Page 75 of Fallen Demon

“How’s your back?” he asked, reaching for me again.

“It’s fine,” I lied. It wasn’t fine at all. It hurt more by the second and I had a feeling that I wouldn’t be able to take a step, but at the same time, I felt like I deserved this.

For losing the dagger.

The damn dagger.

By the light, if I let it, the guilt would consume me.

On my knees and hurting, I glanced around. Everyone was beaten, bruised, and bloodied.

To the side, Harvey tended to Ava’s bleeding shoulder. Rage held on to his left arm as if it was either sprained or broken, Andre seemed to have a nasty wound on his head, and at the back of the group, Zad held a fainted Topaz in his arms, while Lacey tried to heal her in the rush.

A shudder rocked my body, followed by a sudden sob.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered. A few of them looked at me. “For bringing you all out here and losing the dagger.”

Abbie shook her head. “It’s not your fault.”

“We knew the risks,” Farrah said with a small smile. “Besides, we’ll get it back.”

The others nodded. Even Lacey, who seemed focused on healing Topaz.

If the witch died now, I would never forgive myself.

“We will get the dagger back,” Rage insisted. “But first, we need to regroup and rest.” He stared at the house. “Where are we?”

“A warlock manor,” Aspen said. His lip was busted, and his left eyebrow was bleeding.

“You mean, one of Soren’s old hideouts,” Wyatt asked, his tone flat.

I frowned. I had heard a lot about Soren, the first Warlock Lord. I had even been captured by some of his former warlocks months ago.

Aspen nodded. “Yes. But now it’s one of the bases for our spy network.”

At that, the front door of the house opened and two warlocks walked out.

“Aspen,” one of them asked. “What’s going on?”

“They are with me,” Aspen said. “We were on an important mission, but it didn’t go as planned. They need healing and a place to rest.”

The warlock nodded. “Of course. Please come with us.”

Everyone started following him with slow, painful steps.

Holding my hand, Levi stood and pulled me up. I gritted my teeth as a wave of pain traveled down my back and legs.

“Sweetheart, how bad is it?” Levi walked around me, and I didn’t have the strength or the will to stop him.

Instead, I watched as the second warlock walked to the back of the group and knelt beside Lacey. They exchanged a few words. He then placed his hands on top of hers and they healed Topaz together. After a couple of seconds, the witch exhaled loudly.

Lacey and the warlock retreated their hands, said something else, and stood. Zad followed them, with a dazed Topaz still in his arms.

Approaching us, Lacey caught my eye. “She’ll be fine,” she assured me.

A sense of relief washed over me.

Until a finger touched my back and a wave of pain coursed through me. I almost screamed but was able to close my mouth and swallow it.

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