Page 49 of Of Night and Blood: Special Edition

“Die, fae filth.”

I waited for the blow to come, begging that Eternity took me despite my sins. But just as I resigned myself to this unavoidable death, I felt a wave of power fill the hall.

I knew who it was when the demon released me, his gasp sounding from several feet back. Warm hands met my cheeks, a blot of orange flashing in my vision. Henry’s arms encircled my shoulders, Ranbir’s power diving into me, healing my wounds from the inside out. My eyesight cleared in time to see Bellamy stalking towards us, death incarnate.

The demons tried to flee, but Bellamy disappeared in a waft of black smoke. I turned to face the other direction, where Bellamy had reappeared right in the center of the hallway, blocking their escape. The slightly smaller one whimpered, his body shaking so forcefully that he was practically convulsing.

Bellamy sneered at the two, walking to them leisurely. His eyes said everything. He was soaking up their fear. Enjoying it. Basking in it. White light began leaking out of the larger one, who stood in a way that made me think he was poised to fight.

The demon prince simply laughed once more, eager for the challenge. And then the big oaf charged at his prince, yelling as if he were running into battle. Bellamy summoned his black fire, willing it to take the shape of a sword.

Henry left my side to grab onto the smaller demon, holding him to prevent his escape. Though based on the fear radiating from him, I did not think he would have tried. Ranbir remained at my side, his power stinging its way through me. The big demon threw out a punch, aiming for Bellamy’s jaw, but the prince dodged it with ease, dancing back and then kicking out his leg.

When his foot made contact with the demon’s neck, it sent him flying. The male smashed into the red wall, his arm and forehead gushing thick, red blood. I could not stop myself from grinning as Bellamy picked the creature up and head butted that same jagged cut.

The demon screamed once more, this time cut off by the black fire that sliced his head off, severing it in one clean stroke. Bellamy watched as the body flew to the ground, but my eyes followed the head, which bounced into the wall and rolled across the hallway. A shiver coursed through me.

“Ah Diazo,” Bellamy whispered, walking over to the decapitated head and kicking it back towards the lifeless body. “How you and Conrad disappoint me. So many years of aiding me with the fae, and you let one measly vendetta get in the way of it all.”

All-encompassing, that was what his voice was. Bellamy spoke with the type of authority and foreboding that could command armies and tear down empires.

“Did I not say that no one touches my princess?” he growled, losing his previous composure.

I realized then that Bellamy was speaking to the demon who was now audibly crying in Henry’s arms. I averted my gaze from the dead body, and saw Bellamy press his hands to the sides of the demon’s head, cradling it. Hiccups escaped the demon’s lips, snot pouring out of his nose and mixing with the string of saliva that leaked from his mouth.

From my vantage point, I could not see exactly what Bellamy was doing, though when the demon called Diazo started screaming, I imagined it was nothing kind or affectionate like it appeared. But I was still angry, broken, and so, so tired. Which was why I reached out and shattered the mind of the male yelling in agony, whose face I now realized was being slowly burned from the inside out.

It was a simple act, just a quick thought that squeezed his mind like a boil, popping it and leaving nothing behind. The male slumped to the ground, blood leaking out of his nose, mouth, eyes, and ears. Bellamy’s face whipped towards me in fury, but Henry smiled, a wicked kudos of sorts.

“As I said once before, Elemental, I am no one’s but my own,” I rasped, reaching my hand up to my head to verify the bleeding had stopped. Bellamy seemed poised to argue, or possibly even dote on me. However, I was in no mood to participate in this dance of his. I would thank him later. “Now if you will excuse us, I believe Henry and I have a training session to attend.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

“You sure do love to piss him off,” Henry said, amusement heavy in his voice.

I looked over to him and saw that he was, in fact, smiling ear to ear. I rolled my eyes, not responding as we marched forward, The Elemental practically steaming from his ears behind us, an incredibly stressed Ranbir beside him. I was still bloody, but the kind Healer had patched me up well. Enough so that I was itching to train. If this incident taught me anything, it was that I needed to learn to fight.

We continued in sweet silence for all of ten seconds before the demon spoke once more. “So do you want to talk about it?”

Yes. No. Both. I had no idea which was the correct answer, but staying quiet felt like a safe option.

Henry allowed me that space to sort through my head, a place I did not want to be, let alone subject another to. Truthfully, I was being generous by not discussing my feelings. I doubted Henry would enjoy the dark turn they had taken.

When we reached the double doors that led outside, I let out a sigh of relief. The grass was dewy under the morning light, a sign of the quickly approaching winter. A chill blasted through the air, and those holes in my top did little to combat the cold. Apparently, I lost Bellamy’s cloak while I had my ass handed to me.

I ignored the discomfort, eager to learn all that I could from Henry.

At the center of the grassy lawn in front of Bellamy’s manor, Henry stopped, pivoting to face me.

“Are you sure you can do this after, you know, all of that?” he asked.

There was a sincerity in his voice that made me miss the humor and snarky attitude he normally possessed. Rather than give that very attitude back to him and risk being left without a trainer, I simply nodded.

The demon eyed me for a while longer, judging for himself if I was fit to learn. Whatever he saw must have placated him, because he returned the nod and began going through what he called the “fundamentals of combat.”

“Being smaller than your attacker does not mean you cannot beat them.”

“Arm strength means nothing if you have no core strength.”

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