Page 26

VAEL

I knew 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. Trinity alone 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.

Something is wrong. The front door stands open, and the air carries sounds that turn my blood to ice—the twins crying, and beneath that, a struggle.

I leap from the zarryn's back before it fully stops, hitting the ground running. My boot kicks the door wider as I burst in, following the sounds to the kitchen.

What I see sends a surge of killing rage through me.

Trinity pinned against the counter, a familiar gray hand squeezing her throat. Her face turning purple, hands clawing desperately at her attacker's arm. Glass shards on the floor, blood on both of them. The twins' cries echo from different parts of the house, terrified and unanswered.

Captain Drez'kor doesn't even hear me enter. His focus is entirely on Trinity, on watching the light fade from her eyes.

I cross the kitchen in two strides, seizing him by the back of his ornate armor and ripping him away from her with such force that he crashes into the opposite wall. Trinity collapses, gasping and clutching her throat, but her eyes find mine immediately.

"The twins," she chokes out.

Drez'kor recovers quickly, his silver eyes widening in recognition, then narrowing with hate. "Vaelrix. The thief returns."

I position myself between him and Trinity, every muscle coiled for violence. "You're in my house."

He straightens, wiping blood from his temple where Trinity clearly landed a blow. "Taking back what belongs to me. Asmodeus promised her to me before you stole her."

"She belongs to no one." My voice drops to a register that makes the air vibrate. "Least of all you."

Trinity pushes herself up. "Vael, I'm okay. The girls?—"

"Check on them," I tell her, never taking my eyes off the captain. "I'll handle this."

Drez'kor's lips curve in a mocking smile. "Handle me? Bold words from a half-breed bounty hunter."

Trinity slips past me, pausing just long enough to squeeze my arm. Her touch burns through me, fueling the rage already threatening to consume me entirely.

"Vael," she whispers, "kill him."

She doesn't need to ask twice.

The moment she's clear of the kitchen, I lunge. Drez'kor is ready, meeting me halfway. We crash together like thunder, demon strength against demon strength. He's a captain, trained in combat, but I'm a hunter with centuries of tracking and killing the most dangerous prey across three worlds.

His fist connects with my jaw. I taste blood but feel no pain, only cold purpose. I drive my knee into his stomach, following with an elbow to his face when he doubles over. His nose shatters with a satisfying crunch.

He recovers faster than I expect, drawing a hidden blade from his boot. The steel flashes as he slashes, opening a line of fire across my chest.

"I'll kill you," he snarls, "and then I'll take your human and your abominations."

Something in me snaps at his words. The cold rage turns white-hot, burning away all restraint. I grab his wrist mid-slash, twisting until bones crack. The knife clatters to the floor, and I kick it away.

Trinity appears in the doorway, both twins clutched to her chest. "Vael!"

The momentary distraction costs me. Drez'kor drives his head forward, horns first, catching me in the shoulder. Pain explodes through me, but it only feeds the rage.

He uses the moment to break free, shoving me back and bolting for the door. He's fast—but I'm faster, caught in the grip of something primal and unstoppable.

"Go," Trinity shouts after me as the captain flees. "I'm okay. Go get him!"

I hesitate for just a heartbeat, torn between staying to protect them and hunting down the threat. Trinity's eyes meet mine, fierce despite the bruises blooming on her throat.

"End this," she says. "Make sure he never comes back."

I'm moving before she finishes speaking, bursting through the door in pursuit. Drez'kor has already mounted a trizon—not as fast as my zarryn, but the creature's vicious nature makes it dangerous.

The chase begins.

He heads for the dense forest, clearly hoping to lose me among the trees. A mistake. The forest is my domain, has been since childhood. I follow not just his tracks but his scent, his fear a tangible marker in the air.

I catch glimpses of him between trees, his crimson cape snapping behind him. The trizon snarls as it runs, sensing its master's desperation.

When I'm close enough, I launch myself from the zarryn's back, tackling him from his mount. We crash through underbrush, rolling down a small embankment until we hit the rocky shore of a stream.

He fights like a cornered animal, all technique abandoned for desperate brutality.

His horns catch me again, gouging deep into my thigh.

I barely feel it, lost in the singular purpose of destroying the demon who threatened my family.

My hands close around his throat, mirroring what he did to Trinity. His silver eyes bulge as I squeeze.

"You don't understand," he gasps, clawing at my arms. "The half-breeds—dangerous?—"

I lean closer, watching terror bloom in his eyes. "Those 'half-breeds' are my daughters."

His struggles intensify. He manages to free one hand enough to reach a second hidden blade, this one strapped to his forearm. The metal pierces my side, sliding between ribs with practiced precision.

Pain explodes through me, but instead of weakening my grip, it only sharpens my focus. I slam his head against the rocky ground once, twice, until blood darkens the water around us.

