Page 6

6

Dagny

As soon as the bond with Fenryr snaps into place, I cease to be.

Well, at least that’s what it feels like as I float aimlessly in the endless void of my subconscious. It’s a lot brighter here than I expected, and every few seconds, my senses are consumed by a brilliant explosion of color, a kaleidoscope of hues that dance and converge and burrow into the deepest parts of my psyche.

Every time I try to move, the invisible hands holding me in place turn to stone, keeping my body curled in the fetal position, blocking out all sound save for the irritating rumble of someone’s voice.

Voice… that voice… it sounds familiar…

I blink rapidly, attempting to clear the fog of confusion coating my mind. Where am I? What happened to Malice? To Fenryr?

Slowly, the bleak nothingness fades away to the sight of four stone walls shimmering with a beautiful onyx hue. It’s like I can see the magic living in them, breathing life into the stone and lacing the atoms with a strange, humming power.

I blink, and it’s gone, replaced with the sight of frozen, lifeless gray stone. That voice I heard earlier breaks through the violent ringing in my ears, and though I don’t want it, my attention is drawn to the intruder. Slaine.

“How could you let this happen?” he demands, his face purpling as his rage rolls off him in waves, infecting the air. “You assured me Fenryr’s familiar had no way to break through the wards you placed!”

Slaine’s words strike me as odd. According to Malice, there is no way to ward against a soul born of the human realm—which Fenryr’s familiar is.

It seems I’m not the only one he’s been lying to…

“He must have found a way through,” Malice says, twisting his face into one of mock astonishment. “I could never have seen this happening…”

As he says the last part, his eyes find mine across the room, and heat sizzles in my veins. “Not in my wildest dreams…”

I know he's not talking about Fenryr’s familiar. He’s talking about me. About whatever happened when I blacked out.

Malice turns back to Slaine, his expression the picture of confusion. “I came in to check on the human, and Echo had already bonded with her. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry! Just fucking fix it!” he snaps, his milky eyes lighting with rage.

“There is no way to fix it. It’s done.”

“Then I’ll just kill her,” he snarls, taking a step toward me. Before he takes another, Slaine’s muscles freeze, held mid-step by an explosion of Malice’s power—one that’s palpable in the air.

“I noticed you failed to bring a guard with you. What a silly thing to do.”

“Release me at once, Gylden filth, ” he snarls, attempting to break free of Malice’s vise grip. “I said release me!”

“We had a deal,” Malice whispers, his pupil blowing, consuming the red of his iris in a single blink. “You don’t touch her. You don’t think about touching her.”

The invisible vise tightens around Slaine’s neck, turning the skin of his face purple, then blue as he struggles for breath.

“Say it,” Malice whispers, his words slinking through the air with an ominous warning. “Say it, and I’ll let you go.”

Slaine reached to his neck, clawing at the air in desperation. “Fine,” he chokes, expelling the last of the breath in his lungs. “Fine. I won't… touch her…”

“ Much better. ”

The dark energy is sapped from the room as Slaine falls to the floor in a limp heap, clutching his throat as he takes deep, ragged breaths. When he raises his head, there’s enough fire in his eyes to melt The Far Place, and his tone is just as heated. “Take Fenryr to Kaebl’s cell. If we can’t fix this… the best thing to do is separate them.”

“I hoped you’d see it that way,” Malice murmurs, staring down his nose with disgust at the heaving demon lord. “I’ll take him now. As long as you stick to your word.”

Slaine waves him off, still trying to return to normalcy as Malice steps over to Fenryr, keeping his one good eye on me as he unlocks the chains holding him to the wall. A light clanking breaks the silence, punctuated by the occasional whimper as Malice drags Fenryr from the cell.

Just before they step past the threshold, Fenryr’s arm snaps out, and he grips the frame with a powerful clawed hand, unwilling to let Malice take him from me.

“ Dagny! Please, I have to be with her ! ” His voice is heavily distorted due to his muzzle, but the shot of pain that travels down the bond is clearer than anything he could say. So much yearning. A war between urgency and bleak desperation.

It doesn’t matter. The next moment, Malice slams the dungeon door closed, leaving me alone with Slaine. By now, he’s returned to normal, and while I was busy staring after Fenryr, it appears he’s risen to a stand.

As soon as Slaine hears the click of the door, he stalks toward me, stopping a few feet from my slumped frame. His eyes travel over my body, stopping at a few key areas that have a disgusted shiver running down my spine. I hate the way he’s staring, licking his lips like I’m some kind of rare meat. I want him to stop.

“If you don’t stop looking at me like that, I’ll pluck your eyes from your skull.”

Slaine tips his head back with a hearty chuckle. “Oh, I’m sure you’d love to do just that.” He lowers his face, his malicious smile showcasing each one of his pointed white teeth. “But I am out of your reach, and looking is the only pleasure I’m allowed—so I think I’ll do as I fucking please.” His grin turns sour as he lets out a breath through his nose. “I know what Malice would do if I did more than look… but it is so very tempting,” he murmurs, licking his lips. “I see why they kept you around for so long. Pretty things are so hard to come by in this place. It’s nice to look upon true beauty for once in my life.”

My organs recoil as Slaine leans closer, taking a deep breath of my scent, and the beast beneath my skin rises with a snarl, warning him to back off.

Instead of moving back, Slaine inches closer, a sheen of awe coating his milky white eyes as he inspects the silver ring around my iris. “Who are you?”

His smile widens when I don’t respond. “I guess that’s the wrong question. A better one would be— what are you?”

“Why ask me?” I shrug. “I’m only going to lie.”

Slaine’s mouth pops in a full-bellied laugh, the corners of his eyes crinkling as an unusually wheezy sound enters the room. “I was wondering what type of creature could cause six of the greatest demons in The Far Place to lose their heads. I’m glad I have my answer now, little creature.”

He reaches up, cupping the side of my face in a palm, and his skin is so cold, it freezes the words in my throat. “I’m glad we’ve had this talk. Until later, Dagny Olavera.”

With that, Slaine tears his hand from my face and stalks out of my cell, slamming the door closed with enough force to shake the walls. Leaving me with one thought, and one alone.

We’re so fucked.