Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

LAITHOG

The word is ripped from me, causing her unswollen eye to widen at my vehemence.

“ Filth from below the surface of the earth. A blight upon every being not of the underworld. They seek out all that is good, all that is pure, and they corrupt it. They wish to envelop all the worlds in eternal darkness, to feed at their leisure. Humans are particularly easy prey. Your species does not have any natural defenses.”

Raising my hand, I extend my claws from my fingertips, making a visible point to her. Her hesitant nod spurs me forward. “ We were winning. Between the day walking species and others of my ilk at night, we were beating the demons back. They got no quarter as they gave none. During the final battle, Ilayahan and I were cut off from the rest of the Legion in a purposeful move by Rulzik .”

“ Before you ask, Rulzik is one of the demon generals. An extremely old, powerful being from when the world was nothing more than a primordial concept the gods were toying with before they finished creation. I know not where the gods came from, but I know that there are good gods, just as I know there are evil gods. Rulzik was created by evil. He served his master faithfully for eons, and was finally rewarded with the perfect mate. If possible, she was far more viscous than he ever was…and Ilayahan and I killed her.”

A quiet gasp is her only response.

“ In a last act of revenge, Rulzik successfully plotted to separate Ilayahan and I from the rest of the Legion . We were overwhelmed, but we did not fall. If there were two things my mate and I were good at, it was fighting and fucking.”

Paisley snickers at this and it makes me smile.

“ Rulzik used his minions to create a diversion, while he approached, hidden from our eyes with cloaking magicks.”

I take a deep breath, bracing myself for the next part.

“ He beheaded Ilayahan in front of me. I felt her die. Felt as her soul was ripped from mine as it ascended to the afterlife. Watched as her body turned to ash on the wind. I do not recall what happened in the moments after that, but when finally came to my senses, I was surrounded by the corpses of countless demons, one of which was Rulzik . I killed that piece of filth, but it did not bring her back to me. I questioned why I lived, when so many die with their bonded mate. In my grief, I retreated from the world. That is, until a voice, laden with a familiar grief, reached out to me deep within my stoneslumber. ”

When I look down, much to my surprise, silent tears are running down Paisley’s face. A trembling hand cups my jaw, her thumb whispering a caress against the ridges and scales found there. “ Oh , Laithog . I know I’ve already said this, and the words aren’t enough, but I am truly sorry for your suffering. I don’t say this because I pity you, but because I feel empathy for your pain.”

She pauses, as if waffling with something difficult, before a glint comes to her beautiful eyes as she uses the hand on my jaw to tenderly pull my face down to hers and kisses me.

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