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How could Evan have been a pawn in Knox’s game from the beginning? Knox had only just taken over Aaron’s conscience, quite a whileafterXen’s release. If he was really the orchestratorof this story, then shouldn’t Knox have been the one to bait Evan into releasing Xen? That had been the beginning after all.

But he hadn’t. The case of the Greene Mansion had come to Evan coincidentally, unless Aaron—

Oh. Oh no…

Unless Aaron was under Knox’s influence since then.

Evan recalled Aaron’s insistence and almost forceful behavior when the Greenes had come seeking help. Even when he’d turned down the request, Aaron had kept trying to urge him towards the case until at last, he’d given in. And that inevitably led to Evan releasing Xen.

Could it have been Knox’s doing? Had Evan been a puppet on Knox’s strings all this time?

“To answer your question,” Knox pocketed his hands, staring up at Evan with an amused look. “I took away those three pets because I knew you’d come to find them. And if you came,hewould most certainly follow.”

Lightning struck the night sky, momentarily flashing a white glare across the forest clearing, and Evan suddenly stilled. His eyelashes quivered.

A shadow was standing directly behind Knox.

Knox’s gaze lowered, smile widening. “Finally.”

A blast of fire struck out from behind Knox, hitting the Hellguard holding Evan square in the chest. With a roar, the rock fist loosened from around Evan, but he didn’t tumble to the ground.

He almost breathed a sigh of relief, assuming it was Xen or Shadow who had caught him. But then he looked down, and he found a glowing purple binding wrapped around his body. The remaining color drained from his face.

Xen flashed below Evan, ready to catch him. But when he remained floating out of reach, those scarlet eyes blazed up andthen snapped at the person standing at a distance with a pleased expression.

“Long time no see, Xen’areth,” Knox drawled.

“Let him go,” Xen gritted out.

Knox curled his fingers, and the binding tightened around Evan, stealing his breath. “Come now, the game has just begun.” With a flick of his hand, Evan was flung forward, wrenched away from Xen and hurled straight into the Tomb of Ascension.

19. Death Is Mercy

Asickening crack echoed through his body as Evan slammed into one of the four pillars of the Tomb, then crumpled onto the smooth stone floor. Blood spurted from his mouth.

Xen’s growl of his name cut through Evan’s disoriented brain, sharp enough to prick his ears. He shook his head, blinking hard to clear the blur from his vision. When he looked up, dazed, he could just make out a faint silhouette at a distance, wreathed in a red light like a deadly halo.

Knox strolled forward and stood directly in between the pair, blocking them from each other’s view, and smiled. “You’ve come at last, Xen’areth. I’ve been waiting for you for a long, long time now. I almost thought you’d slip away again.”

Xen’s face was expressionless, but the blaze in his red eyes and the waves of heat rippling off him were enough evidence that he wasn’t in the best of moods. His gaze flicked past Knox’s shoulder, catching sight of Evan dragging himself to a pillar and slumping against it, wiping the blood from his chin with a low grunt.

If the creatures of the night hadn’t been crying and croaking in the forest, if quakes weren’t making the skies and the earth tremble alike, one could have heard thecrackthat resounded from within Xen.

Scarlet spread in Xen’s eyes, a wildfire devouring the whites and irises, leaving behind twin rivers of molten lava. When heopened his mouth, his voice split into a chorus of many. “Let him go.”

The cult members’ chanting faltered again, but this time, followed by shrieks.

Shadows on the forest floor writhed to life, coiling around the feet as the protection spells on their cloaks sizzled into nothingness. Under Xen’s command, the dark creatures crept up their bodies, then sank into their skin.

Some members clutched their throats, choking. Others coughed up blood thick with crawling worms, eyes popping in the sockets. Many didn’t even get that far and simply dropped dead.

Knox let out a low chuckle at the carnage unfolding around him. “Why don’t you go and save him yourself? Promise I won’t stop you.”

A growl rumbled from Xen. Because hecouldn’tgo inside. Anything inhuman that entered the Tomb of Ascension without being summoned would be desecrated to ash within moments by the power of the Heavenly Spring Water.

“Let him go,” Xen repeated, gravel in his voice. “Or meet your end.”

Knox straightened, puffing out his chest. “Go on, then. Hit me. Right here in the heart.”