Page 50 of Fated In Forever
“I’ll always watch over you.” I whispered, and my promise floated away on the shadows.
A flash of light illuminated the hellscape, and I turned to take one last look at the portal, then the light disappeared as the opening snapped shut with a resounding boom, cutting off my last glimpse of my old life. I peered through the darkness ahead of me, seeing nothing but shadow and desolation.
I was surrounded by broken walls of black marble stretching up to an equally black sky. Off in the distance, torches blazed with red fire, casting no shadows against the endless black.
Torches meant civilization.
I paused, inspecting my reflection in the side of a polished stone standing twenty feet tall, carved with runes I could not read, and scenes of judgment and cruelty that made my stomach twist. My eyes burned with an otherworldly light, skin that had taken on a penumbral darkness, and features that I no longer recognized. There was very little left of the male who had toppled empires, who had only ever loved one woman.
But something had halted the transformation mid-process.
Oh, I was still changed—still bearing horns and tail, still possessed of claws and inhuman strength—but something essential within me remained untouched. On the outside, I’d become Orcus, that much was clear.
But inside, I was still the same.
The portal had closed, but I still felt Vicious. I could still sense her fear, her strength and determination, as if she was close. I closed my eyes and sent up a prayer for whatever gods might be listening.Please let her survive this.She was stronger than she knew, stronger than I had given her credit for.
But the world was against her, and I was not there to protect her.
I flexed my new claws and pure power flowed through my transformed body. I was stronger now, faster, possessed abilities I could barely understand. I looked again into the distance at those glowing torches, a sign of…some sort of structure.
The Book was supposed to be my insurance, my ace up my sleeve, but that relic was on the other side, so I would have to use every bit of my guile and cleverness—and these wicked talons—to survive here. I sensed pathways through the darkness, routes that led deeper into this realm, as if I’d been here before.
I began walking, stumbling, my tail swishing behind me as I adapted to my new gait. Each step took me further from the sealed portal, every step made one thing clear. I was still myself. Still guided by logic and reason rather than a monster’s hunger. The transformation had given me the tools to survive in this place, but had not yet claimed my soul.
And I would carve a path through this darkness and make this realm mine. Ravok had turned me into something monstrous, but he’d failed to make me a monster.
That failure would prove to be his undoing.
I froze mid step, raised my head and sniffed, wondering if I’d imagined the scent of warm desert winds and flowers on the odorous dark breeze.
A hallucination, thankfully.
I didn’t want Evangeline anywhere close to this dark place. The raw, primordial hunger of a realm that existed to consume and corrupt had no business touching my beautiful girl, and I had to believe—I forced myself to believe—she had slipped away from Ravok, and was even now, safely with Blake and Riordan.
I kept walking, carrying with me the memory of her touch, the sound of her laughter, the warmth of her smile. These were my armor against the darkness that surrounded me, my weapons against the despair that sought to claim me.
The shadows whispered promises of power, but I walked toward them without fear. Ravok had stolen too much from me already.
My life.
My soul.
My friends.
Rhiannon and Tyberius.
I would not allow him to take Evangeline, too. That bastard fuckingowedme. And once I escaped this place, I would collect what I was owed.
22
RIORDAN
We raced toward the portal, our breathing harsh and ragged from the desperate sprint through the underground passages. My flames cast shadows on the walls around us, while Blake’s shadows guarded our backs.
We’d cleared the final cave in, and Finn’s radio crackled with instructions—right—left—you’re almost there—as we tore down the tunnels, Nash shoulder to shoulder with me, Nikolai ahead of us moving with a predatory grace that made our inhuman speed seem clumsy.
I knew the truth in my bones—we were almost too late.
