Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
NOVA
To get to Washington from the mountainside castle, we pass through the Underworld. We’re only there for a moment, long enough for me to feel an oppressive heat in the air and catch sight of a strange bird through the window of the building we’re in.
Then, Lorcan hauls me through another shimmering portal into the path of a chilly breeze.
The sun is setting behind the mountains when we make it through the shaky veil into an evergreen forest. Sunbeams break through the pine branches as they wave gently in the wind, dappling orange-tinged light on the leaf-littered ground.
My first inhale smells like coming home.
The forest, the breeze, the promise of rain coming overnight. It’s everything I grew up with, and nothing like the musty scent of the basement prison.
It’s bright enough that I need to squint until my eyes adjust, my brain protesting the abrupt change. I’ve missed the light, but I admit that it’s a good thing this game takes place mostly in the dark. It’s what I’m accustomed to.
“I can’t deny I enjoy the human realm.” Lorcan leans against a tree a ways away. “Although humans themselves could use some work. They’re not overly pleasant.”
“And you think demons are?” I shoot back.
“We have our bad apples too. I’m not one of them, and neither are any of the others hunting you tonight.”
“You’re all bad.”
“Do you also think every human is good?” he taunts. “History says otherwise.”
I repress the urge to growl at him. We could argue about this, or I could start running. I’d rather get as far as possible from here before the sun fully sets and they start their hunt.
From the faint sounds of traffic, it’s clear we’re not far from a major road—maybe the highway. Once I reach a street, I’ll know where to go. They gave me the advantage of playing the game where I grew up, and I intend to use it.
“It’s time for you to leave,” I say.
He sighs, his sandals crunching on the leaf litter as he walks toward me. My breath catches when he comes close enough for me to feel the heat of his body, but I don’t back away.
“Izoran is a man of obsessions, you know. Even if it were only him hunting you, there’s no way you’d win. But with Damek choosing you as his queen?” Lorcan shakes his head. “You don’t stand a chance, little human.”
His words are true, and deep down, I know it. There’s no winning this bet. No escape. No freedom.
Unless I can figure out the answer to a question that’s been taunting me since I became a captive: how do you kill a demon?
My only chance is something almost as impossible as winning—murder. Maybe if I kill their earthly forms and send them back down to the Underworld, I’ll make it to dawn and claim my win.
I imagine a knife to the heart isn’t good enough, but I do plan to try that first. If they’re going to fuck me before pulling me to their realm, I’ll have a chance to attempt it.
“And what do you think of me?” I ask. “Are you not going to be as interested in hunting me?”
He barks a laugh, bringing his hand up to my throat. I flinch despite my best efforts to stay impassive when his sharp nails dig into the sides of my neck.
“Oh, don’t worry. Brellan and I are just as intrigued by you as the other two are. I’ll make my decision once I’ve had a taste of you, and Brellan will decide whether you’re worthy of our king before he falls.”
My breath comes a little faster, a spark of electricity zipping up my spine as Lorcan’s fingers squeeze. Every inch of me enters red alert stage, trying to grab enough air to tide me over when he inevitably cuts off the flow.
Before it does, he lets go. “Interesting,” he murmurs.
I let out an involuntary whine of relief, my heart rate coming down from the fluttering panic of being at his mercy.
“I only have until sundown for my head start. You have to leave now.” My voice is breathier than I want it to be.
“Fine. But my brother and I will see you very soon.” His grin is feral. “We’ll be the first ones to hunt you down.”
He parts the veil between worlds and disappears from view, leaving me completely alone in the forest.
Exhaling in relief, I take a few slow and steady breaths to get my wits about me again. There’s something about the demons that calls to me—that makes me want to lose at this game, on some baser level.
My instincts are caught between fighting with everything I have and giving in to the urge to roll over and learn what it’s like to be touched by demons.
I’m not going to let them have me. Not easily, no matter what my brain says.
So, I pick my way between bushes, weaving around trees in the direction of the cars. I have two tasks right now: hiding and finding a weapon.
I’ll have to pick up the weapon along the way somehow, because I already know the perfect place to hide.
In plain sight.
Blending in with the downtown crowd on Halloween night will buy me a few hours before I really have to flee from them. I’ll save my strength while I can.
