Demon's Reign : Dark Divinity 1 by J. R. White

Author:J. R. White [White, J. R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anonymous
Published: 2022-10-29T16:00:00+00:00

18

Old Scars and New Wounds

Tarra stumbled toward me through the darkness, bloody tears streamed down her face. “Why?” she moaned. “Why did you let him kill me?”

“I-I’m sorry.” I sobbed, scrambling backward, but there was nowhere to escape in the surrounding blackness. Howls, wailing and screams rent the air.

“Why?” Tarra drew closer, still crying.

I continued to back up until I smacked into something. Gnarled hands reached from behind me, gripping my arms. I screamed and ripped away as a harsh laugh echoed from the darkness. I spun. Granny Fontaine stared down through a blood red eye, her hands stretching toward my throat.

“Demon spawn,” she hissed, as the point of a sword appeared through my chest, the taste of blood filling my mouth. Tarra’s laughter rang in my ears, and fire engulfed me.

I startled awake, scrabbling at my chest and breathing hard. Early morning light filtered through the curtained windows, and I sat up, pulling at my white shift and inspecting myself. No sword protruded from my sternum, and the only pain plaguing me was the pain in my heart. Demon spawn. What had the assassin even meant by that?

Taking a deep breath, I collapsed back on the pillows being careful not to wake Cassie. Curled at my side beneath the silk sheets, she looked so calm and peaceful, her golden hair framing her beautiful face—birthmarks and all. She hadn’t left me since the incident the day before. Still shaking, I scanned my surroundings. Across the room, Alex’s lean form was sprawled across Cassie’s bed, his chest rising and falling in the gentle confines of sleep—he also had refused to leave my sister and I, even with the added guards and golems stationed outside our door.

Somewhat calmed, I glanced to the divan that had been added to our accommodations against the far wall. Surprise and heat sifted within me as I met the concerned gold eyes staring at me—apparently not everyone had slept through my undignified reentry to the waking world. I wasn’t sure why exactly he’d come—if it had been of his own volition, or because my mother had commanded him to after I’d refused to accept her demands and stay in his rooms. My insides churned.

Are you all right? Ryker signed from where he sat on the edge of the couch in a loose cotton shirt and pants. I held his gaze a moment longer—still no closer to figuring out who he was or what he truly desired. Nor was I any closer to knowing what I wanted on that front, either. I shook my head. I would never be all right again. Tarra’s blood may have been cleansed from my skin and clothes, but it would never be cleansed from my soul. She was dead because of me.

Needing a distraction, I untangled myself from the sheets and slipped across the room into the closet where I changed into my pants and tunic. Judex and Rocky followed me out the back door and into the garden, and I tried to ignore the empty space where Clay should have been.

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