“Pathetic.” His body hovered over her crumpled figure when she lunged. Willing whatever strength remained into her limbs. Unwilling to give up just yet. No matter what pain riddled her body.
She rolled the two of them to the ground. The demons watched but did not interfere as they grappled. But he was quick to gain the upper hand, pinning her to the rock floor by the weight of his body. She’d caught him off guard and nothing more. It was the only reason she was able to roll him. Demitria knew she wouldn’t be able to do it again.
His hand enclosed around her throat, cutting off her air supply. She only had seconds. The demon smiled with a deadly grace, like the act itself had cost him no effort at all.
Ten seconds.
She struggled beneath him. Kicking out, scratching at his arms, but his grip never wavered.
Three seconds.
He smiled again, pulling them both to their feet.
Two.
She could feel her heart slowing with the lack of oxygen. The world around her fading into a thick mist. If this was how she’d go, Demitria would take it. Her arms fell limp to her sides and she closed her eyes, willing it to happen. Willed her body to justlet go.
“Not today.” The air returned in a rush as his grip loosened. Demitria had just enough time to open her eyes as he smashed her head into the rock before darkness overcame her.
Twenty-Three
KELLAN
For days Kellan had been behind, following the tracks of the girl’s horse. They were easy enough to follow until they weren’t. Having all but disappeared into nothingness the night before.
He shouldn’t have even followed her, the logical part of his brain telling him to leave her to die, but the guilt over their conversation had been gnawing away at something he’d pushed into oblivion. Something he hadn’t expected to resurface ever again, and that spiked even more curiosity within him. Too many questions, not enough answers.
Idiot.
He didn’t know if it was him or her who was the idiot at this point.
Theywere close, though. He could feel their presence, like a beacon, and he knew they felt it too. His siblings were nearby, and it would only be a matter of time before they crossed paths and reunited. Convenient timing, he supposed.
Kellan continued on, pushing his mount further toward his siblings. He could feel them, their surge of power beating in a steady rhythm as he neared, as if they were calling out to him. His eyes scanned the landscape. The waste of the expansebefore him. So little green, and nothing but charred ash and dirt beneath him. The humans may have done unspeakable things to their planet, but he could say with absolute certainty that this devastation hadn’t been from them. The demons had felled cities, destroyed continents...but the moments the angels rebelled against the council? That had been catastrophic. The council had never given full transparency on what exactly happened, but it was enough to know that the angels—Fallen, as his people call them—that did come down made their own play for the planet. Inciting a war not only with the humans, but the demons as well.
Another hour of riding and his siblings appeared on the horizon.
Their mounts thundered toward him. One as dark as the night sky, another as white as the moon. The third had been an agile, dappled gray. Each rider and mount fit together like they’d been carved from the same stone.
Gabriel, Death, atop the powerful black stallion thundering toward him at the front of the group, his golden blond hair a stark contrast against the dark clothing he wore. His scythe held high in the air. Their eldest brother, and the council’s trusted contact. Gabriel could give and take life.
Eire, Famine, rode in on the dappled mare, her long dark braid flying wildly behind her. The second eldest of the group. Her power derived from those around her, siphoning their very life essence to fuel her body. She left nothing but husks in her wake.
Kane, Pestilence, sat atop the white stallion. The white blond of his hair matching the beast below him. As his given name suggested, his power brought forth an infectious plague to all who’d become prey to his deadly arrows.
“Brother!” Gabriel was the first to call out. Kellan rode out to meet them, urging his mount into a canter. When they were feet away, he reined the beast in, sliding to a stop before his siblings.
“Where have you been?” Eire eyed him up and down, her gray eyes wild, waiting for an answer. The dark gray of her cloak billowed around her and over the mare as she crossed her arms over her chest, letting the leather reins dangle loose around her mounts neck.
“I found the girl,” he said. “I tracked her down to a nearby community a few days west and—” Kellan kept one hand tight around his reins as his mount pawed at the ground before finally settling among the group.
“So, we can return home?” Kane was quick to cut him off, pale blue eyes hopeful as he stared at Kellan. Most times, Kane hated going out more than he did, and could never wait to return home from a mission.
“Let me finish.” Silencing him with a hand, Kellan continued. “I found the girl, and am tracking her now.”
“So… you lost her is what you’re saying.” Ever sarcastic Eire. The only one who he loved to no end, despite actively wanting to drive his sword through her chest.
“A technicality.” Kellan waved her off. “I’m confident that she is near.”
