Page 105 of Hunted By Fear

She’s not only mine, but Talian’s as well.

And those are just the bonds I have confirmation of. I’m pretty sure there are a few more left still.

I barge into the dungeon, the door slams against the wall, and I feel the tremble that moves through it, shaking the very foundation as I fly down the stairs.

Bringing the whole castle down on the mortal would be bad.I remind myself as I attempt to keep myself in check enough that I don’t cause her more damage.

I feel Kai close by, Bast and Talian moving through the shadows to get to her, but I’m faster.

I also notice the one who’s missing.

The second I see her, I almost wish I hadn’t.

Aerilyn lies on the floor, her arms wrapped around her waist, her knees curled up so high they almost touch her nose. Her bottom lip is caught between her teeth, hard enough I fear she’ll bite through the plush skin at any moment. Tears run down her face, and though she doesn’t make so much as a sound, I can see the pain as it radiates through her.

I can only think of one thing that could do this to her, but in all my years, I’ve neverseenit.

I reach out to Asta, and even before I reach his mind, I know.

He might be able to hide it better, but his pain coats the air the same as hers, just as potent and sad.

Fucker!

I want to beat him bloody and let him heal just to do it again. I want to send his soul to the abyss or make him man the fields of sorrows. But none of it is good enough, or bad enough, I guess, in this situation.

I lose control. One moment I’m on the dungeon stairs, the next I’m in front of Asta. I’m on him in an instant, and I’m not sure if it’s better that he doesn’t fight back or worse. My fist collides with his cheek, and the crunch of bone should be satisfying, butit’s not. We heal fast, and while that might have stung, it wasn’t even close to what he deserves after what he just did.

“Luce…” I pull him back with me, unwilling to release him but desperate to get back to her. I find Talian, Bast, Ruin, and Kai standing just feet away, their eyes fixed on Aeri. I don’t even know who said my name, but it doesn’t matter, not right now.

I can’t stomach seeing her like that, but I don’t need to look; the image will be burned into my mind for the rest of my days.

“There’s nothing we can do but try and make her comfortable.” My voice doesn’t even sound like my own; instead, it sounds sad… defeated, something I’ve never been, not even after I was cast out of Heaven.

But that was different.

There was a solution, a way to make things better, our own.

This isn’t anything like that; this cannot be fixed, ever.

She will carry this pain with her until she dies.

The thought makes me spiral all over again, my knuckles finding Asta’s face. Once isn’t enough. I pull back and swing over and over until the metallic scent of blood fills the air.

Something pulls at my arm, and I pause to look back. I’m not surprised when I find Ruin.

Bast is gathering Aeri up in his arms, and I catch a glimpse of blood as it runs from her lip down her chin, yet she doesn’t stop, doesn’t release her hold on her lip.

“Stop, this isn’t helping her. We need to…” he trails off, looking back at her with so much fear in his eyes that I make myself stop, if only for a moment, to explain this all to him.

Aeri wouldn’t want me to leave them in the dark, and she’s in no condition to fill them in.

“Nothing is going to help her,” I bite out, wrenching my arm from his grip with a huff. “It’s said to be the worst pain any being can endure, whether it be in Hell or otherwise, and there’s no cure. It will fade, and she will learn to live with it.” I glare at Asta,and he manages to hold my gaze but just barely. I see the flicker of pain in his eyes that he can’t hide. “They both will.”

“What?” Ruin asks, looking between the two of us.

“The pain of what exactly?” Talian asks, his voice harder than Ruin’s, and I have a feeling he’s figured it out and is only asking me to confirm.

I look at each of them before sucking it up to look at the tiny mortal who changed my whole world just by existing, and know that, despite the way I want to punish Asta, she wouldn’t want that. I can’t let the others get out of hand either.