"For touching her," I growl, bringing my fist down on his face. Bones crunch beneath my knuckles. "For threatening my children." Another blow, harder. His struggles weaken. "For entering my home."

The captain's silver eyes dim as I wrap my hands around his throat again, squeezing with every ounce of strength I possess. His legs kick feebly beneath me, hands fluttering uselessly at my wrists.

"No one," I tell him, watching the light fade from his eyes, "touches what's mine."

The moment his body goes limp, I know it's not enough. With methodical precision, I draw the knife he used from my side. His eyes flutter open one last time, realization dawning a moment before I drive the blade through his throat, severing his spine.

The sound of steel grinding against bone is the last thing he hears.

I remain kneeling in the bloodied water, chest heaving, watching to make sure he doesn't move again. Only when I'm certain he's dead do I rise, gathering his body. Evidence cannot remain—not of a captain's death.

His blood mingles with mine as I haul him deeper into the forest, to a place where scavengers will ensure nothing recognizable remains. Only when the body is hidden do I allow myself to acknowledge my wounds, the torn flesh and flowing blood.

None of it matters. Only one thought drives me now: getting back to Trinity and our daughters.

The threat has ended. The captain will never touch my family again.

I've never been more satisfied to have failed at a bounty before.

The ride back is a blur. All I can think about is my family. I stumble through the door of my home, a strange heaviness settling in my bones that has nothing to do with blood loss.

The captain's body is hidden deep in the forest, but his attempt to take what's mine remains fresh in my mind. My wounds scream with every movement—the gouge in my thigh, the puncture between my ribs, the cuts and bruises of combat—yet they're distant, secondary concerns.

The house is quiet now. Too quiet after the chaos I left behind.

"Trinity?" My voice emerges as a rasp, echoing through the hallway.

No answer comes, and for a moment, panic claws at my throat. What if there were others? What if while I was dealing with the captain, someone else?—

Then I hear it. A soft humming from the nursery, a melody I've heard Trinity sing to the twins when she thinks no one is listening. My feet carry me there before I can think, every step leaving crimson prints on the floor.

I pause at the doorway, struck immobile by the sight before me.

Trinity sits in the rocking chair, both twins cradled against her chest. Her throat bears angry purple bruises in the shape of fingertips. A cut above her eyebrow has bled down the side of her face. She looks exhausted, battle-worn—and yet somehow more beautiful than I've ever seen her.

The twins are fussing, tiny faces red and scrunched from crying, little fists waving in distress. Trinity whispers to them, her voice hoarse from being choked but gentle as she tries to soothe them.

"It's okay now. We're safe. Your father made sure of it."

Something in my chest cracks open at her words. A strange pressure builds behind my eyes, and I realize with shock that I'm fighting back tears. Me. A demon bounty hunter who's killed more beings than I can count, suddenly undone by the sight of this human woman calling me "dad" to our children.

Trinity looks up, sensing my presence. Relief floods her face, followed immediately by concern as she takes in my bloodied state.

"Vael," she breathes.

My name on her lips shatters whatever remains of my composure. I cross the room in three strides and drop to my knees before her, uncaring of the pain that shoots through my injured leg. My arms encircle all three of them—Trinity and our daughters—and I press my forehead against Trinity's shoulder.

"He's dead," I manage, voice thick with emotion I've never allowed myself to feel. "He'll never touch you again. Never threaten our family."

Trinity shifts, balancing the twins with one arm to free her other hand. Her fingers thread through my hair, coming away sticky with blood.

"You're hurt."

"Doesn't matter."

"It matters to me." Her voice cracks on the last word.

I lift my head to look at her, really look at her. The green eyes that first captured my attention now swim with unshed tears. Her bottom lip trembles slightly.

"I thought—" She swallows hard. "When he grabbed me, all I could think was that you weren't here, and if he killed me, the girls would be alone."

A growl rumbles deep in my chest. "I should have been here."

"No." Trinity's hand cups my cheek, forcing me to meet her gaze. "He would have ambushed you first if you'd been home. This way, you saved us."

Kaelin hiccups and reaches a small hand toward me. Without thinking, I offer my finger, and she wraps her tiny fist around it. Something powerful and primitive surges through me at the contact.

"I almost lost you," I whisper, the admission torn from somewhere deep and vulnerable I didn't know existed. "All of you."

Trinity's eyes soften. "But you didn't. We're here. We're safe."

Liora begins to fuss more insistently, her little face turning toward Trinity's chest. Hunger, most likely. The practicality of the moment—these tiny beings need feeding, need protection, need everything—centers me in a strange way.

"Let me clean up and help you with them." I start to rise, wincing as my injuries protest.

She just nods, and I stare at them, trying to really remember that my family, the people I love most, my girls, are safe. They are here.

And I can't let any of them go.