35. Huntyr
Chapter 35
Huntyr
L useyar led us to the grand ballroom. He said nothing. I said nothing. Wolf said nothing, though his presence was the only damn thing holding me together.
Lord was working with Asmodeus. He had been this entire damn time. It sounded like a sick, twisted joke, one that should be appearing in my nightmares, not right here in the flesh.
“This will be over soon,” Luseyar said without looking at us. “Don’t do anything stupid.” The warning from the angel shocked me, but I was out of any emotions to feel. I became a shell, a void in this body.
The closer we got to the ballroom, the louder the space around us became. Voices flowed through the air, music followed, and then there was the rapid pounding of my heart that I knew was louder than all of those.
“This can’t be happening,” I mumbled to myself.
Wolf stopped walking when we made it to the large doors. He turned to face me and put both hands on either side of my face, forcing me to look at him.
“Hey,” he started. “Don’t you dare lose it now, okay? You’re stronger than any of them. You’re the damn blood queen, and people are counting on you to survive this. My father wants to shake you up. He’s doing all this to get a reaction from you. Don’t let him see you break.”
I was way beyond breaking. I was ready to crumble entirely into a pile of ash. The fact that Wolf put up with his father for so long was a damn miracle to me. That man was pure evil, and the only person I hated more than him right now was Lord. Fuck, I couldn’t even think about him right now. “I don’t think I can do this, Wolf.”
“You can because you have to.” His words were sharp, but they pierced that wall of grogginess and fog that clouded each of my senses. “Do you hear me, Huntress?”
Darkness crept around my vision, caressed my entire body, wanting to pull me under, but Wolf was right. Asmodeus wanted to show me that he was in control, that he was the powerful one.
He wanted to show me he controlled everything since I was a damn child, but I wasn’t going to let him break me. I wasn’t going to let him be the reason I finally cracked, not after everything I’d done to spite him.
I didn’t trust myself to speak. I nodded in Wolf’s hands, feeling the wave of relief roll through his body at the sight of it.
“Good.” Wolf straightened, letting go of my face and slipping one of his hands into mine. “Focus on me. Don’t think about anybody else. I’m going to get you through this.”
I closed my eyes and took a long breath, letting the reassurance from Wolf’s bond cascade through my own body. He was forcing it, I was sure, but it still helped. His calm, determined essence washed around me until I opened my eyes again.
“Alright,” Wolf said to Luseyar without taking his eyes off me. “We’re ready.”
Luseyar put a large hand on the door ahead of us, paused, then opened it.
The music and voices halted the second we came into view. I instantly spotted Jessiah waiting at the head of the room right next to Asmodeus.
And Lord.
I tore my eyes away from them, though, and just focused on Jessiah’s figure ahead.
One foot in front of the other. I could do this.
I could fucking do this.
I had to do this.
Wolf’s hand never left mine as we were led forward.
A few people whispered as we passed, but I didn’t dare lose focus. Get this over with. Get this over with. Get this over with.
Wolf was pushing as much love and peace through our bond as he could. I knew it was for me, I knew he was doing this to help me. There was no way he wasn’t also freaking out over what just happened, over Lord being here and working with Asmodeus, especially if he didn’t already know about it.
One step forward. Keep your head up.
We made it to the front of the room before I felt like my legs might finally give out beneath me.
“Welcome, everyone!” Asmodeus announced, moving to stand ahead of us.
Wolf turned, the two of us facing the crowd while he clasped his hand around mine.
“Today, we will witness the union of a century. Wolf Jasper, son of the archangel, will marry Huntyraina Fullmall Gawerula, heir to the blood throne. Together, they will rule Scarlata Empire. They will rebuild what was ripped to shreds. They will build this power, not in solitude, but alongside us! With time and discipline and loyalty to the crown, we will have the entire blood kingdom bowing before us!”
The crowd erupted, and I bit my cheek to keep from vomiting.
Asmodeus lifted his hand, and the crowd silenced.
“Let us begin the traditional marriage ritual of the angels.”
He turned around, now facing Wolf and me. “First, you both will draw blood to signify the eternity of life.”
Focus on Wolf. Focus on Wolf.
Wolf gripped his blade, running the sharp tip down the center of his palm, then doing the same to mine.
Someone shouted in the back of the room, followed by more frantic screams, but I barely heard it. I was frozen, stuck. Unraveling with every passing second.
Wolf’s eyes ripped away from mine and widened, the only sign of panic as screams spread and spread.
I finally turned to look.
Smoke filled the air, spreading further into the ballroom, closer and closer to us.
“What is that?” Wolf asked. “Where is that coming from?”
My stomach sank.
Fire.
The damn castle was on fire. It seemed to be coming from the hallway we just entered from, but there was no other exit to the grand ballroom. The dozens of fae and angels who came to witness this marriage were panicking, shoving, screaming, desperate for a way out.
It all happened so fast.
“Enough!” Asmodeus yelled, but he couldn’t be heard over the roar of screams in the ballroom. “Enough, everyone! We must complete the ceremony!”
“The castle is burning!” Wolf screamed. “We need to get out of here!”
Asmodeus faced us with rage over his features. “Finish the ceremony now! You must marry!”
“But it could be a?—”
“ Now! ”
The entire room shook with the force in his voice. I squealed in panic, quickly taking Wolf’s bloody hand in mine. I squeezed my eyes shut, focusing on my magic, calling it forward how Wolf taught me.
More people screamed. Luseyar was yelling something now, louder than the roar of voices. It sounded something like an attack, but I quickly shook the thought away.
We were not being attacked during the damn wedding. This wasn’t fucking happening.
“Finish it!” Asmodeus yelled.
Wolf began reciting words in a language I didn’t understand, and I opened my eyes to find him breathing hard, head tilted back as he fought to finish what his father started.
Asmodeus cared so much about this damn union that he would risk being stuck in this castle during an attack? He wanted us to be united that badly?
My senses flared to life, becoming too aware of the absolute chaos surrounding us.
A large boom shattered Wolf’s concentration, and we held onto each other tighter as the floor shook.
Was the damn castle crumbling?
Asmodeus let out a roar of anger, animalistic and terrifying. I thought I had seen that man angry, but this was something else entirely. This anger was mixed with a desperation I could hardly fathom. “ Is it done ?”
“It’s done!” Wolf screamed back. Panic laced his words now, and he gripped me like he would never let go again. “It’s done!”
Instead of running out of the ballroom like the rest of the crowd, Asmodeus turned to Lord. “Bring the girl out here!” he ordered. “Hurry!”
Lord disappeared into the chaos quickly. The girl? Who could he possibly be so worried about? The damn castle was burning!
“We’re going to get out of here,” Wolf whispered to me. “Don’t worry, Huntress. I’m getting you out of this.”
Jessiah was barking orders too, some at us, some at the others. He was trying to get everyone out before we were all killed, I realized.
The room grew hotter with every passing second. Did none of these powerful individuals have the magic to put this damn fire out? Nothing could make this any fucking worse.
Another scream, closer this time. Familiar.
I glanced over to find Lord returning through the crowd, shoving and elbowing as he forced his way. But he was not alone.
My stomach sank to the floor.
Rummy, bruised and bloodied, was being dragged at his side.