Demon Slave (Shadow Quest Book 2) (38 page)

“
Oh, Anya.” Sonya grumbled, strapping herself in.

The look of worry on her face was more alarming to Nadua than Sebastian’s threat. Not really sure what was going on, Nadua followed her lead.

“
Oh Anya what?” Sebastian sounded panicked.

“
Bastian?” Anya asked sweetly.

“
Yeah?”

“
I love you,” she said in that way couples do when they are about to get into trouble with the other.

Sebastian’s resulting sigh was long. Then he let out a defeated, “I love you too.”

What happened next had Nadua’s mind reeling. Analia pierced her skin with the wire, and the ship went supersonic.

Nadua’s back pressed into the soft chair. The stars in the distance began flying toward the cabin window.

The jaunt was short, thankfully, and Undewla appeared in their view. Analia seemed to know exactly where she was going. At least, she wasn’t asking Nadua for her input.

The ship dived into a deep valley, surrounded by the familiar muted bare trees of the ancient forests. They were soon following the line of mountains that housed the Caves of Kayata where Nadua had made so many memories with Marik. When the Cliffs of Ashtel came and went, and the city of Sori grew closer, Nadua sucked in a horror-filled breath.

Were they too late?

It was like déjà vu of the previous battle, only now, Nadua was watching it from a different angle.

She spotted Wren, engaged with three hostile opponents.

“
Take us down!” She leaned forward, asking no one in particular, “Where is Ava?”

While Analia lowered the craft, Nadua jumped out of her chair and began arming herself. Bow. Dagger. Sword.

Analia looked drained, and she agreed to stay in the shuttle. “
Marada
will be close behind,” she reassured. “Bastian will be pushing the engines hard now.” She smiled then. “And I’ve been secretly adding juice.”

Sonya looked eager, her hand gripped the hilt of a sword. “Who are we going after?” She scanned through the window.

“
Just follow me. I need to find Ava.” The door flipped open. Nadua didn’t wait for the stairs to fully settle before jumping out and landing on her haunches in the soft snow. Just as in her vision, flakes were falling, far too serenely against the backdrop of tangled bodies.

Sonya landed directly beside her, the corners of her lips turned up to reveal a small set of fangs as the violet in her eyes darkened, mixing into a deep maroon.

Nadua fired off the last two arrows in her quill and then discarded the weapon before the projectiles met their marks. Scanning the field, she searched for a familiar face. Unfortunately, the face that popped out was not the one she expected.

“
Lidian?” She gasped under her breath.

The girl stood on the outskirts, surrounded by soldiers and looked to be in deep concentration.

Nadua’s head snapped to a rising shaft of ice, interrupting a three way fight. The Kaiylemi? The traitor living with Cyrus? It was her! Disguised as an innocent!

Sonya asked in an incredulous tone, “Does ice always sprout up like that on this planet?”

Teeth gnashing together painfully, Nadua replied, “No.” She pointed her sword at Lidian. “It’s her. And we need her taken out. Do you think you can—?”

Sprinting forward, Sonya yelled back, “On it! Don’t get yourself killed, Red!”

Nadua ran her eyes over the battle again. It looked as though every Cyrellian on both sides had come out to play. Even Cyrus was here, fending off a group of rebels with the grace of a dancer. He must have decided to escort Ava back to the palace.

The number of rebels seemed to have tripled, and she was horrified to see some of her own guards were turning on their fellow soldiers. Once again, patches of red mixed with white, smearing at the feet of those still standing. Nadua’s heart broke for the unnecessary loss of life.

She spotted Wren in the crowd and moved through the chaos to reach him. He was never too far from Ava, and the fact that Nadua didn’t see her was terrifying.

Nadua fought to get through, deflecting and dodging weapons, pushing against the rage and noise with every ounce of her strength. A rebel launched at her and nearly knocked her to the ground, but she caught her footing just in time and countered with a swift slash across his chest.

Nadua twisted through a string of spikes that seemed to be following her progress. As soon as she twirled around one, another would burst in her path. She hoped Sonya would make it to the Kaiylemi soon. Chest heaving for breath, Nadua hissed with rage at the shifting ice but managed to keep up her pace.

She yelled for Wren when she was close enough for him to hear. His wide eyes found hers. She’d never seen him look so maddened.

Confusion splashed across his face. The rebel at his front tried to take advantage of the brief distraction and leapt forward, but Wren was too good and his blade swiftly cut him down.

All the breath in Nadua’s lungs escaped her when she saw a small body lying on the ground behind Wren. An arrow was protruding from it.

He was defending Ava. Was she still alive?

Heavy footsteps at her back alerted Nadua to a problem of her own. Someone was chasing her. Wren’s eyes sparkled as he waved her forward with the slightest tilt of his head. Picking up speed, she went to her knees, using her momentum and the packed snow to slide smoothly under Wrens sword—in mid-swing. Whoever had been behind her cried out and landed with a hard thud, coupled with a pissed off gurgling sound.

Without looking back—she knew Wren was taking care of it—Nadua slid all the way to Ava. Her expression was shocked but her eyes were open and she was still breathing.
Thank the gods!
But the arrow was so close to her heart.

Nadua leaned over her. “Ava?”

Ava looked at her and, of all the things to do, she smiled. “You’re here.” She sounded weak.

“
Yeah, I’m here.” Nadua’s tone quivered. “I’m sorry I’m late.”

Ava shook her head. A bead of blood rested at the corner of her mouth. “You’re not late. My last wish was to see you again.” A line of tears drifted down her cheek.

“
Don’t say that.” Nadua cursed, blinking back tears of her own. “You’re not done.”

“
They were waiting for us.” Her voice softer now.

“
I know. Shh.” Nadua felt helpless. Ava couldn’t die.

