Page 106 of Galen

“I’ve heard that before.”

Asa sighed and stood from the chair, his strength having returned a little. “I didn’t bring you here to talk about myself.”

“Then whydidyou bring us here?” Castor asked.

When Asa smiled, nerves tangled in my belly. There was nothing kind about it. “For the celebration, of course. Demons await to welcome their new king. One of you will be the entertainment for the event, and the other will be a dish for the main feast. I’ll let you guess which is which.”

“You’re going toeatme?” I exclaimed in horror, damn well knowing which one he intended for me.

“Human flesh is a delicacy,” Asa answered, his voice ringing with amusement.

“But I’m like your distantly related nephew or something,” I said, grasping at straws. It was true though.

“Then I suppose you’ll be even more of a delicacy.” He shrugged, then flicked his hand, as if bored. “Take them away. The human needs to go to the kitchens to be prepared. The Nephilim goes back to his cell.”

Prepared? As in skinned and cooked? Roasted over a fire and then placed in the center of the feast table with an apple in my mouth?Oh god.

A hand clamped around my bicep, and I jerked out of the hold. The demon growled and hit me in the back of my head so hard that I fell to the floor, my vision going wonky for a second.

“Keep your hands off him!” Castor roared, charging toward the demon before the chains around him caught and held him in place.

“There’s your fighting spirit,” Asa told him. “You’ll need it for the pit. Demons will be chomping at the bit to get a piece of you.”

“Cas!” I yelled as two demons yanked me to my feet and dragged me from the room. My heart pounded so hard and fast it was a miracle it didn’t shoot out of my chest. Tears filled my eyes as fear gripped tightly around my throat. I was going to puke again.

“Goddammit, let me go!” Castor said, his yells growing distant the farther I was taken down the hall. “Don’t hurt him! Please!”

“Hear how he begs for you,” the demon to my left said with a deep chuckle. “Pathetic. He should be begging mercy for himself.”

“What’s the pit?” I asked, mainly to distract myself from the fact that I’d be some demon’s dinner before the night was over.

“Exactly what the name implies,” the other one holding me answered. “It’s a fighting pit. A fight to the death gladiator style.”

“If he wins, will he be set free?”

“Humans are such silly creatures.” His violet eyes flickered down to me as he smiled, flashing pointed teeth. “If the abomination wins the first fight, he’ll face someone else. Then another. No breaks in between. By fight three, four if he’s lucky, he’ll be too exhausted and his movements will get sloppy. His severed head will decorate the king’s hall by the end of the celebration.”

That did it.

I lunged forward and dry heaved, tears streaming down my cheeks.

The demons laughed and jerked me with them as they continued walking. I stumbled behind them and tried to think of an escape plan. But I’d always been horrible at strategy games. I could try hitting them and running off, but the chain around my ankle would prevent me from going far. They were obviously a lot stronger—and bigger—than me. Screaming wouldn’t do anything.

I tried to fight them anyway.

I slammed my fist into the back of one of their necks before dashing toward the right. The chain jerked back, sweeping my leg out from under me. I hit the hard floor, the breath rushing from my lungs. I gasped for air and looked up at the two—now very pissed off—demons.

“You’ll pay for that,” the demon I hit said, rubbing at his nape. “I’ll make sure you’re still alive when they flay the flesh from your bones.”

Castor yelled again from down the corridor, but he was too far for me to hear what he said.

The demons yanked me back to my feet and shoved me through an arched doorway and down a set of stone steps.

Dead man walkingwent through my head, like I was leaving my cell and heading toward the electric chair. As panic began to rise in my chest, I took a deep breath and focused on an image of Galen in my mind.

Light gray eyes crinkled around the edges as he smiled at me. If I focused hard enough, I could even smell his sandalwood scent. That’s what I would hold on to.

Until the very end.