Page 28 of Releasing Darkness

“Is it clear to leave?” she questioned quietly, searching through the trees even as she asked.

“I haven’t heard anything in a while. If any soldiers remain in the area, we might have to fight them.” I had full confidence that my female and I could take on a dozen soldiers and win.

It turned out that confidence was woefully misplaced.

Sasha had just stepped onto the path when several soldiers appeared out of seemingly thin air, making me believe they had been using some kind of concealment spell. Before I could shout a warning, even knowing my mate had already seen them the same as I had, the first arrow pierced the shoulder of her sword arm, rendering her primary weapon useless. With only a low grunt to indicate that she was in any pain, she pulled a dagger from one of the many hidden sheaths in her jacket. The first soldier fell with a gurgle as her dagger met his throat, and the one beside him fell less than a second later. My mate was pulling back her arm for a third target when the second arrow wentthrough her left bicep, effectively causing the blade to fall to the ground.

As I roared my anger at the first arrow, seeing red as my mate bled from her wound, I tried to leap forward to protect her but was taken to the ground in an instant as a heavy metal net was shot at me from a device I saw one of the many soldiers holding.

I hooked my fingers in the metal and pulled, quickly realizing that it was the same unknown metal that the High General had forged into a weapon to use on me in recent years. It was spelled by witches to be used against demons. I already knew it caused lasting, if not permanent, injuries, but it appeared to be impossible to bend or break as well.

I roared again as I watched several soldiers rush forward to capture my mate. Though she fought like the trained warrior she was, Sasha was no match against so many while her arms were both nearly incapacitated. Still, I couldn’t help a savage grin as she managed to take one more life with nothing more than her teeth before one of the males hit her from behind with the pommel of his sword.

My roar shook the ground as one of them lifted her, quickly tossing her over his shoulder, and began to run in the direction we had come. I knew without being told that she was being taken right back to the dungeon she had rescued me from.

My fingers were being torn bloody as I continued fighting with the net as the remaining soldiers stalked over to where I was lying. One of them spat on me while another kicked at my side.

“Traitor scum. You and your whore will answer to the High General for escaping.” The one who spat on me ordered the others. “Go retrieve the wagon.”

"Traitor?" I laughed bitterly as I bared my teeth at the soldier. "I am a fucking prince, being held as a prisoner because of one male's greed for power."

The next kick landed against my temple, and I squeezed my eyes shut against the flash of light and pain at the contact.

"You're a prince? Yeah, and I am the Lady Lilith. Shut the fuck up." I had to bite back a grunt of pain as he sent another kick to my head.

“Do you want one of us to stay with you?” a young, nervous looking soldier asked as he looked down at me, still growling my outrage and fear for my mate.

The one who appeared to be the leader scoffed and narrowed his eyes menacingly at being challenged. “I need no assistance with this one. He’s as helpless as a babe even if he did manage to heal himself enough to get this far.”

The nervous one swallowed and then nodded his head quickly. “Yes, sir!”

The others quickly departed, leaving just the older, angry looking leader behind. Movement against my side had me realizing that Max was trapped under the net with me. Discreetly, I lifted my arm to allow him room to move out from where he was trapped, hoping he hadn’t been hurt by my struggles, or from the blows the soldiers had landed. My mate would be distraught with grief if her pet had been hurt or worse.

The leader turned his back to watch the others disappearing down the path. I was certain a wagon wouldn’t be able to make it on such a narrow, rarely used dirt track that was covered with debris from the forest. They were fools for even attempting it. But I couldn't fault them for being hesitant to move me without being fully secured.

I closed my eyes and thought about my mate. I hoped she would stay alive long enough for me to escape. I had no doubts she could rescue herself, but I wasn't taking any chances. I would be going after her as soon as I figured out how to free myself.

As I was contemplating my options, I watched in amazement as the rodent that was going to be fed nothing but the highestquality meat that the Earth realm had to offer for the rest of his life, squeezed through the metal net. Without a sound, he stalked toward the soldier before leaping onto his back. With his wickedly sharp teeth and lethal claws, he ripped through the throat of the soldier. Max was grabbed roughly and thrown to the ground as the soldier screamed in outrage.

Max scrambled to his feet and scurried back as the soldier’s screams turned to gurgles while the blood quickly pumped from his body and covered the forest floor. A moment later, he dropped to his knees, then face first into the dirt. My smile was savage as I watched the blood flow cease.

Without my frantic struggles hindering me, I carefully searched for the edge of the net, knowing that there had to be a way to get it off. I had to twist and roll, but finally, I was able to find it and then heft the heavy weight off of me. With a grunt, I stood to my feet before crouching down to let Max jump onto my shoulder. I walked over to Max's victim before reaching down and relieving the dead soldier of his sword.

“You will no longer be needing this, I think,” I told the body with disdain as I stepped over him and headed back toward the prison I had escaped from not long ago. My body wanted to freeze and tremble with the thought of going back to the dungeon. I’d never wanted to step foot into that hellhole again. But my mate was being taken there, and I couldn’t allow that.

Chapter

Seventeen

SASHA

Iblinked my eyes until the haze cleared from my vision, but I still couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing. As I squinted, trying to figure out if those were actually leaves, all my memories of the last few days came rushing back, bombarding me with what the fuck I had been up to since leaving Varek’s estate.

A shot of fear went down my spine right about the same time all my aches made themselves known. With so much hitting me all at once, I decided to focus on one thing at a time, or I knew I would be too overwhelmed to act rationally. I couldn’t focus on Varos or my impending meeting with the High General without my heart rate speeding out of control, so I concentrated on where I was in the here and now… and what the hell was digging into my hip bone.

I took in my current situation and quickly realized someone was carrying me over their shoulder, which explained why my hip and ribs were protesting. My right shoulder ached, as did my left arm, but I could tell that they had already healed enough that I could use them, though I could also tell that the assholethat was running away with me hadn’t bothered removing the arrows. It was going to be painful, but I’d suffered through worse in a fight and still won.

I let my senses expand, noting that there were two additional soldiers other than the one carrying me. That was more than doable. One of them was just a few feet back, panting as if he were having trouble keeping up with the pace the one carrying me had set. The third was just behind that one.

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