Chapter 30
Thirty
DEMITRIA
D emitria broke free from the Horsemen as they surged forward. Atlas, sensing the urgency, like he could feel it in the way she clung to him, had never moved so fast. He sprinted, galloping at such a fast pace that she felt as if they could have been flying. The few hundred yards that separated them from the community flashed before her eyes in a blur of smoke.
Demitria jumped from the saddle before Atlas even came close to a stop. Her body surging through the air for a heartbeat before landing hard, the horse skidding in the dirt beside her. Atlas’s normally docile brown eyes were blown wide, his nostrils flared at the scene before him.
Not the community. Not her home.
She stood in front of the large iron gate, panic surging through her. It hung loosely from its hinges, barely hanging on to the crumbling wall that surrounded the town. Nearly ripped clean off.
Solis was engulfed in an endless sea of bright orange flames. Kellan was screaming her name as she stumbled forward on shaky feet. Screaming, over and over again. She heard nothing. Blocked it out. Blocked everything out as the only thing she could focus on were the flames flicking up toward the sky.
What had happened? What had happened? WHAT HAD HAPPENED?
Her feet picked up pace and she was sprinting again. She was met with complete and utter silence. No screams. Nothing. Only the sound of the flames licking the wood. Engulfing buildings as it destroyed everything in its path, devastating the community, the red-orange glow taking over everything she saw.
Buildings were in shambles as they lay in heaps of rubble on the ground. Stone, metal and wood sticking up in every which way from their collapse. Bile rose in her throat when she spotted the first body. A limb, she realized. Gnarled and bloody, she couldn’t truly discern where the body it belonged to was. Red everywhere she looked. So much blood, and she knew it was from her people. Her friends . But other splatters were dark, black, and she was proud that they’d at least made whatever pieces of shit had attacked, bleed.
Another body, intact, but Demitria couldn’t bring herself to uncover their face from the rubble. She knew they were dead. There was no way anyone could survive this.
“I’m sorry.” She choked back a sob, and ran.
She’d never run so fast. Couldn’t think. Couldn’t breathe.
“Jace!” The cry left her lips as she bounded toward the familiar building. She tried the handle, recoiling with a hiss as the metal burned into her palm. Her hand ached, but she didn’t care. It didn’t matter. Get Inside . With a swift kick, the door fell free from its hinges, collapsing to the ground before her. The smoke filled the foyer. Filled her lungs. Clouded her vision.
Jace. Find Jace . Her mind screamed. The only thought she clung to as she pushed through.
Find Jace .
Keep moving. Search.
Find Jace .
Her breaths were panicked. Labored as she frantically searched the burning building. Nothing moved. Not a cry for help.
“Jace!” She begged. Her eyes stung from a mixture of smoke and the tears that she couldn’t stop. She had to find him. No matter what she did, she had to find Jace. That was the only thing that mattered to her now. Room after room, she searched. Coming up empty every time.
He wasn’t there. Wasn’t in the house. He had to be somewhere. Had to be. His brown, worn leather jacket sat draped over a chair in his kitchen where the flames hadn’t yet reached. He never went anywhere without it. He’d been caught off guard, she knew it. Demitria didn’t think twice before swiping it off the chair and flinging it over her shoulders. Like hell it was staying here. She grabbed stupid little keepsakes, stuffing them into his pack that she’d found sitting atop the counter.
The smoke was denser as she pushed through the house. Toward the back bedroom. His bedroom. Another kick sent the door flying open. Rifling through the drawers, she packed little clothing. A change of clothes from the bottom drawer of her things, but mostly his. A few shirts, a pair of pants. Anything that reminded her of him.
A picture. She’d seen it on his nightstand for years. Of the two of them, laughing as they embraced. Despite the current circumstances, she smiled at the memory. Touching her finger to the glass. Demitria had made a stupid trade for the polaroid camera. It hadn’t even been worth it for her, but she’d wanted it. Wanted to feel some sort of normalcy in the world once more, so she did it. Another one. From eleven years ago. They were kids, four sets of smiling faces stared back at her. Her parents. Their parents. A new wave of pain took over, nearly engulfing her.
