Chapter 14

Chapter

Fourteen

I sent the warden a death glare as rage bubbled in my blood. If I could fully tap into the Infernal Sol or my shifter side, I'd launch onto that balcony and rip Demarcus's throat out. He showed his palms and shook his head as if to say his hands were tied.

He was the warden. He ran the prison. Why couldn't he stop this?

Demarcus mouthed one word, or a name rather. Venna .

Could she have really forced him to orchestrate this? Did he owe her that much, or did she have some secret on him?

Well, fuck Venna and the warden. I wasn't doing jack shit.

"I'm not fighting her," I said, my voice barely raised, but Demarcus heard it over the rumbling of the crowd.

"Fight?" Maddie's face grew as white as a sheet. "They want you and me to fight?"

"I refuse." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Give me someone else."

A guard came up behind me, his long fingers wrapping around the back of my throat. "You will fight or—" As his fingers brushed my neck tattoo, an electric jolt hit him, and he released me, shaking his hand.

"Or what?" Fane stepped forward, his muscles swelling as dangerous energy oozed off him. "You're not going to do shit to her, Xan. And don't think for a second that every guard and inmate that has touched what's mine won't go unpunished." His lips curled back, revealing his sharpened teeth.

My pulse spiked, and heat twirled low in my belly. I licked my lips, wanting nothing more than to dart across the circle and crash into him. Only Fane Maverick could make me forget I was in an Underworld prison in a shitty fighting arena.

Some of the COs who'd been less than nice traded worried glances at the demon shifter's threat.

"What happened to you being cooperative, Maverick?"

He cracked his neck. "This is about as cooperative as I can be when they touch you like that."

"And don't think I didn't notice the mine part."

Fane's mouth hitched into a feral smile. "I don't hear you complaining about it."

"Are you refusing to fight, prisoner 487331?" The warden's deep, silky voice broke my silent communication with Fane. Shadows roiled in Demarcus's eyes, and even though he looked like a delicious snack, a monster hid behind that pretty facade.

I lifted my chin. "I'm not fighting her."

A breath of relief poured out of Maddie, and her shoulders slumped.

Demarcus motioned to one of the guards, and he marched toward Maddie, hopefully to return her to our cell. But as the dux demon reached for something on his belt, my stomach bottomed out, and every drop of blood in me froze. Maddie tensed, and her raven training took over, preparing for a fight.

She wasn't quick enough, though.

I took one step toward her just as the CO lifted the gun and shot her in the forehead.

Crimson sprayed the ground, and Maddie dropped to the concrete.

The sounds of the arena faded as her lifeless gaze stared at the ceiling. Air whooshed out of my lungs while weakness wrapped my legs, threatening to drop me. Another person fell victim to the storm of destruction surrounding me. Another person lost their life.

Maddie never would have been in this position if not for me.

I bolted toward the CO who shot her as a wave of darkness rushed through my veins like an intravenous drug, but a figure slammed into me, halting my strike.

"Don't attack him, Teague." Fane's hot breath rushed over my nape as his muscular arms pinned me against him.

My muscles slackened at the contact we'd been deprived of, and the tattoo on my neck crackled. Even the Infernal Sol purred at being reunited with him.

Warden Demarcus wrapped his long fingers around the steel railing. "You either fight your next opponent or end up like your cellmate."

My pupils thinned as my senses sharpened, the beast inside me pushing against the dampening sigil. I wouldn't be at full power, but it was enough to do some damage. "Can we kill him?"

A growl rolled between Fane's teeth. "Maybe later."

The warden didn't even bat an eye at our conversation. He probably thought he was safe in Heldrok surrounded by his guards.

"You can release her, Fane," he said. "You'll fight later. And don't intervene, or there will be consequences."

Hot rage pulsated from the demon shifter as he shot a vicious scowl at Demarcus. "I won't be the only one to suffer the consequences." Fane's arms reluctantly slipped away, and he stepped back. "Do anything to win, Teague. Anything."

Fane meant use the Infernal Sol's powers if I had to.

I gave a jerky nod, and my fists clenched, waiting on my next victim.

Blood ran down my chin, but it wasn't my own. It belonged to the demon falling to the ground after I ripped his throat out. He had me on my knees a moment ago, ready to break my neck, when I reached for the Infernal Sol.

