Page 50 of The Demon’s Collar (The Bard’s Demon #1)

B?k: The Siphon

I n the years to come, the songs would call Lord Austvix clever. Say he’d played it all perfectly. That he knew exactly what to do.

The songs would lie.

In that moment, Lord Austvix’s death and the deaths of everyone I knew on this mortal plane hung in the balance. Half one way, half the other. Not a soul could have told the outcome.

Brü was right to take Ero away. It made holding the wall of flame harder—but once a fire caught, it liked to burn. Nature was on my side, even if the heavens weren’t.

The Huntress’s forces rushed the line screaming battle cries. They tried to break through the flames with shields and magic. A few fire adepts even made it—albeit alone. But my flames worked as intended, funneling most of the bodies toward the gate. And the rest? I eviscerated .

I listened to the Fates. Waiting. It was all I could do. I couldn’t be in two places at once. I couldn’t go to Austvix and help him defend the camp, or the Huntress’s forces would come from all sides and overwhelm us.

The fighting raged in earnest nearby. Metal clanged on metal. The cadence of archer volleys and the beat of marching drums gratified the void I had where a soul belonged.

My flames burned brighter as I drank it all in. Mortal folly. That’s all it was. Ending each other’s fragile lives in the name and service of immortal demigods. Those sickly sweet notes of hubris all around strengthened my power almost as effectively as the maddening bardsong had.

It was all going so well.

And then the siphon arrived.

His energy signature cut through the fighters, moving alone with concentrated focus. Toward…Ero.

I faltered. His desires, his intentions? Crystal clear. He wanted to find her and drain her. He’d already had a taste—and now he had her scent like a hound in the hunt. This was his test. His proof to the Huntress that he was worthy of her.

She’s not my problem, I reminded myself.

The words rang comically hollow. She was, in fact, my main problem. A spray of blinding color in an otherwise dull existence, taunting me with want for something I didn’t deserve and couldn’t keep. She was the biggest thorn in my side, and the only thing in this world worth having.

Letting her retreat to the gate without so much as a shared look had, perhaps, been my cruelest move yet. Because I knew she still wanted me. It followed her as readily as that unknowable tangle of rainbow light.

But unlike the siphon, I held no delusions about how my obsession with a demigod would end.

Her interest? Her desires? Those would fade as her power grew.

When she opened her eyes and saw me for what I was, I would be in a whole new world of trouble.

I’d already made nemeses of the devils. The last thing I needed was the ire of a fledgling goddess.

The siphon stopped abruptly.

He’d spotted her.

His elation rose like a beacon, undulating with satisfaction as he turned, cutting a path directly toward her.

Foggy images hung in the air—the Fates’ nonsensical whispers taking form. Ero could fight or flee—but she wouldn’t. Not with something to prove. Not with her foolish desire to please her brother blinding her to her own doom. He would drain her, take her to the Huntress, and?—

Fuck.

I released my hold on the flames.

The moat still burned, but the structure creaked with the promise of inevitable collapse. I wouldn’t have long. If the wall fell—if I let it —the first Fated casualty would be on my head. And then I would be no good to anyone.

I cut through the night, hunting the hunter. Half a dozen plans formed and died. Madness clawed at me. I’d abandoned my post. The contract was swift. I had to get to him before it got to me.

I poured myself into human form directly in his path. He reared to a stop—confused.

“Do you think the Huntress is really going to be yours?” I taunted. “You know she doesn’t put her real lovers on the front line.”

The siphon’s confusion morphed into a smug grin as recognition dawned. He knew what I was doing. Playing on his emotions. Trying to distract him.

Fine by me. It would still work .

“She wants to keep them safe,” I pressed. “The one with the pretty red hair? The one who can melt stone?”

His expression didn’t falter, but I didn’t need visual confirmation to taste his doubt.

I wasn’t bluffing, and he knew it—because I’d seen the Huntress’s other lovers.

The night I’d drunk the stars, I’d lived in her head.

She didn’t give two fucks about him. Or, if she did, she had a lot of additional fucks to give for others. And he wanted them all.

“She sent you after her weakest sibling.” I grinned. “Because you’re not strong enough to take Austvix—and she doesn’t want to get her hands dirty.”

The siphon shook his head, laughing as he tried to move around me—determined to tune me out. I stepped into his path again. I met his steely frown with a lazy smile, nonchalant as I landed my killing blow.

“Drain me, and you’ll be able to take Austvix instead,” I said.

The siphon froze. “And what’s in it for you?”

“Freedom.” I shrugged.

Now, I was bluffing. But slowly, his desires morphed. I had him. Ero’s scent faded from his mind’s eye, and a thicket of thorny greed took its place.

“I can’t act against him,” I said. Truth. “But you can use my hellfire to bring him down.” Partial truth. It might work—if the elemental didn’t seize the opportunity I was about to present to her on a silver platter.

A beat. The siphon’s conflict raged. He wanted Austvix—wanted to surprise his lover with a bigger get than she thought possible. Logic told him to move on, but the poor fucking sap couldn’t listen.

He lumbered toward me.

I pulled at the Fates. Show me. Would Aelith understand what I was doing—flooding his system with flame to make him her perfect prey? Was she even powerful enough to do what I needed her to do?

Because if not, they were all going to die tonight. And by morning, I would belong to Contessa Urgway.

And my kitten would be lost forever.