Chapter 37 #3
The Nephilim kicks me in the face again, breaking my freshly healed nose—again.
Elly places a hand on my arm, and magic flows to me despite her own needs.
It slowly starts to heal me, and in return, I send some magic to help her.
She keeps her free hand around her neck wound to hide the fact that she’s healing faster than she should be.
In her eyes, I find what I was already planning: keep Inakr talking long enough to find out what he wants, then go in for the proverbial kill.
“What will my disappearance do for you?” I continue as if we’re having a normal conversation. Inakr contemplates his answer, wondering if he wants to indulge us.
“You control the housing market for inhumans who choose to live among humans. You provide them with the means to blend in. Controlling those elements means controlling them. You control us. It’s a position too powerful for someone like you. For a demon.”
I tsk at his use of the word demon. The way he says it makes it clear he looks down on me because of it, as if his side is so much better.
But I see where he’s going with this. “What makes you think a lowly Nephilim like yourself is better suited for this so-called position?” At this point, I’m genuinely curious.
Inakr laughs, baring his sharp, vampiric canines.
The sight of them almost makes me flinch, and Elly sucks in an audible gasp next to me.
“What are you?” she asks, unable to hide the anger in her voice.
He gives her a predatory smile, and those canines disappear back into his gums. Nagamaru inches closer to Elly, reconsidering their allegiances.
Perhaps they are, if they care only about her.
If Inakr proves a threat to her—especially after that remark—Nagamaru could turn against him, which we could use to our advantage.
These two idiots are working together without knowing if they can count on each other, let alone trust each other.
“Not just a lowly Nephilim, that’s for sure.” Inakr laughs when he sees the disgust reflected in Elly’s eyes. “The only one worthy of controlling inhumans is someone who can represent both sides—the demonic and the angelic.”
His words confirm everything I suspected. The look on Elly’s face tells me she realizes what he’s hinting at.
Inakr is part demon and part angel, possibly even a pureblood, depending on his parents.
Either way, it’s a combination both sides disapprove of.
Especially the angels—they’re extreme in their purist beliefs.
This begs the question: how is he even alive?
Being part vampire should have gotten him killed.
Looks like someone messed up big time. Wait, is this what Creiddyla smelled on him?
“You do realize my brother, the king of the Underworld, won’t let you get away with a plan like that, right?”
“Which is why I’m starting with you. Take over one side to make it easier to move in on the other.”
“What about William?” Elly asks. “He’s clearly nothing but a puppet. Is that how you plan to make people obey you?”
Inakr briefly glances behind us, where I assume William still stands—waiting. “I needed someone I could control like a puppet, as you say.” He grins. “But I have plenty of inhumans on my side who are with me of their own free will. Even inside your precious company.”
Good to know. After we take care of him, we’ll have some fun hunting them down.
“To hell with them,” Elly snarls, her outburst startling both Inakr and me. “Why William?”
Inakr crouches in front of her, sneering into her face. She holds her ground—unafraid, driven by her anger. Looks like William’s well-being is the hill she’s willing to die on.
“Isabella’s accident? When she was pregnant?” Inakr asks, his smile growing wider. “She was delicious.”
Elly tenses at his words, his admission hitting home.
Neither of us needs more to know his part in the family’s lives.
Inakr knew exactly what he was doing when he turned Isabella and what that meant for her unborn child.
He should consider himself lucky that I can’t unleash my searing anger on him right now.
“And Nagamaru?” My eyes flick from Inakr to Nagamaru and back. They stiffen upon hearing their name, then flinch when I focus on them.
“I couldn’t risk revealing myself,” Inakr explains. “Nagamaru acted as my proxy—a gullible party to convince the other. It’s amazing what one will do for a few off-handed promises.”
Anger flares in Nagamaru’s green eyes now that they have confirmation of being played for a fool.
There’s a tick in their jaw that makes it clear their alliance needs only a small push before it shatters completely.
And Inakr can’t even tell, which makes him the greatest idiot here. It’s almost too easy.
I know enough, so I let some of my magic touch Elly’s. A gentle caress down her arm is all she needs to receive the message, followed by an extra boost of healing to ensure she’s ready. I’d prefer it to be me, but with the collar on her, he won’t be expecting her.
A second passes, and then Elly turns her attention back to Inakr and asks, “But why? Why all of this? Why not something like a company takeover? It would be a lot… cleaner.”
Inakr frowns at her as if he doesn’t understand the question. “Because I need you all gone, of course,” he answers, as if it’s that simple. “You filthy demons took something from me, so I’m going to return the favor by taking everything from you. By wiping you all out.”
He’s insane. Wiping us out? That means genocide, which is impossible, even if he manages to take my company and usurp the throne.
Elly has clearly heard enough as well. Her earth magic tingles against my skin in a silent warning for me to brace myself.
The next moment, she lets go of my arms and pulls the dagger free from my stomach in one smooth motion.
I gasp at the suddenness of it, and both hands automatically cover the wound.
Elly doesn’t spare me a glance; her attention is solely on the Nephilim before her.
She flips the dagger in her hand, grasping the hilt with both hands.
Before Inakr realizes what’s happening, she plants the blade firmly under his chin.
Unwavering and without hesitation, she pushes and swiftly pierces skin.
She keeps going, deep into him, the weapon perforating his tongue, mouth, and skull. A wet crunching sound reverberates around us as blood drips down the dagger and onto her hands, coating her skin in that beautiful red, her nostrils flaring slightly at the coppery scent.
Just as swiftly, Elly pulls the weapon free and slits the Nephilim’s throat for good measure.