An inhuman growl erupted beside me, and before I understood what was happening, Never launched herself at Lapalme.
“No!” I bellowed, a shock of adrenaline driving me forward.
But I was too late.
The fight that ensued was quick, brutal, and bloody. For every strike Never landed, Lapalme landed two in a blur of superhuman violence before a series of blinding flashes hammered the ground around us. Several of the deafening strikes hit nearby trees, setting them ablaze. Others came close enough to hitting Never and Lapalme that they were thrown off their feet.
I went for Thrain, trying to take out the larger of the two threats, but he vanished in another brilliant flash, taking Lapalme with him. Never leapt to her feet and spun, her chest heaving. Her long fingers were bent like claws, and when her gaze settled on me it turned my blood cold.
The amber glow I’d seen shining in her eyes just moments earlier had darkened to crimson, a color indicative of a powerful demon. It didn’t help that her emotions were all over the place, save for an indescribable desire to destroy that was overpowering everything else.
“Easy, love,” I soothed, holding my hands up to show her I wasn’t a threat.
Her nostrils flared and she let out another growl that raised gooseflesh down the length of both arms.
She was in there. In fact, I was fairly certain it was only her in there. This wasn’t another possession like when Petra’s shadow had found its way into her body. Beyond that, I wasn’t sure what was happening.
“Never, take a breath,” I ordered, albeit gently. With the flood of wild energy pouring out of her, throwing commands at her didn’t strike me as the wisest course of action.
Her eyes narrowed, but she lifted her chin slightly as her nostrils flared again. Maybe if she caught my scent?—
She was on me in a blink, a violent whirlwind of scraping fingernails and tearing teeth. I threw her off me twice, but eachtime she found her feet and barreled right back at me as if I were a threat to her very existence.
“Never, stop!” I yelled, finally throwing power into the command.
She stilled for a moment, blinking at me with a stunned expression. That was my opening. I moved quickly, tackling her to the ground without bothering to ensure she wasn’t injured. My primary goal was to subdue her and make certain she couldn’t flash away to unleash her bottled up vengeance on some unsuspecting soul.
Never wasn’t the kind of woman who could easily forgive herself if she hurt an innocent, even if it happened when she wasn’t herself.
She thrashed and bucked beneath me, wrenched her neck and snapped with her pearly white human teeth like a feral beast, but once I had her wrists and hips pinned, the scuffle was effectively over.
“Look at me,” I demanded, unable to keep the snarl out of my voice. Seeing her like that and feeling the wildness inside her called up my own inner warrior.
Defiance bled from her pores with every ragged breath she drew.
“You know me, Never. I’m your pirate. Your lover. Yours, period. Tell me you remember that.”
The violence oozing from her began to ebb as she blinked up at me. Once. Twice. Then it was like she was seeing me for the first time that day. “Hook?”
Thank the bloody stars. “Yes, love. I’m your Hook.” I probably should have taken at least a glimpse of our surroundings to make sure we were safe, but there was no way in hell I was taking my eyes off her yet.
It took a few more moments for the red to begin to fade, her irises flaring an intense shade of deep purple before the crimsonwashed away. And as that unnerving need for destruction eased, she pinched her eyes closed.
“Are you okay?” I asked softly. I knew she wasn’t, but I was still hoping to pick up on some sense of relief or recognition. Instead, I was met with a growing sense of horror.
“Jesus fuck.” Her voice wobbled. She swallowed hard. Between her closed lids, a tear slipped out and down her cheek. “I am so sorry.”
I let go of her wrists and lifted myself off her. “You have nothing to apologize for.”
She let out a watery laugh. “Bullshit.”
“Never, look at me.”
She shook her head as she sat up. She did open her eyes but kept them anchored on the ground between her legs. Whatever had just happened to her had frightened her badly. Enough so that she’d blocked me out of her mind almost entirely. All I could feel was a tiny trickle of the unease that was no doubt eating at her.
I glanced at our surroundings, making sure it was just us. There was no sign of a demon stalking us from the shadows, and no sign of Thrain or Lapalme. Even the trees that had gone up in flames from the lightning were fizzling out.
“We should go,” I said gently.