The crash from down the hall sent her skittering from her thoughts. Her throat ached, burning as she coughed. The building was coming down. She had to leave.
All the memories. All the laughter. Burning. Crumbling to pieces. She stood feet away outside, watching as the roof caved in. Sealing the rest of him inside.
Demitria made a run for her house, but it was too late. The flames had completely destroyed anything that was inside as it ripped through the windows, doors and roof. What little possessions she had was already lost to the burning inferno surrounding her. Demitria willed herself not to cry at the loss, but her tears broke free. For the memories she would never see again. The items she would never hold. She watched as everything from her previous life burnt into nothing.
A groan was the last thing she expected. Sent her reeling from her house toward the noise. She ran, blocking out even more lifeless bodies as she went. Tears blinding as she followed the sound.
Please be Jace .
The bag fell to the ground at her feet as she rushed to his side. Pieter lay propped against a stone building. Chest heaving as the blood leaked from his body. Pouring from his mouth as he coughed. So much blood… The dark, metal spear stuck clear through his chest, pinning him to the ground. The force behind that blow—she shuddered at the thought.
“Pieter!” Her legs felt like lead as she collapsed before him. “Oh Pieter.” She cooed, “What happened?”
He coughed again, eyes opening at the familiar voice. “We were…” He grunted at the movement, pain lacing through his body. “Attacked.” What’d he mean attacked? She pressed him for more information, even when she knew she shouldn’t. “Ambushed.”
“By whom? What happened?” She pushed. His wounds were horrific. Her heart tore, ached for him, but she didn’t know what she could do. The wound was too gruesome. Too final for her to bring him back from it.
“Demon raid.” He coughed again, flinching as the pain tore through him. “Never stood a chance.” His body shuddered. “No time to react. They came looking for you.”
Fuck.
She hated them. Hated every single one of those fucking creatures that continued to take and take every little thing away from her. People. A home. Her life . She fucking hated them all.
“Did anyone get out, Pieter?” He had to say yes. They had to have gotten out.
“Some.” He nodded. “Not sure who.”
“Jace. Where’s Jace.” She pushed, but his eyes grew distant. Breath slowing. He wouldn’t meet her gaze. “Pieter, where’s Jace?” No. No.
“He was on the front lines.” Slowly, he looked up at her again. Even in all his pain, he sounded visibly upset. Distraught at the news he shared. “The demons killed everything in their path. Everyone perished so fast…” Demitria watched as the tears escaped, running down his face in soft lines as they mixed with the blood, dirt and gore that coated his skin. “There were no survivors.”
NO.
She couldn’t think. Couldn’t think past the pounding in her ears. The aching that ripped through her chest. She wanted to curl up. To just lay there, unmoving as the world imploded around her. To let the flames engulf her. To slowly eat away at her flesh as she burned alive. She deserved to die like that.
But she couldn’t. Pieter was still there.
The coughs shook his body in wild spasms. Even more blood pooled from his mouth. The spear made a sickening noise as she pulled it free from his body, and she threw it to the ground behind her. Tossing it like it had been a plague among her people. It had, in a way. How many lives that weapon had probably ended. She cursed it. Cursed them, before returning her attention to Pieter who didn’t even flinch. Demitria took the man into her arms, his head resting in her lap.
“Shh,” She whispered, hand softly wrapping around his own. Lightly stroking his cheek with the other. “It’s okay.” His hair. Anything to take his mind off the pain. “You’re okay.” Blood coated her fingertips, smearing across his skin, but she continued the movement. His breathing began to slow, and he gripped her hand tight. Squeezing it with the little energy he had left. Demitria wouldn’t cry. Couldn’t cry. She had to be strong for him. For Pieter. Finally, his grip loosened in her hand. She brought her lips to his forehead, placing a soft kiss as a sigh left his lips, and his chest fell still.
