Chapter Thirty #2
While I paused and collected myself, the first chainmail-clad infantry pushed through the allied line of soldiers, seeking to interfere with Sitri and Zephyr’s duel.
I stumbled forward on unsteady feet and slammed my morning star into its chest. Shouts, blood, and scraps of shredded armor flew from the tangle of demons behind me. I didn’t know whose they were.
This wasn’t the time to worry about it. More enemies pressed in, flooding the battlefield until our allies struggled to hold Vapula’s forces at bay.
I had to keep fighting, sinking my morning star into demon flesh and filling the air with the crack of breaking bones.
My leg burned with every move I made, and fatigue dulled my mind, but I didn’t dare stop moving—not until a shout from behind drew my attention.
“The girl!” Zephyr cried. He whistled to the sky and broke away from Sitri. “Get the girl out of here now!”
I glanced up at the sound of beating wings overhead. One of the amalgamate beasts had locked its eyes on me. Its talons stretched out to attack. A bullet from Sitri’s revolver connected with its wing, and though a second shot followed, I was unsure if he hit his mark.
The beast reeled back as it landed, opening itself up and lunging for the Prince.
I rushed it on unsteady feet, slamming my morning star into its flank and lodging barbed iron spikes in its scaled, emerald hide.
It shrieked, shaking the air. Gritting my teeth against the sound, I used the last of my strength to tear my weapon from its side.
Mud slipped beneath my boots, and I fell.
“Lillia, get away from it! Go find cover!” Sitri shouted.
A third bullet struck the monster’s head. It whipped around, fangs bared, and I knew all he’d done was enrage it. I struggled to my feet. Metal clanged behind me, and I hesitated.
“Don’t forget about me now, Prince.”
I turned to see Zephyr’s blades against Sitri’s. The Prince had dropped his gun, drawing his second dagger to hold him off.
Both demons were injured. The leather on one of Sitri’s legs had been gouged, and the flesh beneath it shredded.
His opponent looked better, but barely. Several scales had been torn from his mail.
Puncture wounds marked the weak points in his armor, and Sitri had bloodied Zephyr’s cheek beyond recognition.
Every instinct I had told me to leave—to get out in one piece and never look back.
Despite the pain and fear thrumming in my bones, I couldn’t bear to abandon Sitri, who struggled within inches of his own demise.
Even if I tried, I had nowhere left to run.
I wasn’t scaling the wall on my own, and if Sitri fell, the battle would end here and now.
Seeing my only option, I threw my morning star as hard as I could.
It hurtled through the air and met its mark.
The porcelain-skinned devil howled; his bones gave way as my weapon mangled his legs.
It lent the leverage Sitri needed to shake off his attacker.
He had his blades ready, prepared to strike.
He lunged. The demon beneath him rolled, and Sitri’s dagger sank into the mud.
Before I could react, stabbing pain pierced my shoulders, and I screamed.
Bestial claws embedded in my back, seizing me. I ripped at the monster’s talons, fingers digging into its flesh, every muscle firing to tear me free from its grasp. The beast didn’t even notice. Wings beat, and a storm of crimson droplets flew into the air.
I lurched a few feet off the ground. My shoulders screamed in agony, now bearing my full weight.
Muscles tore. Bones strained, and I lost my hold on its talons.
The beast’s injuries were catching up with it—between the tears in its wings and its proximity to the manor’s walls, it gained altitude slowly.
“Lillia!” Sitri cried, moving to disengage, stumbling over himself as the bloodied wreckage of his legs gave out.
He fell to the ground. Zephyr thrust his daggers toward the prone Prince’s throat, and Sitri barely deflected them. I had to get to him, had to help him somehow—but I’d disarmed myself, wound up in the talons of a beast, and there was no one to come to my aid.
With a roar and a leap, the amalgamate beast cleared the walls. Suddenly, we were airborne, rising high above the battlefield. From my vantage point, I could only watch the chaos unfold.
Sitri and Zephyr rolled and clashed on the ground.
My stomach sank. Sitri didn’t stand a chance.
Blood and sweat dripped from his armor, and his breathing grew ragged.
Zephyr climbed over his hips. Their blades locked and unlocked as they struggled.
More soldiers rushed in on all sides, and among them, one stood out; a hulking form, armed with a sword and a heater shield, clad in battle garb that matched Sitri’s.
Apollo.
He fought through the conflict, pushing demons aside as he charged toward his Prince. I’d never know if he’d made it in time. Flying monsters of all shapes and sizes swooped in, descending on the battlefield with fresh troops on their backs. My line of sight broke.
Sitri vanished beneath a sea of swords and wings.
I searched the mess of imps and beasts, looking desperately for Sitri and Apollo.
Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes.
I trembled. Tearing agony scored my back with each of my captor’s wing-beats, its every move driving claws deeper into my shoulders, but that pain paled in comparison to the crushing weight of reality.
Sitri and I… we were responsible for this.
He’d offered himself up as a sacrifice, told me how to escape with my soul intact.
I’d still chased after him. Vapula would have everything he wanted—Sitri slain, Zephyr installed on the throne, a weak, helpless consort delivered to his doorstep.
After two centuries of war, everything ended in a single morning.
But I had one last chance to deny the Duke his victory.
As the first tears rolled down my face, I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth.
My body protested as I reached upwards. My shaking hands found the beast’s leg, which I’d maimed earlier, and I searched its flesh by feel.
There, buried in its muscles, was a long, slimy cord.
I wormed my fingers around it, curled them into claws, and yanked.
The beast shrieked, and as I’d hoped, its grip on my right shoulder loosened. It couldn’t hold me when my weight shifted. With a bolt of blinding pain, its talons tore from my body, and I found myself in free-fall.
Wind howled in my ears, buffeted my skin as I plummeted.
I kept my eyes squeezed shut. I already knew what I would see if I opened them.
The badlands rushed up to greet me. Stone waited to break my soul apart, and a horrific demon dove, trying to snatch me midair.
One of the two would catch me—either the ground or the amalgamate beast. I didn’t want to know which it would be.
The beast screeched in panic as it chased me, leathery wings flapping, maw snapping, drawing closer every moment. And the ground—how far above it had I been? How long would it take for me to reach it and be reduced to a red smear on white stone?
Each heartbeat felt like an eternity. I held my breath, waiting to learn my fate.
Clawed talons dug into my armor.
Something hard and wet struck my head, sending a jolt of lightning down my spine…
And everything went black.