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Using all my strength, I bring my elbow down on his forearm while simultaneously driving my knee up again. His grip loosens just enough for me to duck under his arm. I scramble across the kitchen, grabbing a knife from the block.
"Stay back," I warn, the blade steady in my hand.
Drez'kor touches his bleeding temple, looking at the blood on his fingertips with disbelief that quickly morphs into rage. "You'll regret that." He advances slowly, calculated. "Put that down before you hurt yourself."
"I'm not the one who's going to get hurt." I keep the knife between us, backing toward the door. If I can just get to the twins, barricade us somewhere...
He moves with terrible speed, catching my wrist and twisting until pain shoots up my arm. The knife falls from my numb fingers as he forces me back against the counter, his weight pinning me.
"I've always admired your spirit," he says, one hand wrapping around my throat. "But this is becoming tiresome."
I struggle wildly, clawing, kicking, fighting with a ferocity I never knew I possessed. My nails rake down his face, drawing blood from four parallel scratches.
He curses, tightening his grip. "Enough!"
Spots dance at the edges of my vision as his fingers cut off my air. Panic surges through me, not for myself but for my daughters. Who will protect them if I can't?
"Vael," I choke out, though I know he can't hear me. The realization that he might return to find me gone and our children alone—or worse—sends a fresh wave of desperation through me.
With the last of my strength, I reach behind me, fingers scrabbling against the counter until they close around a small glass jar. I smash it against the side of Drez'kor's head with every ounce of force I can muster.
He roars in pain, loosening his hold just enough for me to gulp in a precious breath. But his recovery is quick, and his expression turns murderous as he pins me more securely, one hand returning to my throat.
"I was going to be reasonable," he growls, "but now I think I'll just take what I want and leave Vaelrix a message he won't forget."
My vision dims as his grip tightens again. Is this how it ends? After everything I've survived, will my daughters grow up never knowing how fiercely I fought for them? Will Vael come home to find me gone—or worse?
The thought of Vael finding my broken body sends a strange, desperate ache through me. He has to make it home in time. He has to.
25
VAEL
Iknew something was wrong the moment I reached the outskirts of Krath. The informant I was supposed to meet never showed—unusual for someone who'd built a reputation on reliability. The message that had drawn me here suddenly felt wrong, like a false note in a familiar song.
"Shit." The word escapes in a cloud of steam as I scan the empty meeting point one last time.
My instincts prickle, the same instincts that have kept me alive for thirty-seven years. The job is a setup. But why lure me away from?—
Trinity.
Her name flashes through my mind like lightning, followed immediately by the twins. I don't waste another second, sprinting back to where I'd tethered my zarryn. The silver-coated beast senses my urgency, pawing nervously at the ground as I approach.
"Home," I growl, vaulting onto its back. "Fast."
The creature needs no further encouragement, taking off at a gallop that would throw most riders. My mind races ahead of us, playing through scenarios, each worse than the last. Trinityalone with the twins, vulnerable. Jackie is there, but what good is one human woman against—against what?
Against who?
A cold certainty settles in my gut. There's only one demon with both motive and means to discover Trinity's whereabouts. The captain from Galmoleth, the one who'd had his greedy eyes on her when I first saw her. The one who'd been promised her by Asmodeus.
The zarryn's muscles bunch and stretch beneath me as I urge him faster, cutting through forests instead of following the main paths. Branches whip past, slashing at my face and arms. I barely notice, consumed by a rage and fear unlike anything I've ever felt.
If he touches her—if he touches my children?—
The thought doesn't need completing. The zarryn seems to respond to my desperation, pushing itself beyond its limits. Foam flecks its silver coat, but I can't slow down. Can't take the chance.
Luckily, I didn't fall for his trap, didn't search the area for whatever would leave me further away I'm sure. Instead, I'm still close enough to my home that with this speed, I'll be there in a matter of minutes. When my house finally comes into view, the zarryn is trembling with exhaustion, but I feel nothing but cold focus.