She was being pulled to her feet. Her body engulfed between warm, strong arms as he held her. That familiar sweet woodsy scent filled her senses. The scream erupted through her chest. Ripping through her. Tearing her apart as it echoed into the night.
Dead. Jace was dead .
He couldn’t be dead. She didn’t want to believe it. She hadn’t even said goodbye. She hated herself. Hated herself for leaving, and walking away from him.
Another scream ripped through her as the sobs raked through her chest. “He’s dead!” The tears ran down her cheeks in swift currents. Pooling against Kellan’s chest as he held her. Not daring to let her go for even a moment. “He’s dead.”
Kellan’s grip tightened; his arms wound so tight as he anchored her. Keeping her from crumbling to the ground in a broken heap. Her fingers clenched so tight into the fabric of his clothing, not caring if it ripped.
“He’s dead.” She repeated the words, over and over again. It wasn’t real. He wasn’t dead. She couldn’t believe it. Didn’t want to. Her friends were gone. Her family. And she hadn’t even been there to help them. To save them.
“We need to go.” Finally, he spoke. She hadn’t realized his hands had been doing circles along her back until they’d stopped moving. The fire around them had grown, closing in on what little remained of Solis. If they didn’t leave soon, they’d be the next victims. “It’s too dangerous to stay.”
T hey came looking for you. The words echoed in her mind, threatening to drive her mad.
“I’m sorry,” Demitria’s eyes met the lifeless figure behind her, “I’m so sorry.” Kellan ripped her away before she could say anything else. Jace was gone. They were all gone.
There was nothing left of her home. Nothing.
Kellan swiped the bag off the ground as he carried her toward the gate, cradled safely in his arms.
“Any survivors?” Gabriel’s eyes met his brother’s, and Kellan shook his head.
“No.” Even Eire wouldn’t meet his gaze. Did the Horsemen pity her? Pity the entire community?
“We need to leave.” Kellan spoke, still not daring to set her on the ground. “She can’t stay here.”
“That was our plan! To bring her back, and leave!” Eire’s eyes mimicked that of the fire. Harsh. Unforgiving.
“There is nothing left here!” He roared, eyes glazing over, darkening as the blood lust took over. Demitria watched as that familiar rage threatened to spill free from his incredibly thin restraint. “Nothing left for her to go back to.”
“Leave her, let her find her own way.” The snarl rumbled through Eire’s chest, matching Kellan’s own.
“She has lost her family, her home. Everything she ever cared about is gone, and you’re telling me to leave her here?” Demitria let the whimper pass through her lips, her fingers tightening in his cloak as she turned her head into Kellan’s shoulder.
Gone.
Everything was gone, and the only thing they could do was argue. She didn’t know if she should scream. Flail. Anything to just…make it all stop.
“There’s a town to the north.” Gabriel’s voice was calm, collected, which was more than what she could say for the others. “It’s an eight-day ride, but that is where we’ll go.” Gabriel’s eyes met Kellan’s. “She’ll be safe there.”
She should be feeling grateful to them for not leaving her. Should be feeling anything, but she felt nothing. Paralyzed to the world around her. The heart wrenching pain that was consuming her.
Demitria couldn’t bring herself to thank Gabriel.
“Unbelievable.” Eire barked, cursing under her breath before turning away.
The darkness that swelled within was an endless pool of despair. Numb. Every limb. Every part of her felt numb. Couldn’t feel. She didn’t want to. Her own thoughts haunted her. Condemned her.
Everything she ever loved, gone. Her home. Her family.
Jace
Gone.
It was her fault. Everything was her fault. She’d been too late. She’d been too late . Had taken too long to return. She should have never left. She would have stayed behind had she known they’d come regardless. Running off had been the biggest mistake she’d ever made, and now she was paying the price. Would be for the rest of her life.
This pain wouldn’t go away. It never would. His face ingrained in her mind until even that no longer served her.
His death had broken her. Torn her in two. Demitria couldn’t live without him. Didn’t even want to begin to think of a life without him. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. She was never supposed to leave the community. It wasn’t what they had planned for their lives.
He wasn’t supposed to be dead .