Page 52 of Fated In Forever (Nocturne Vampire Clan #4)

BLAKE

“ A nd whatever you do, don't drink from or touch the River of Sorrows,” Sabine was saying, her combat boots propped up on the war room table as she gestured dramatically with a silver dagger that looked suspiciously like one of mine, and sure enough, when I checked my weapons belt, one was missing.

“The water is spelled to make you forget your mortal lives, the currents are strong enough to drag you under, and trust me, drowning is not the way you want to go. One hundred percent, do not recommend.”

Riordan leaned forward, “We should have been on our way ten minutes ago. Stop fucking around…”

“You don’t like my methods, get your own selves there, darling,” she teased, but her eyes had gone flinty hard, and I gripped the back of Riordan’s coat and pulled him back.

“My mate is dying,” I told her evenly, even while I wanted to throttle her. “And we are wasting time.”

“Oh, time is only a?—”

“Do not say time is a construct or I swear to God, I will…”

“What about weapons?” Riordan asked through clenched teeth. “You said no steel, but what about iron? Silver? Copper?”

“Only cold iron lasts in that place, silver turns to ash, and you don’t even want to know what happens to copper,” Sabine replied cheerfully. “Your best bet is to run very, very fast and hope…”

The castle shuddered.

Even the air shifted, charged with electricity, like a storm was coming. But this was no storm. This was something else, a deep rumbling that shook the very foundations of Laith Castle itself. The glasses of water on the table rippled, and dust rained down from the ancient stone ceiling.

“Ravok?” Riordan asked as Nikolai jumped to his feet.

“That's not possible.” Nikolai went still, brow pinched together. “The wards should have?—”

Another rumble, closer this time, followed by what sounded like thunder rolling through the corridor outside. The air in the room darkened, growing thick and oppressive, carrying a scent that made my nose burn.

Sulfur.

“Ravok,” Riordan breathed, his face going pale as his eyes flew to the ceiling, to where Evangeline lay, unconscious, unprotected. “Fuck. He's here.”

“It’s about time, I honestly thought he’d never get here.” A delighted Sabine pulled her boots off the table. “Just when I thought I’d die of boredom, things are finally about to get exciting.”

We rushed from the war room, but when we reached the main corridor, I realized this wasn't Ravok at all.

The creature moving down the hallway toward us was massive—nine, maybe ten feet of pure nightmare made flesh.

Shadows dripped from his form like liquid darkness, pooling on the stone floor and writhing with a life of their own.

Every inch of his body was splashed with fresh blood.

Curved horns jutted from its skull, and amber eyes burned with an inner fire .

Malachi had returned.

But not the Malachi I remembered, or even the one from Evie's descriptions. This creature was older, more primal—Orcus, a demon lord in his true form, magnificent and terrifying in equal measure.

Knightsguard swarmed him like locusts, their weapons drawn, but they might as well have been children throwing pebbles at a lion.

Bullets bounced off his hide without leaving so much as a scratch.

Someone had managed to drive a sword between his shoulder blades, but he didn't seem to notice the hilt, still sticking out of his back.

“Holy fucking shit,” I whispered.

“Malachi!” Nikolai stepped forward as Sabine hissed, what are you doing, brother ?

“Stop, you have no enemies here.” He stepped out, his hands raised.

The demon's head turned toward us, and for a moment I thought he might acknowledge our presence. But his gaze swept over us like we were invisible—or inconsequential—focusing instead on something only he could sense. The phantom pull of a dying bond, perhaps, because he lifted his head and sniffed.

Then turned toward the grand staircase, moving with surprising grace despite his size. The first step cracked under his weight. The second one crumbled entirely.

“Malachi, wait!” Riordan shouted, running after him. “Evie is dying. The bond…it's killing her.”

If Malachi heard him, he gave no sign. He took the stairs three at a time, each heavy footfall sending hairline fractures through the ancient stone. Behind him, the shadows that bled from his form left scorch marks along the walls, and the reek of brimstone grew so strong, my eyes watered.

“What happens if he gets close to her?” I asked, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew my query was pointless. None of us knew what would happen next, and nothing was going to stop that creature from reaching his destination.

Not us, not the guards, not every bullet, sword and knife.

Sabine appeared at my elbow, her dark eyes wide with something that might have been admiration.

“Well,” she clapped her hands together, watching Malachi disappear around the curve of the staircase, leaving broken stone and shadows in his wake, “that’s something you don’t see every day.

When you said he had horns, I didn’t expect those . ”

The rumbling continued overhead, cracks spiderwebbed across the ceiling and I raced for the steps. There was no way I wanted him alone with Evie.

Riordan's jaw was tight as we took the steps two at a time, his hands clenched into fists at his sides. “He has to heal her,” he muttered beneath his breath. “Because if he can’t…”

Don’t say it . I thought. I don’t know what happens next, but you and I are damn well going to be in that room with him when it does.

Above us, the sounds of cracking stone and wood continued, growing louder as we gained on Malachi, cresting the stairs in time to see him duck through her doorway, following whatever thread connected him to the female he'd crossed realms to save.