Page 77 of The Fearless Witch

The vampire snorted, moving to pick me up again. I wrapped my arms around his neck, taking a deep breath while he whirled toward our destination.

“Don’t worry about us,” he smirked. “Can you do it? You seem rather winded.” Beleth flipped him off before turning his back on us and scanning the terrain. Roman opened his mouth, no doubt to tease him, but I pinched his arm. After a very dramatic eye roll, he adjusted me in his arms and muttered. “Hold on tight.”

I snuggled my face into his neck, ignoring the black blood soaking my shirt, and almost screamed when he bolted forward. I had never been a fan of him carrying me at neck-breaking speed, but I could tell this time he was really pushing it. So I squeezed my eyes shut until things started exploding around us.

I looked around in search of Beleth, spotting him trying to avoid the first serpent that had shot out of one of the lakes. Roman’s step never faltered even as the ground beneath us tilted, the rock cracking in two and a giant head blocking our way.

The memory of Beleth shouting at me not to get eaten flashed in my mind, but back then, I hadn’t paid much attention to that. Now… now I understood what he meant. I didn’t think stones could have teeth, but then again, I didn’t think snakes could be made of stone, so when we were faced with a maw full of four rolls of jagged fangs, all I could do was stare.

Roman halted right before we flew right into its gaping mouth, changing direction to avoid the serpent’s attack. With a speed and agility only a vampire could possess, he slipped under its body and sprinted toward the cave looming in the distance like the creature was no longer his concern.

“Wait, we need to wait for—” I tried to speak, but the wind swallowed the rest of my words.

“He said he could handle it,” Roman replied without looking back. We had crossed most of the terrain when a roar echoed behind us. The two serpents hadn’t chased after us, which meant they had found a new target. Still, that scream sounded more pissed than scared, so he had to be fine.

“Look out for the third one!” I shouted as we drew closer to the end. “It likes to shoot up and…”

The ground beneath us shook again, then erupted like a volcano. My stomach dropped as we were launched into the air, and a sense of déjà vu made me shudder. Roman’s hands tightened around me while he tried to balance on the top of the stone plate, now spinning a hundred feet above the ground.

“...do this,” I finished bitterly, glaring at the ground that grew more and more distant.

I had warned him about what happened the last time and I had thought his speed would help us avoid it today, but I guess nobody was that lucky. And that snake was so damn fast!

“Do you trust me, Celeste?” Roman whispered in my ear, and when I looked at him, his expression made my heart flutter. Before I thought better of it, I nodded. “Good.”

I was still trying to figure out what he was planning when he ran forward and threw me in the air. I screamed, grasping for my magic and preparing to cushion my fall against the fast-approaching ground when a blurry silhouette appeared before me. Roman caught me effortlessly, spinning around to slow our inertia and gripping me tighter against his chest while he took a few steadying steps. Once I stopped shaking, I glared at him with everything I had.

“What the hell is wrong with you? Why would you throw me like that, you asshole!”

“I couldn’t use my hands with you in them. I caught you, didn’t I? I’ll always catch you.” The smirk that appeared on his lips only fueled my anger, but then I realized that we had done it. We had reached the entrance of the cave in one piece. We were only missing…

Beleth appeared from between two giant boulders, pulling his burning shirt over his head and throwing it on the ground. His sweaty skin was covered with burns and scratches, but he seemed otherwise unharmed.

“Good, you made it,” Roman said dryly, setting me on my shaky feet. Beleth didn’t speak as he drew within reach, then he suddenly swung his fist toward Roman’s head. I gasped, too slow to stop him, but the vampire caught his hand right before it pommeled his face.

“Keep the fight for the real enemy, remember?” he taunted, and Beleth bared his teeth at him. I rolled my eyes. Their little bickering was getting annoying.

“You fucking threw her!” the demon snarled, his eyes turning black. “Her brains would have been splattered on that stone if you had been a moment too late! You fucking psycho!”

Roman raised an eyebrow in amusement, but there was something in his eyes that was all cold and murderous.

“That would have never happened,” he said with all the arrogance in the world. “Unlike you, I know how to handle her.” I gave him a dirty look, but they were too busy staring at each other to even notice. “Be careful there. It almost looks like you care about her.”

“I do!” Beleth snapped without hesitation, his eyes sliding to my face. “Until I win this fucking trial, she’s all I care about. If she dies, my power goes away. So protect her or you’re never leaving Hell.”

My heart gave a little thump, but the strange sensation was quickly swallowed by an overwhelming wave of annoyance. I called on my magic, ordering it to wrap around my hands, and punched them both in the gut with everything I had. Roman’s abdomen tensed under my knuckles while something in Beleth’s cracked as he grunted in surprise.

“Stop talking like I’m not here!” I hissed, pointing a finger at each of them. “And stop fighting with each other! We came this far, we are finishing this!” Roman looked away, no doubt to hide another eye roll, while Beleth gave me his signature glare. “Did you preserve enough of your power this time? This might be the only chance we get.”

His shoulders relaxed, and he stopped rubbing the place where I’d hit him.

“I have more power now than I’ve ever had before at this stage,” he said, heading toward the gaping hole of the cave that was supposed to lead us to the final challenge. “Let’s just hope it will be enough.”

Chapter 31

Beleth

The tunnel leading to the cave of challenges felt smaller than I remembered. The walls pressed on our sides, making it hard to breathe and impossible to calm my racing heart. The air smelled different too, charged with power and impatience. I found the reason for that the moment we stepped into the painfully familiar chamber.

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