Chapter 34
CHAPTER
We moved through the corridors like ghosts.
The castle was quiet again. Too quiet. Every sound felt magnified, the brush of boots on stone, the faint creak of leather, the soft exhale of breath. Magic lingered in the air, old and restless, clinging to the walls like a heartbeat just under the skin.
Lionel led, weapon at the ready, eyes sharp as ever. Ashley and Nate whispered back and forth under their breath, tension hiding behind jokes. Eve kept pace beside them, her rifle steady, while Jaden trailed the rear, humming something joyful that made Ashley smack his arm every few steps.
I stayed close to Malakai.
He walked a half-step behind me, silent.
The crimson in his eyes had dulled, but it wasn’t gone, it glowed faintly in the dark like embers waiting for air.
The chains had left red marks on his wrists, the skin raw.
I wanted to take his hand, to ground him, but I wasn’t sure if I was steady enough myself.
“You’re too quiet,” I whispered without looking at him.
His voice came low. “Trying not to breathe too close to you.”
“That bad?” I glanced over at him.
He gave a faint, humorless smile. “Worse.”
We turned down another hallway, the air growing colder. The scent of iron was stronger here, and I felt the pulse in my thigh throb again, the wound seething beneath the bandage. I pressed my palm to it, wincing.
Malakai noticed. “Still hurts?”
“Only when I think about it,” I said. “Or when I walk. Or breathe.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “So, all the time?”
“Pretty much.”
For a second, the edge between us softened, just a flicker of what we used to be before this place.
Lionel raised a hand, signaling a stop.
“Stairs ahead,” he murmured. “Downward. If we can reach the windows towards the front of the castle, the cliff is less steep there.”
“Translation,” Ashley whispered teasingly. “We might not die instantly if we jump.”
“Comforting,” Nate muttered with a faint smile.
We started forward again, quiet, cautious.
That’s when the air shifted.
A ripple ran through the corridor, subtle at first, like the castle exhaling. Then the shadows stretched across the walls, pooling into shapes that weren’t ours.
Eve cursed softly, bringing her weapon up. “We’ve got company.”
The torches dimmed to a heartbeat’s flicker before flaring again, and when they did, a figure stood at the end of the hall; graceful, tall, draped in darkness like silk.
Iris.
The shadow demon smiled, all teeth and slow delight. “Running already? How dull.”
The sight of her made my thigh pulse sharply, the pain emerging once more as if she was commanding it. I gritted my teeth, fire prickling in my palms.
“I was wondering when you’d crawl out,” I said low, hatred shining through.
Her eyes gleamed. “You remember me. How sweet.”
Behind her, other demons materialized, lesser ones, shapes of smoke and hunger. But I only saw her. The one who had afflicted me with that cursed wound. The one who had smiled as I screamed.
I took a step forward, flame curling up my wrist.
“Don’t,” Lionel warned softly. “We need to keep moving—”
“This will only take a second,” I said, my voice flat.
Iris laughed softly. “Oh, please let her. I’ve missed her little temper.”
She turned her gaze to Malakai then, and the temperature seemed to drop.
“And you,” she purred, voice sweet as honey. “The Demon King’s precious son. I’ve heard stories about you, although she didn’t do you justice.”
Malakai’s expression didn’t change. “Flattered.”
She sauntered closer, hips swaying, the air darkening around her as her purple hair danced with each movement. “You don’t need her, you know. You could have someone who understands what you are. Someone who doesn’t flinch at the sight of blood.”
Jaden leaned towards Eve, muttering under his breath, “Okay, but like, she’s kind of hot, right?”
Eve smacked him hard enough to make his teeth clatter. “Say that again, and we’ll bury you with her.”
Lionel groaned. “Every damn mission…”
Malakai didn’t look away from Iris. His tone was smooth and dangerously calm. “Tempting offer. But I’m afraid my tastes are… exclusive.”
She smiled wider. “Are they?”
He tilted his head slightly, eyes shining. “Oh, very. Besides, you don’t want me. I’m not nearly as fun as she is when she’s angry.”
I felt his gaze slide towards me, smug and deliberate. The corner of his mouth curved into a grin that was all arrogance and provocation.
“Go on, sweetie,” he said lazily. “Or are you going to let another woman steal me away?”
It shouldn’t have worked. It shouldn’t have made my fire flare hotter, brighter. But it did.
Iris’s smile faltered as the heat emanated from me, the floor beneath my boots starting to glow. The pain in my leg burned away beneath the roar of my magic.
