Page 90 of Tortured Royals

Dad cuts through one of the demons, and I twist as I go for the other. Before I can lash out with my blade, the demon is beheaded, and Dante comes into view. “You good, princess?”

“I could be better,” I say, giving him a grim smile. My eyes scan over the scene around us. All the fallen demons are rising and attacking the demon army, and a new wave of witches starts emerging from the portal again, dodging around Alaric’s massive form and sending a volley of chemical weapons his way. He stumbles back, avoiding the acid, and with the fallen demons on the witches’ side, now we’re grossly outnumbered.

I turn to Dad. “What is happening? The marks on the fallen demons. They look just like yours.”

The king’s eyes are so dark they’re like black pools of night. “Come with me, daughter,” he snarls.

My mates bolt toward me as the witches and undead demons advance on us. Alaric bounds over from the portal, grabbing me, Dad, and my mates, and carrying us over the castle walls in his giant form before setting us down. The moment our feet are on the ground, his body starts to shrink until he’s in his smaller form, and Nate changes back as well.

“We need to get to the vault!” King Dalton yells as the demon soldiers still outside the gates scream, overwhelmed by the forces they’re now facing.

“We can’t leave them!” I shout back.

The front gate sizzles, neon goo burning through the thick steel as witches send a volley of chemical weapons at it.

“If we don’t get to the vault, we’re all done,” Dad says, his eyes colder than I’ve ever seen them.

“Don’t need to fuckin’ tell me again,” Nate says to the king, and lifting me over his shoulder he races toward the castle. My mates and the king follow him, and General Kaldoth shouts after us.

Guilt twists in my gut, but I don’t fight Nate.

“No, wait! Shade is out there!” I shout, panicked as the front doors of the castle close behind us, and Prince Callan and Mason bar the door.

“She’s a tough bird,” Alaric replies. “She’ll be fine as long as she stays out of their reach.”

“Shade,”I send to her, but there’s something blocking our connection.Dammit.

My heart pounds as I whirl toward Dad. “Tellus what’s in the vault.”

Chapter

Thirty

~ Princess Blake ~

Dad growls, shaking his horned head as the black mark that’s on his neck climbs up over his cheek. It almost reaches his eye before it stops. Sweat beads on the king’s brow, and he breathes heavily as he leans forward, bracing his hands on his knees.

I take a step toward him. “Dad.” The word slips from my lips, but he forces himself to stand straight, pain etched into his features.

“I’m fine,” he croaks. “Follow me.” He heads toward the corridor, and we move with him.

At the end of each corridor, the king presses his hand to a panel on his right, and a reinforced steel door slides out from the side of the wall, sealing shut.

“It won’t keep them out forever,” Dad mumbles, his eyes drawn down like he’s struggling to keep them open.

He takes a step forward and stumbles. I’m there in an instant, draping one of his arms over my shoulder, and I’m surprised when Alaric takes Dad’s other arm.

The assassin meets my gaze as I gape at him.

“We take care of…family,” Alaric says, his voice low, and my heart aches.

Not too long ago, the assassin had been focused on his plan to make the king suffer, and now… My eyes get blurry with tears, but I simply nod and blink them away.

We help Dad along the corridor until we reach a tall black gargoyle made from black marble. Reaching forward, I touch the left clawed pinkie toe of the sculpture, and a secret door opens behind the statue.

Alaric moves behind me as we enter the narrow dark space, and I walk with Dad down a flight of steps, my mates on our heels. The air cools, growing damp as we follow the curving stairs.

When we reach the landing, Dad is quick to open the first vault door. Striding inside, we move past the first rows of demon horns that are secured in glass cases along the wall.

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