Please gods, don’t let her die
.

The battlefield went quiet as the ground began trembling. Nadua lifted her head to see
Marada’s
massive body, hovering in the sky.

The ice shafts had gone still as well. Nadua shifted her gaze to see Sonya standing over a bloody pile of bodies, her eyes wild, monstrous. In one hand she gripped the white strands of a severed head, and a sword dangled in the other.

Nadua was impressed.

Heart rate spiking painfully in her chest, Nadua recalled the end of her vision, only now it was her leaning over Ava, not Wren.

It was too late though. Tamir’s arm wrapped around her neck, the cold edge of his sword pressed to the crook of her throat. Wren flipped around, sword high, but she knew there was nothing to be done.

Damn it! Not only did she not save Ava, but she’d gotten herself killed as well. Marik’s beautiful face flashed in her mind. Her last wish? To have told him that she loved him.

As if her thoughts had summoned him, Marik was racing toward them, his eyes ablaze, his fangs lengthening. Marada had landed, and many of its inhabitants had joined the fray. A wall of rebels and some of her own traitorous soldiers put themselves between the enraged demon and their little group, but he was slashing his way through them.

Tamir whispered loathingly in her ear, “Time to clean away the muck.”

“
You will never survive this, Tamir,” she said to buy time. “You see that demon right there? If you hurt me, he is going to make your death very painful.”

“
He’ll never make it this far.” He forced her to look toward Marik. “Look at all the wounds he’s taking. The barbarian isn’t even blocking them.”

Tamir was right. Marik was no longer paying attention to those around him. He was focused on one thing—getting to her—while those around him repeatedly stabbed at him.

“
Fight them!” she screamed. A sob bubbled in her throat.

Tamir hollered in pain. Nadua flinched in surprise, and managed to turn her head. Ava had inched toward them and planted a dagger in his foot. Tamir kicked out, knocking her in the jaw.

The move threw him off balance.

Wren launched his sword like a spear, piercing Tamir’s neck straight through. Before he fell, Nadua reached up to take the hilt, ripping it out with a satisfying tug, then tossed it back to Wren.

Marik was still fighting. Blood stained every inch of his clothing.

Wren took command of Ava, placing pressure on her seeping wound. Nadua raced for Marik, all the way screaming for him to defend himself. His gaze was only for her. She saw the pain and panic behind the fiery depths.

Before she could reach him, a small group of rebels moved to block her. Marik’s threatening roar made them jump and avert their gaze to the enraged demon. Nadua watched, horrified as he ignored his attackers, pushing forward with all her might as they hacked at him.

Her heart was ready to burst through her chest, but her body took over where her mind delved into hysteria. She thrashed her sword at the closest menace. Unsheathing her dagger, she launched it at the second rebel. It landed in his forehead just as the first slid to the ground, releasing her blade from his chest. The third had run off before his companions had hit the snow.

With the arrival of the large ship and their Kaiylemi down, the smartest of the rebels had started to scatter.

Marik finally broke through the thinning line of men, and Nadua caught him just when his knees gave out. His wounds were bad, deeper than she had imagined.

At some point, her hood had fallen away, but Nadua could hardly bring herself to care about the wind whipping her cheeks. Not when his eyes were hollow, lost.

“
Baby, look at me.” She splayed her hands on his jaw, directing his line of sight. “Love! Look at me.”

He did then, his vision coming into focus. Marik threaded his fingers through her hair and crushed her against his chest. His heart was pounding fast and strong. At last, she lost control. Tears started flowing and she dug her nails into his back. He was going to be okay.

“
Marik, we have to help Ava. She’s hurt.”

Reluctantly, he let her go and helped her to her feet.

Most who remained on the field were their allies, crowding around to get a hopeful peek at their fallen queen, sorrow etched in every movement.

Wren was comforting Ava, wiping her cheeks clean of blood and tears. His eyes were rimmed in red and she was coughing blood. Nadua knelt beside them and took her hand, unsure what to do.

In the distance, Sonya cursed in another language. Then she let out a grating, “I’ll be fine. Leave me alone!”

Nadua turned to see Sonya approaching, Ethan by her side, trying to get a look at a deep slash across her torso.

“
Ethan!” Nadua yelled. She’d nearly forgotten about his powers. “Ethan, come here, I need your help!”

Ethan rushed forward. “Are you hurt, Princess?”

“
No, Ava is. Please help her.”

Ethan joined them on the ground. “I’ll need someone to pull out the arrow.”

Sonya moved. “Got it.” Without warning, she reached down and gave it a hard yank.

Ava screamed, clutching her chest.

Nadua tackled Wren to keep him from launching his big frame at Sonya.

“
What are you doing?” he screamed at them.

Ethan placed his hands over the wound.

Light sparked under his palms, growing brighter with every breath. Around them, the drifting flakes of snow paused in midair, slowly melting and forming into droplets of water. As Nadua lifted herself off Wren, the droplets collided against her, clinging to her hair and face. Time around them seemed to slow down. Wren’s eyes were wide, and she was sure he had no idea what was happening, but he remained where he was.

After helping Nadua to her feet, Marik placed himself at her back and wrapped his arms around her. Together, they watched Ethan work, shielding their eyes as the light became painfully bright. The air grew heavy.

When it was over, the light dimmed and Ethan leaned back.

Ava sat up, confused and holding the spot on her chest that was now healed. She looked up at Ethan. “Thank you.”

Ethan nodded.

“
That was amazing,” Marik breathed.

Nadua turned in his arms. “Do you need him to heal you?”

Shaking his head, Marik gave her a meaningful look that stole her breath. “That’s what I have you for.” Then he bent to place his lips against hers. The passion of it exploded through her.

She leaned in to deepen the kiss before pulling back. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that.”