip you from this world like you should have been before even being born."

I could do nothing as Barric lifted his hand—his lethal claws still stained red with Nadia's blood—and pressed those sharp points into my neck. His intentions were perfectly clear.

He was going to rip my throat out. And revel in my death.