Page 74 of Each Their Own Devil

The pain was so great, she longed for the peaceful death the Third had promised. But then, a massive head shoved itself under her arm. Cool and hard—topped with a helmet—and stinking like a wet dog.

“Get up, or I’ll never hear the end of it from the Knowing One,” Garm growled.

Even if Aleja wanted to, she couldn’t. The vibrations hadn’t stopped. She tried to open her eyes, but the world was a blur of brown, gray, and gold—the colors of the First’s chamber.

“Hold on, Lady of Wrath,” Val said. “I’ve almost got him out.”

She wanted to beg Val to stop. This hurt so much she would rather be dead. Aside from the vibrations, the only thing she could feel was the blood pouring down her chin.

And then, it stopped.

Her vision cleared.

In front of her stood an enormous man in a winged mask, not as intact as it had been when they descended into the First’s chamber. Though most of Val’s face remained covered, the feathers of one wing had been ripped away. She could see one of his soft hazel eyes, wide with alarm, staring at her.

“I think I did it,” he breathed, as if he couldn’t quite believe it himself.

It was the last thing Aleja heard.

“Lady of Wrath,you have to wake up. They’ve been fighting overhead for hours now. I can’t go up there. I’m no soldier.”

“Hours?” Aleja whispered. She had yet to regain her vision and was almost certain she no longer had a spine. That was the only explanation for why she couldn’t feel pain in her arms or legs. “Where’s Garm?”

“He didn’t want to leave. He made me promise to watch over you until he returned, but I don’t think he’s coming back.”

“Do I still have a body?”

“Well…yes,” Val said cautiously.

“You said that suspiciously slowly.”

“The Third was not entirely happy with the course of events. I was able to extract much of his energy, but he was…reluctant to leave you.”

“The course of events,” Aleja murmured, focusing on that phrase rather than the implications of the latter half of Val’s statement. “Is the First… Did I?”

Val’s hazel eye briefly closed through the gap in his mask. It was a striking color—flecked with gold and green that shiftedlike a kaleidoscope. She must have been staring, unable to do anything else without feeling like her body might shatter. Val raised a hand to his face, covering the exposed skin.

“Look for yourself,” he said softly.

She managed to shift her shoulders enough to turn her head. It was a mistake. The wave of grief that followed was worse than all the pain she had endured. There lay the First, still cradling her large belly. The torrent of blood that must have spurted from her inner thigh had dried now, barely visible in the dim light. It was a mercy that the First’s face was turned away.

“Is she really dead?” Aleja whispered.

“I think so,” Val said. “We’ll know for sure if the world doesn’t end. But there are more immediate issues overhead?—”

“Fighting the Authorities for hours. I picked that up the first time. I’m getting up. Just tell me what it means that you weren’t able to get the Third out of me entirely.”

“It wasn’t something I anticipated, but he figured out how to hide from me. He’s not in the Throne anymore.”

Aleja managed to look over without the overwhelming urge to vomit, though it was a close call. The enormous, winged lion was still in the cage, but it looked…not quite dead. The only sign of life was the occasional movement of its eyes behind their lids, as if dreaming.

“If he’s still in me, shouldn’t I be dead?” Aleja whispered.

“I don’t know,” Val admitted, lowering his hands. When he did, the hazel eye visible through his tattered mask was closed. “This is far beyond anything I’ve studied. But if the First is truly gone, then…”

“There’s still a chance for the others,” Aleja finished. “Help me up. I need to get out there. Stay here until the fighting stops. Count to a thousand after it’s quiet, then run back to the wards of the Hiding Place.”

“But if— There are too many Authorities out there?—”

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