Page 23 of Demonic Division (The Sundering Duet #1)

23

Dagny

As soon as I touch the stag, a bolt of lightning strikes my heart. Roark falls to his knees as Comet rears back, and a single bleat punctuates the air. It lunges forward, stabbing the tip of its antler into the flesh of my lower thigh.

I scream as red-hot pain flares to life, and I fall backward to the ground. A dark purple rune glows beneath the white of my bodysuit, just as it does Roark’s. He throws his head back, bellowing a roar as the bond snaps into place, sealing our souls. Lir and Cyprien mirror him, howling into the abyss as their features fracture and transform, turning them into the terrifying beasts that lurk beneath the polished exterior.

There's a violent tugging in my chest, and I raise my head to see Roark crawling across the ground toward me. His claws extend, digging into the ice with each powerful movement, his muscles shuddering with the effort to control the beast within.

Before he can touch me—before he even gets halfway to me—a great black blur falls from the sky. It slams into Roark’s side, knocking him off balance and sending him flying. He slams to the ground with a sickening crack, one which echoes in my own chest. He lies there, gasping for air, whining my name in a heart-wrenching plea.

I’m so out of my mind, I don’t realize that dark blur is Kaebl. I don’t notice the expression on his face nor the rage that shakes the very air surrounding him. Not until he speaks for the very first time.

Tell me this is not what I fucking think it is.

The voice that pierces my mind is unnaturally deep, the words ending in a growl that sends a pleasurable shudder down my spine. And for all the anger it contains, I want to hear more of it.

I watch through wide eyes as Kaebl stalks toward Lir and Cyprien, flinging them away in a similar manner as Roark. His eyes flash a deep bloodred color as he whips toward me, his serpent curling around his shoulders and snapping at the air in front of my face.

Seeing this, the stag steps between us, raising its antlered head high in defiance. A high-pitched bleat pierces the air, dragging everyone’s attention to the deer. Its skin seems to bubble and shift, stretching and spilling out at odd angles as the animal transforms. Bones snap and meld into place, and the air is filled with a horrible squelching as the muscles swell and burst. Rotting flesh and sinew drip from a face once coated in baby fuzz, exposing the yellowing bone beneath. Blunted teeth are pointed and jagged, though absent in places and allowing the tongue to droop out the side of its mouth.

The creature paws the ground, blowing a puff of vapor into the air with a warning snort as Kaebl steps closer.

Cease your complaining and step away, spirit. The human does not belong to you.

I jerk at the intrusion of the impossibly deep voice in my mind. My pulse races as I look around the circle, trying to discern where it came from.

As if it heard the voice too, the Comet huffs, lowering its head with a threatening grunt. There’s a loud whooshing in my ears as my eyes find Kaebl’s, and I’m shocked to find real fear in his gaze.

No. This is not natural, that voice whispers again. She is a human. You must release her at once ? —

The voice is cut short by the Comet’s thundering bellow. Sighing, Kaebl turns his attention to Roark, his jaw ticking. Call him off.

“I can’t,” Roark coughs. “ He doesn’t want to leave her side. He thinks you’re going to hurt her. And the bond is so new ? —”

The bond. Let’s talk about the bond. A flash of red replaces the gold in Kaebl’s eyes, and I realize where the voice is coming from. His teeth sharpen to points, puncturing his bottom lip, but no blood flows. Now I not only have Cyprien’s tether to break, but yours as well? How the fuck did you allow this to happen?

Cyprien raises his hand, calling Kaebl’s attention to him. “You also have to break Lir’s.”

WHAT? Kaebl turns bloodred eyes onto Lir, his chest heaving with the effort to keep his transformation at bay. Tell me he’s lying, Lir.

Lir makes a choked noise. “I… I didn’t?—”

Kaebl narrows his eyes. I knew I felt something down the bond earlier, but I… I didn’t want to believe it…

“I couldn’t help it. Honey got into her room and?—”

A ferocious roar echoes in my mind, cutting off Lir’s explanation, and I clap my hands over my ears to try to ease some of the discomfort. My motion causes the demons’ attention to shift to me, and Kaebl scours my face, eyes flashing with confusion.

You can hear me?

I meet Kaebl’s gaze, shock coursing through me in violent jolts. “Maybe.”

“Oh shit,” Cyprien murmurs, rubbing a hand across his jaw. “Does that mean?—”

The bond has strengthened, Kaebl says, his voice like whips of lightning in my mind. This has the potential to ruin everything.

With a snarl, Kaebl rears his arm back, sending a clawed hand in a swooping arc toward the stag. Instead of making an impact, Comet dissipates into a cloud of dark smoke. It rematerializes a few feet away, raising its snout to release one last pained bleat before running off.

Without the barrier, Kaebl reaches toward me, his expression like thunder. He wraps a clawed hand around my arm and wrenches me to my feet, paying no attention to my whimpers of pain as he hauls me across the ice.

Footsteps follow, and I look over my shoulder to see Lir, Cyprien, and Roark following like lost puppies, low-toned whines punctuating the air in different pitches.

Kaebl whips his head, releasing a furious snarl into all of our minds. Get the fuck back to your rooms. I’ll deal with you all later. He looks down at me, his mouth set in a thin line of hatred. I need to take care of this thing first.

Kaebl pulls me into the castle and up the stairs toward my room, the vein in the side of his neck throbbing violently. As soon as we step into my room, he shoves me forward toward my bed of furs, causing me to stumble and fall to the ground. My knees collide with the frozen stone, and a bolt of pain travels up my legs.

Before I have the chance to give him hell for it, his voice breaks into my mind, thrumming with twice the anger in his eyes. I should have left you in the fucking dungeons to rot. You’ve been nothing but a problem since you showed up at my door.

Tears prick my eyes, but I force them down, turning to Kaebl with a glare worthy of the hatred running through my veins.

“You’re a fucking monster,” I snarl. “I didn’t ask for any of this!”

He snorts, his mouth twisting into a cruel smirk. If you had seen what I have, little one, you would be, too.

He turns on his heel, slamming the door behind him and locking the bolt into place.

With a sigh, I crawl into my furs, pulling the blanket high up over my head to block out the world. The Welwig sap is still running through my veins, dulling my senses, so it eases some of the sting from Kaebl’s comments.

Perhaps he should have left me down there. At least there, the temptation wouldn’t be such a problem. Fighting against what I want wouldn’t be so impossible.

My breathing evens out, and I fade in and out of consciousness as the minutes fade to hours. I’m plagued with visions of a kingdom covered in ice and blood. I dream of betrayal. Of war and love. Of a demon king split by a thin glowing wire, and the pieces born of his demise.

But when I wake, sweat-slicked and screaming, I do not realize what they mean.

A part of me hopes I never do.