The Demon Queen Trials by Crawford C.N

Author:Crawford, C.N.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-06T00:00:00+00:00

21

CHAPTER 21—ROWAN

My mind swam with visions of Puritan prisons flooded with water and rats, infested with lice and dysentery. On the other hand, their old guns couldn’t aim for shit. So that at least was a blessing.

The silvery light of the Dying God must have alerted them, or maybe his impatient shouting at Orion. Now that Tammuz was gone, our best bet was to quietly blend into the forest’s shadows.

“Orion,” I whispered, “we need to get out of here.”

But he didn’t look ready to run. He looked like he was waiting for them.

“Orion!” Desperation tightened my gut.

“You should run,” he said quietly. “I have plans for Malleus Daemoniorum, and I’m really looking forward to them.”

Ah. Were these the hunters who’d come for his family all those centuries ago?

“Yeah, we both should run.” I grabbed at his arm, but he was as immobile as stone. “You can’t even actually kill them. They’re already dead. They’ll just come back again. But me? I don’t want to die. We could be stuck in this shithole forever.”

He quirked an eyebrow, looking irritated. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re a buzzkill? Killing Puritans is my idea of a good time. Stop ruining it. They will come back, yes. But I can make them feel terror and indescribable pain. Please don’t ruin my good time with all the downsides you keep pointing out.” He sighed. “But you should run. It doesn’t have anything to do with you, and I don’t need your help. We’re all on our own here, love. Go on.”

I wanted to scream. Instead, I muttered, “Idiot,” and took off through the darkness. Maybe he was obsessed with revenge against people who’d died centuries ago, but I wasn’t here to get shot and hanged.

I had a strong feeling Orion had forgotten what it was like to fight as a mortal instead of with the godlike strength he possessed in the world of the living.

Gripping my coat tightly, I started running over the frozen ground, snapping twigs.

The winter air bit at my skin, and I had no idea where I was going in the pitch black. Should I head back to town if I could find it?

Sharp regret pierced my chest. What would happen to Orion? What if he couldn’t manage the fight on his own? I was leaving someone behind to die again, wasn’t I? Just as that thought struck me like an arrow, a scream chilled my blood—an agonized male scream. I felt the air leaving my lungs. Please, don’t let it be Orion.

I looked back, my heart stuttering at the sight of a body blazing in the distance. I wasn’t sure who I was angrier at right now—Orion for refusing to run, or me for leaving him there.

I started sprinting toward him, a bony hand of fear gripping my heart. I had a terrible feeling I’d find him there, half-alive and burning. I could smell it now—the searing flesh, the ashes floating on the wind. Please, not Orion…

Despite our twisted relationship and everything he’d said to me, some part of me cared about the dickhead.

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