As soon as the dark power twisted through my muscles, my teeth sharpened and talons grew. The demon only lasted a few more minutes before I savagely killed him.

I spat on the grimy ground, trying to ignore Maddie's blood still glistening under the lights where her body had been. The memory of her death clung to the room like a ghost.

This is fun, right?

While the Infernal Sol wasn't in the driver's seat, it pumped strength, anger, and power through me and thoroughly enjoyed the show. The voice inside my head came from the version of me when the amulet was in full control.

Most of the guards on the balcony groaned, having placed their bets on the other guy. The warden, however, almost smiled.

My scalp prickled as a presence approached from behind, and Fane shouted a warning in my head.

I spun just as a colossal dux demon with jagged teeth and two tongues tackled me. Pain erupted in the back of my head as he held me on the ground, chomping his jaws.

He was a flesh eater with a hankering for a piece of me.

"I'm not your next meal, douchebag." I kicked him off, rolled over, and straddled him. "I will eat your fears before you?—"

Someone shoved me off the demon and pinned me so fast I didn't have time to react. A pair of burning blue demon eyes drilled into mine with enough malice to suffocate me.

"I'll make you pay for what you did to me, hybrid bitch." Sorin pried my mouth open, and his power reached inside.

A silent scream banged against my skull as he tore my soul out.

Oh fuck.

The dampening sigil should have prevented him from sucking souls, but he'd mentioned doing it multiple times before. I wouldn't be surprised if he'd figured out a way around the mystical mark with the help of a few guards.

As the Infernal Sol inched toward the surface a little more, I lifted my legs to kick Sorin off, but a heavy weight slammed them down.

My heart crashed against my ribs as Hanren restrained my legs so Sorin could continue to slurp what was left of my soul. Apparently, they both wanted revenge for attacking them with their fears.

Agony tore into me, and my spine arched, a tear sliding down my cheek. The sight of it brought glee to Sorin's already euphoric expression. But that bliss wouldn't last long, especially not after the feral roar that just erupted in the room.

Moments later, a clawed hand burst through Sorin's chest, spilling black demon blood all over me. As the stream of my soul severed, air rushed into my lungs, and I settled back on the ground.

Sorin's wide eyes looked from me to the hand sticking out of his torso. When he opened his mouth to speak, more blood dribbled out.

I didn't need to see who the hand belonged to. It was Fane's. Obviously.

He ripped it back out of Sorin, taking his heart with him. The high demon collapsed on me, convulsing as the magic still activating his body kept him technically alive. I rolled us over and tore through his neck with my talons until his head separated from his body.

Now the bastard was dead.

Bloody hands hauled me to my feet, bringing me face to face with my beautiful beast. Hanren was also sprawled on the ground with his head severed.

"I would have handled them." My voice was breathless and soaked in violence and lust.

Fane wiped the speckles of blood from his cheek with his arm. "I couldn't help myself, Teague."

"Teague's not all here right now. Or maybe we're both here." The Infernal Sol's influence warped my thoughts even though I was in control.

Or at least I thought I was.

"Break them up!"

Guards surrounded us, and I passed the reins to my dark passenger to stop them from taking my beast away. I'd had enough separation. When the closest one touched me, I found a fear and shoved it into his mind.

As each CO approached, they got a wonderful little surprise, and soon, screams filled the pit as chaos spread. Fane didn't tell me to stop this time. In fact, he shoved a few officers into my grasp before they got away.

"I knew you'd come around to my way, Fane."

He slammed his fist into Xan, the one who had grabbed me earlier, and then held him steady so I could snatch a fear. Xan screamed louder than the others.

Fane growled at the warden who calmly stood at the railing, watching the commotion. Instead of ordering his workers to gain control or coming down himself, he tipped his head at us and slithered from the room.

Interesting.

Not as interesting as the monster covered in the blood of our victims.

My mouth crashed onto Fane's, and I shoved him out of the circle, the guards too preoccupied with their fears and the pandemonium. Fane gripped me around the waist and kicked a door open, leading us into a large open bathroom with multiple shower heads lined on one of the dingy tiled walls.

It was time to end our separation once and for all. Even the Infernal Sol agreed. And anyone who interrupted us would learn exactly how evil I could go.