Page 76 of Of Bone and Ash

The sounds of the raging battle outside the forest dissipate almost immediately, the forest swallowing the sounds the further I run into its depths.

“Shit, where are they?” I whisper to myself, hand gripping my sword tighter when the wind rustles the branches above me.

“Right here,” Darius' voice says right to my side, making me jump and swing, arcing my sword and making contact with something soft.

Red light explodes to life around me, lighting the dark night with Demonic magic as Darius curses, bringing his scythe up to block my next blow and shove me back. The sounds of footsteps and voices suddenly fill the air around me, as the small clearing I’ve found myself in is lined with dozens of High Demons. Their gray and red armor is more uniform than I’m used to seeing for Demons.

“Sir?” one of them says, stepping forward, but Darius waves him back, shooting him a look that would rival one of my own.

“You will be killed for this,” I hiss under my breath. “It doesn’t matter what continent this university resides on. Silverwood is a domain of the Fae Council and is under their protection. You will be personally hunted for this attack,” I snarl, bringing my sword back around and looking at the blood dripping from my blade with grim pleasure. I look around for Ryland, but I don’t see him anywhere.

“I’m not killing the girls,” he grinds out. “And the Council has a bigger problem to worry about, trust me. That brother of yours in particular. Which is why I’m here,” he adds, slightly hunched over, blood seeping the front of his shirt.

“Leave Gabriel out of this. Where’s the girl?” I ask, looking around. I know he had one. I saw him yanking her into the trees.

“No, and there isn’t one. I told you. I’ve never harmed or taken a Fae girl,” he coughs and smiles, standing back up and pulling himself together far faster than I would like. I frown at him, noting how swollen his nose and eyes are. There is some bruising there from when I headbutted him earlier, but nothing too bad. At least I know he can be hurt.

“You got something right there,” I mock, touching my nose and smiling when he glares. “Now, where is the girl? I saw you yank her in here by her hair!”

“Funny,” he says without a hint of humor in his voice, hand moving to hover over his swollen nose before it drops back to his side. “And I figured your hero complex would win out and threw an illusion to get you out of the fight.” Fuck. Does that mean Ryland was an illusion as well? Darius smirks and nods. “Oh yes, and the little… Dragon friend of yours. I figured it might take a little reassurance if you were heading back into the woods alone without backup, considering what happened earlier between us. He was an added illusion. One of my best, if I do say so myself.”

“Hero complex?” I snort, trying not to panic at the idea of being here by myself. To be fair, I can kill several people at a time, but there is safety in numbers, and Darius has that. I won't be able to fight off every Demon by myself. Darius nods.

“Yes. Poor little Fae girl wants to save the world but is born the villain. So she suppresses herself nearly to death to be something she’s not.” Darius waves a hand, and a burst of red magic covers my skin, stripping my glamour down and showing off every sin, mark, and cry for help that I try to hide. My magic crumbles like a rock as my mind blanks, the fear I try to suppress flaring as I yank my arms back into the depths of my cloak, desperate to hide them. “They should have helped you instead of letting you fend for yourself,” he whispers, a small frown tugging at his lips as he takes in every scar.

“Fuck you!” I snarl, trying to regain my composure as I form a dagger in my hand and throw it straight at his chest. Darius jumps back, alarm filling his features as he barely manages to reach out and snag the blade out of the air a hair's breadth away from his heart. He stares down at his chest, then the dagger, which I instantly let dissolve so he can’t use it on me, and then glares up at me. Gray red eyes gleaming with hatred.

“Are you that ready to die, Serafina!? Because I’m not! Why do you think I keep coming back here for you? Why the hell would I bother when I could simply kill you?!” he roars, stomping toward me. “It’s not because I enjoy this stupid game!”

I shake my head, more confused than ever. I keep my eye on him as he moves around me, his scythe held at his side, the magic he conjured separating me from the school.

“Then why?!” I bring my sword up between us protectively, my dagger already back in my other hand.

