Page 54 of The Demon Prince's Accidental Mate
I inclined my head, holding it for a moment in apology.
“Just because I won’t be there doesn’t mean others aren’t eager for a shot at you. Theywillside with him. Together they will take you down and send you back to the Underworld in pieces.”
“Lovely,” I mumbled, my plans crashing down like a card tower in a stiff wind. “I can’t let her stay there, Dachor. I can’t. There’s something about her. Something … I don’t know.”
The immortal’s eyes shone with laughter. “You care for her. It’s easy to see. Belial would not go to bat for someone the way you did unless feelings were involved.”
Feelings …
“I don’t know.”
“Of course not. You’re too close to the situation. It’s quite obvious, though. You care deeply, but you try to hold back. Afraid, perhaps.”
“Maybe. I’m a demon prince, Dachor. Feelings are anathema to me. And about a human, no less? How would she survive in my world?”
“She’s stronger than you might think. Heard she cracked Triuk in the face hard enough to knock him down. Threw one of the Gray Knights a decent distance as well. There’s a power in her, though I wonder where it comes from since she is human, as you say.”
The question was a carefully worded probe. Dachor might be on my side right now, but his motives were always his own. He was looking for information. Trying to figure outhowLily was growing stronger.
I shrugged, declining to tell him about our bond. Nobody needed to know about that besides the two of us. It was our secret, and if it got out, she would become more of a target than she already was.
“I have to get her out,” I said into the silence that followed. “Twice now, she’s been taken from me while I stood and did nothing. I can’t fight Dannorax and the rest of the jury. But I can’t let her rot in that prison either.”
Dachor nodded, pulling up his head to once more obscure his face. “I know. Which is why I came to tell you that you should wait.”
“Wait for—”
An explosion lit the sky as the north side of the Black Tower erupted in a huge fireball. A second later, the shockwave hit, rattling the building and billowing Dachor’s cloak out behind him.
“You should probably get going,” he said calmly. “They will think you did that.”
I clasped Dachor on the shoulder, my wings already spreading wide. “Thank you.”
“For what? Giving advice? I’m standing here with you. Far, far away.”
I grinned, squeezing my friend’s shoulder, and then launched myself high into the sky with one powerful flex of my wings. There was panic in the streets below. The Place Behind, a sort of mini-realm located behind Niagara Falls—hence the name—never slept. The yellowish sun never set, and the streets were always busy.
The Black Tower was a foreboding centerpiece of the bustling city, and to see part of it go up in flames caused a large amount of consternation in the general populace. Equal amounts of people were running toward the explosion while others sought cover.
I soared above it all, noting the growing crowd at the front gates. Between that and the response to the explosion, there would be fewer Gray Knights in my way. Hopefully, that would allow me to get to Lily before they knew I was there.
There was no point thinking about what would happen if the alarm went up. Dannorax and whoever in the jury he had strong-armed into helping would descend on the prison immediately, blocking my exit.
I landed on a balcony two floors above the prison wing, tucking my wings into my body as I casually pushed open the doors and strode into the study. As I had figured, it was empty. Anyone who had been present would have left to respond to the explosion. And there were no extra guards. Not up there.
My plan had been carefully thought through, but I was modifying it on the fly. Speed was far more essential than stealth. There were shouts and pounding feet moving everywhere in the tower. The smell of smoke hadn’t quite reached that section, but I doubted it would be long.
Locating the spot I wanted, precisely twenty-seven steps in from the balcony and then eight to the right, I knelt on the floor. My hand started glowing red and then orange as I heated it rapidly with fire magic. The stone floor absorbed much of it, the rest reflecting into the air around me. I fanned it with my wings, and slowly, I began to turn in a circle.
It took time, but the stone slowly grew hotter and hotter. And then it began to melt. Bits of stone exploded, shooting outward. Some landed among the books and furniture that filled the room.
My wings fanned the air. Fueling the sparks. A book flickered, and a moment later, flame licked upward. A smoking couch soon followed. The room was unbearably hot now, with smoke lifting to the ceiling as burnable objects continued to ignite. The stone under me shivered, and I pulled my wings in again, the study now an inferno.
With an angry roar, I lifted a foot and stomped down.
The circle shuddered and gave way, dropping me down. The giant circular stone piece crushed the chair of the prison warden and went right through the glass viewing floor into the communal section of the prison below.
I grinned as I rose, thankful for the arrogance of the warden, who enjoyed being able to look down upon the inmates. His desire to feel superior and install the thick glass floor meant I had an easy way in.
