Chapter 26
Chapter
Twenty-Six
CROMBIE
“Who the fuck is it now?” Pan asked on a weary sigh.
My skin crawled as their power seeped into every available space in the corridor, and I had to swallow twice before I could form the words. “The Wild Hunt.”
“Bloody hell,” Kai whispered, real fear in his voice. “Who are they after?”
Primal fear held me captive as memories assaulted me.
Images flickered through my mind, each one more soul-crushing than the last. Logically, I knew I was standing in the catacombs, but a core part of me was curled up in a ball in the center of their labyrinth, blood, and sweat coating every inch of my naked body.
“Drystan,” Lilith whispered, slipping her hand into mine. “Come back to me.”
“How did they find us?” Malice asked.
The stupidity of my earlier actions slammed into me with all the gentleness of a bullet train.
Now that I’d removed my collar, my magic was traceable once more.
I’d known of the consequences when I’d done it, but I hadn’t been thinking when I summoned that ball of light.
I knew better, but my carelessness had likely just cost all of us our lives.
They were with me, which meant they were going to be seen as obstacles to be removed by force.
“You have to get out of here,” I urged.
“Not without you,” Lilith countered.
“Go!”
I tore my hand free of hers and used a burst of magic to push her away. If I escaped this, I’d be in for at minimum a stern talking to, at the worst, the silent treatment. Lilith knew how much I loathed being ignored.
“Leaving so soon?” asked a voice that haunted my nightmares. Guttural and dark, it called to mind every horror he’d unleashed during my captivity.
Bile raced up my throat as my eyes found the leader of the Hunt at the other end of the passageway.
He moved like liquid shadows, his form not wholly of this world.
And behind the stag’s skull he wore as a mask, his eyes were pits of endless darkness.
The antlers crowning his head were wide enough to scrape along the walls on either side of him, the passage almost too narrow for him to manage.
“Crombie, what is going on?” Malice asked. “Why is the Hunt after you?”
“Did he not tell you he was a fugitive?” The second of the three asked, his mask made of a ram’s skull with enormous curling horns.
With every step he took toward me, his oily power spilled forward from under his feet.
I didn’t want it to touch me. I knew what would happen if it did. I’d lose every ounce of my magic.
Even with full access to my power, I was no match for them.
Together we might stand a chance, but I couldn’t risk Lilith being harmed.
Not because of me. The others had to get out of here.
I might be able to freeze time long enough for them to escape.
They wouldn’t have long, seconds at most, before my hold on the Hunt broke, but it would be enough. It had to be.
The third figure tsked, his deep voice sending ice through my veins. “I thought a prince would have better manners. Don’t you want to say hello to your old friends, Drystan?”
This one was hidden behind a wolf’s skull, the animal’s decaying pelt draped over his shoulders.
“Not particularly.”
“And what of your new compatriots? Do they not deserve an introduction?” Stag asked, his steps as slow and sure as ever.
“Leave them out of this. Your fight is with me.”
“So noble of you to remind us,” Wolf crooned.
As one, the trio charged. Power erupted out of me, but instead of freezing them in place as I’d intended, a hand fisted into the back of my shirt, interrupting my spell.
Nearly simultaneously, another hand latched onto my throat.
The world went fuzzy, and I knew with undeniable dread what had happened.
My Lilypad had done what she did best. She took charge and teleported us back to our safe haven.
Unfortunately for all of us, she also brought all three of the Hunt along for the ride.
In less time than it took to draw breath, we were back at Sanctuary, the brilliance of the light nearly blinding after the dark of the catacombs. A few startled shouts rang out as our allies realized we had returned.
Or more importantly, that we were not alone.
“Holy masked hot guys,” Remi said, his voice unmistakable even with Stag’s hand around my throat.
“Intruders!” Caspian shouted, the sound of swords being drawn following his cry.
“Stop!” Kai called. “This is the Wild Hunt. If they kill you, you’ll be forced to join them for eternity.”
“He’s correct. You do not want to pick a fight with us. You will lose more than your life,” Ram warned, violence lacing every word.
“I don’t know about that. I sort of like our odds,” Alek said, standing in front of a dozen Novasgardian warriors.
Wolf’s head turned in his direction as even more of our allies poured into the room to ring the intruders. “Then you are not familiar with your history, Odin-kin. Otherwise you would recognize it is you who are outnumbered.”
“Oensjaegeren,” Alek hissed.
“Odin’s Hunters,” Tor translated.
“I thought they were fae?” Pan asked his father in a low voice.
“I get the feeling they might be both,” Malice answered.
Ignoring all the side chatter, Stag tilted his chin up and demanded, “Let us leave with our prisoner, and you may keep your lives.”
“You should take the deal,” Ram said. “It’s more than we offer most.”
My fear was swiftly replaced by acceptance. My life for theirs? It was no choice at all. Either way, I would not survive this. My years of freedom had been a blessing, but now they were at an end.
I closed my eyes, prepared to accept the Hunt’s terms, only to have them flying back open as Lilith brazenly declared, “Oh, you’re interested in making deals? Excellent, I have one for you.”
Horror twisted my gut as understanding rocked me. “Lilypad, no.”
Stag’s hold around my throat loosened, but he was still touching me, muting my power. “Continue.”
“You can have him. After we complete our mission and stop the apocalypse.”
“We can simply take him now. The apocalypse is of no importance to us.”
“And what will you do with a weakened fae prince when all of existence is wiped out?” she asked. “Wouldn’t it be ever so much more fun to have a world to play in? Especially if I sweeten the pot.”
“With what?”
“Me.”
Masked as they were, it was hard to see any official reaction, but the shift in their energy was palpable. She’d captured their attention.
Wolf tipped his head back to sniff the air. “And who are you, demon, that you believe you are of any interest to us?”
Lilith cocked a brow. “I know you can look into my mind. See for yourself.”
I hated the idea of any of them rooting around in her head. They were known for their ability to use your fears against you and drive you mad. I should know. They’d done it to me.
“Don’t do this,” I begged, even though it was far too late.
Her eyes briefly met mine, and the emotion I found there left me breathless. “I vowed to protect you. I keep my vows.”
“I freed you from your vow when I broke the chain.”
Her luscious red lips quirked up in the smallest of smiles. “The chain was merely a reminder. The vow is eternal, Drystan.”
“But my power . . .”
“Okay, that part was bound by the chain, but never my promise to you.”
“This is all very touching, but I am running out of patience,” Stag warned.
“You know my terms,” Lilith countered smoothly. “Leave and allow us to deal with matters here. Once the apocalypse is handled, you may return and collect us.”
“You’ll come willingly?” Ram asked.
Lilith dipped her chin in a nod. “As you just witnessed, I am a demon of my word.”
Stag nodded. “Very well. We have a deal.”
Then the pressure around my throat disappeared as the three beasts who used to be fae vanished.
Slow clapping echoed to my left, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. Lucifer strolled through the crowd, a beaming smile on his face. He looked me up and down with a disapproving sneer, then schooled his expression into a cocky grin.
“And that, friends, is what one might call a plot twist.”