“As if she could,” I said, and let my fire loose.
The corridor erupted in cinders and shadows.
My flames met Iris’s darkness mid-air, the explosion rattling the stone.
Smoke curled along the ceiling, embers scattering like stars.
The lesser demons hissed and lunged, claws scraping against the floor, but Malakai was already there, his red threads slithering menacingly in front of them, every movement controlled fury.
He fought with precision. When a demon moved, his magic moved. When they tried to flank me, his blood threads split them clean in two before they could reach. He didn’t look at me, not directly, but I felt his attention like a tether, hot and unrelenting.
I circled Iris, magic humming in my veins. She moved with practiced grace, her body part smoke, part flesh. Every flick of her wrist sent tendrils of shadow darting towards me, and I burned them to ash, but each one left a bite of cold in its wake.
“You’ve gotten stronger,” she said, her voice velvet and venom. “But fire burns out, little human.”
“Lucky for me,” I said, “I’ve got someone who keeps reigniting it.”
Malakai laughed softly from across the hallway, a dangerous sound that made the air tighten. “Don’t disappoint me now, kitten. You’ve got an audience.”
Iris’s eyes narrowed, her smirk faltering. “He flatters you to hide his hunger.”
“Maybe,” I said, stepping forward. “But I’d rather be the one he bites than you.”
Iris’s smile turned sharp. “We’ll see.”
Her shadows surged again, forming spikes that darted towards me like arrows. I spun, heat flooding my palms, unleashing a ring of flame that melted the black mass. The corridor glowed orange and red, every breath tasting of ash.
Behind me, I heard Ashley curse softly. “Can’t use bombs, can’t yell, can’t breathe too loud, this is hell.”
“Still prefer it to being eaten,” Nate muttered, cutting down another demon with his blade.
Eve and Lionel covered the flanks with sharp precision, Eve’s rifle whispering through the dark, Lionel’s sniper striking true. Jaden slammed his palms to the ground, and the floor stretched, rock spikes impaling two lesser demons before they could reach Malakai.
But Malakai barely seemed aware of them. His eyes were on me.
“Left, kitten,” he called, just before a shadow tendril burst from the wall. I twisted, fire searing through it before it reached me. My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
“You’re watching me instead of fighting,” I snapped, panting.
“I’m enjoying the view,” he said, voice low enough that I felt it more than heard it.
Iris’s face darkened, fury twisting her perfect features. “Pathetic,” she spat, lunging forward. “You think he cares for you? He’ll devour you the moment you falter.”
Flames roared up my arms as I caught her blade with my own, swallowing the darkness whole. “Then I guess I’ll have to remain standing.”
I shoved, and the fire surged through her, burning deep into her shadowy form. She screamed, a sound that made the walls tremble, and vanished into smoke, her body dissolving into black mist that scattered and fled down the corridor.
Silence followed, broken only by the crackle of dying flames.
The remaining demons hissed and retreated into cracks in the walls, fading as their mistress became ashes. Malakai was breathing hard, red threads evaporated. His eyes glowed brighter than before, dangerous, but still his.
I wiped the sweat and ash from my face, my heart still hammering. “You okay?” I asked, stepping towards him.
He tilted his head, a faint smirk on his lips as he slithered an arm around my waist and pulled me tight against him. “Okay? I think I just fell in love with you all over again.”
“Arrogant—” I huffed, cutting myself off from finishing the last word.
He had already beaten himself up over it all day.
I sighed, not able to hold a smile from spreading instead.
“I’m glad,” I continued. “Because from now on, I’ll remind you every day that your heart is safe with me…
and that you’ll never face anything alone. ”
“And I’ll keep reminding you of why you chose me, and why I will always choose you,” he answered, placing his forehead against mine, his eyes burning at me, for me.
Ashley clapped once, breaking the spell. “Great, you’re all amazing and flirty, you burned the demon bitch, now can we please find that cliff before her creepy siblings show up?”
Nate grinned. “You mean before Ethalyn burns the whole castle down?”
Eve reloaded with a sigh. “I give us five minutes before the next pack finds us.”
Lionel nodded grimly. “Move, now.”
Malakai brushed a streak of black ichor from my cheek with the back of his knuckles as we fell back into formation. His touch was light, reverent.
“Nice work,” he murmured.
I looked at him, the faintest smile tugging at my lips. “Didn’t do it for you.”
“Liar,” he said softly.
And before I could answer, the team was moving again, through smoke and towards the faint promise of freedom carved into the cliffs below the castle.