“Because I can’t kill you,” he stresses the word kill and shakes his head. “And you can’t kill me!” he roars as I try to think of what he could have done to link us this way. “How do you explain wanting to be near me when we are in close proximity?” he asks, and I glare at him, refusing to let him think I want to be next to him. I’ll fucking kill us both before admitting that out loud. “And the thought of my death? How does that make you feel?” he asks and I instantly think back to when I thought I had killed him. The way my stomach had knotted, my heart stalling, my lungs refusing to draw in a breath of air until I toed the man over and realized it wasn’t him.

“A death spell?” I ask, thinking back on the night before, wondering if he had time to cast it. I never heard him utter a word that would suggest he was casting, but I have no idea what this person can do, so it might have been possible. That is if he’s telling the truth. Darius shakes his head, his smile growing as he bends his head toward me, bringing our lips so close I struggle not to flinch away from him.

“Worse.”

“And why should I believe you? Where is your proof?” Darius smiles and gestures for me to put down my dagger and sword. I press the point of my dagger into his side, smelling the sharp hint of blood in the air, but Darius only laughs and nods, holding his hands up in surrender. “Very well. I only wanted to tell you the proof without ending up shish-kabobed on your little knife. But I see you love inflicting pain as much as receiving it, so I’ll allow it for now,” he concedes, like he’s the one in charge here.

“Talk faster,” I grind out, my anxiety spiking.

“Once upon a time,” Darius starts with a sarcastic wink. I sink my blade in more, knowing it's really starting to hurt when he winces. “There was a corrupt councilman who craved more power for the Fae world and himself.” I freeze, narrowing my eyes on the man in front of me. Darius knew my father?

“The councilman had a son, one who was powerful. So powerful that the boy lived through magic testing and power sharing, something that no one before him had. Not only did he survive the testing, but he also had simple Demonic magic twined with his own, making him even more powerful. The problem was the boy had a soft spot for his mate. So the councilman broke their mate bond and sent her away. Remove the mate, remove the soft spot.” I grind my teeth, upset that this Demon has so much knowledge of my family. “When the boy stopped listening to the councilman, he decided it was time to try and have another heir. A Reaper who wasn't so weak. However, the baby was a girl.”

Darius looks down at me with something that almost looks like sympathy, and I shake my head, wanting him to keep talking.

“When the councilman had her tested, she came back with a zero percent chance of being a Reaper, so he had the mother killed and tossed the daughter to the side. She was only good for one thing. Keeping the son in line or the girl pays for his mistakes. As the councilman's son grew, so did his magic. His mate was eventually returned to him, and the councilman feared he was about to lose his hold on the boy. He had created a weapon so powerful it was about to destroy him, so he decided it was time for a new experiment. Only this time, the Councilman had new allies. More than a simple High Demon at his disposal. So he had his daughter brought in for testing,” Darius whispers, and I swear my heart stalls in my chest, my lungs freezing, making it impossible to breathe.

Flashes of bright fluorescent lights swim through my mind. The screaming… so much screaming. I watch as Darius reaches out and pushes a strand of wild hair back from my face, tucking it behind my ear before he keeps talking. I ignore the burst of warmth from his touch, shoving it deep until it freezes with my anger.

“Instead of normal Demonic magic, one of Royal blood was forced forward, there was a magical exchange,” Darius pauses, his face growing tight as he swallows, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat. “Only, the councilman’s daughter was stronger than the silly half-bred Royal Demon girl, and the girl died, giving the councilman's daughter all the magic she possessed. When the Demonic magic grew out of control, the councilman brought in another, and a bond was formed to stabilize the strong Royal magic.” Darius lets his hand drop as his charming expression shifts into one of anger.

“And now, my life is tied to the girl who possesses my sister's magic,” he says with an angry snarl as his hand clamps around the wrist holding my dagger and yanks it from his side. Bright red blood oozes from him, dripping from my blade as he shoves me back with such force I stumble and crash to the ground. Darius strides toward me, a red cloak forming around his shoulders as his long, black and red scythe appears in his hand.

“You stole not only her magic but her soul, and I watched my little sister die as I was bound to the table next to her,” he grinds out. Jumping to my feet, I shake my head. No, there is no way this is true. I would remember that, right? Darius only nods back and laughs.

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