I walk down the side of the highway once I find it, feeling every rock through the shoes they gave me. My coat is thick enough to fend off the worst of the chill. I’m not going to fit in with the costumed partygoers when I get downtown, but at least I’ll be warm enough.
The sun descends rapidly, but I know this stretch of highway. When the next exit comes into view, I’ll be able to veer back into the woods, walk for five minutes, and end up in the back alley servicing a stretch of cute little shops.
But maybe until I see the exit… I should run.
I won’t be able to run through the thick underbrush, and when they start to hunt me… I doubt I’ll be hard to find out in the open like this.
Giving the sun one last look, I break out into a quick jog.
IZORAN
Nova is smart, none of us can deny that.
She questioned Damek more than most humans dare to, and there wasn’t a bitter edge of fear to her scent—only notes of anger and irritation.
And now that we’ve started the chase, she chose a tactic none of us expected.
She wasn’t hard to find. Lorcan and I followed her scent from where he left her, using a glamour to shield us from the view of humans as we stalked the woods. It’s where we found her that proved to be problematic.
Our human queen is sitting in the middle of a crowded pub, wiling away the hours in a place where it would be a challenge to steal her. We could, but not without one of the humans noticing.
It’s normal for us to erase human memories when the supernatural presence is revealed, but it would be impossible to catch everyone in a crowd like this.
Her plan must be to stay here until they close, among a hundred humans doing Jello shots made to look like blood, while spooky All Hallow’s Eve music plays loudly over the speakers. Then she’ll let the real hunt begin, and we’ll only have a few hours left to catch her.
I bump my shoulder against my twin’s. “Think we can charm her into leaving willingly?”
He snorts. “Not a chance. She knows what she’s doing.”
We’re leaning against the wall near the entrance, our horns and wings hidden by a glamour that also changes the hue of our skin to a human colour.
Tonight is a night we could get away without it, considering plenty of humans are dressed as cheap imitations of us, but we want to blend in.
We don’t need the attention of people telling us we have ‘cool costumes.’
I’m surprised Nova got into this place—I thought humans had arbitrary age restrictions on alcohol, and I doubt she meets them. The men at the door don’t seem to be checking very stringently.
She hasn’t recognized us, but if we get close, she will.
It’s not like the glamour can change my personality.
“Maybe I can harass her into starting the game. Because watching her from over here is fucking boring,” I say.
“Try if you want. I’m sure she’s expecting us to find her, so staying stealthy doesn’t matter. I’m going to wait outside.”
He shoves through the door, a cool breeze drifting in as he does. I’m not surprised he’s opted to leave—it’s more in his nature to observe from a distance until the ideal moment to pounce. Not like me, getting right up close to my prey so they know exactly what I want.
And that I’m coming for them.
Shoving through the crowded bar, I watch her pretty green eyes widen as I get closer. When I lean against the wall beside her stool, she shies closer to the bar, but there’s nowhere for her to go.
I sling my arm over her shoulders, whispering in her ear. “Found you, Fire.”
I love the way that makes her shiver. She wants us—she just hasn’t admitted it to herself yet. She will once she realizes that being the queen is grander than the freedom she desires. The perks are undeniable.
With me being one of those many perks.
“What are you going to do about finding me, though?” She does her best to shake off my touch, but I dig my nails into her shoulder, letting the claws out just a bit.
“Play the waiting game, I guess. This pub won’t stay open and full of humans until dawn. I should have warned you I hate waiting games, though. I’ll be a little antsy by the time we leave unless you entertain me.”
“No way.”
“Are you sure, because I—”
A wave of ice-cold beer drips from my hair before I can finish. The piney scent of hops overtakes my senses, and I stare at the empty pint glass she holds. There’s a gasp from the few people close enough to have seen it happen.
She just… threw a drink in my face.
I remove my arm from around her and reach up to wipe the excess beer from my cheeks.
“Leave me alone,” she says loudly enough to get the attention of the bartender and all the surrounding humans.
Everyone is looking at me like I’m some creep. They’re right, of course. I’ll be hunting this woman through the city until dawn, touching her whenever I get a chance.
But it’s rude of her to use human sensibilities to force me out of her space.
Rude, yet smart. She really is a perfect queen. If Brellan isn’t convinced of that yet, he will be by the time dawn hits.
Grinning at Nova, I lick the beer from my lips. “Thanks for the drink, Fire. We’ll see each other outside—you know there’s no getting rid of me.”