Page 73 of The Demon Prince's Accidental Mate
“But still a son, nonetheless. We are brothers. You forget your place. Don’t worry. I shall teach it to you.”
Without warning, I flung myself at him. His sword came up and around, batting my axe to the side. But that was fine. I hadn’t been trying to strike him with it. The movement left him open, and I crashed into him, bringing a knee up into his midsection.
The giant beast was hurled backward, folding in over where I’d hit him, the arrogance driven from his face.
Find her, Lily. Find her soon. I will give you all the time I can. But you mustn’t take too long.
“Come on,” I snarled. “You won’t find me so easy a go this time around.”
“Indeed,” my brother said, studying me as he steadied himself. “I can see that. What have you done to yourself?”
I grinned. “Something you will never understand.”
Astaroth bared his pointed teeth and came at me in a rush, sword sweeping down. I brought my axe up, and the weapons slammed together. Sparks flew, and we were both flung backward from the impact, wings flapping as we steadied ourselves.
Again and again, we attacked, circling, looking for an advantage.
I drew a second hit, cracking my elbow against his jaw, sending Astaroth reeling. Darting forward, I hit him again, driving him from the sky. We plunged through the walls of his castle, wrestling as we went. Behemoths to the rest of his forces, they scattered as we crashed through walls, ripped down ceilings, and flung our might at one another.
“Impressive,” Astaroth said, spitting blood as I landed a mighty punch across his face. “Very impressive. You fight harder than before. Stronger. And I sense the human is nearby as well. I will find her once I’m finished with you. I will find her andbreak her. Mind … and body.”
“You’ll never have her,” I hissed, gripping my axe tighter, holding it cross-body in a blocking position.
“Brother, brother,” the black-winged demon chuckled, standing straight. “I will have her. Every part of her. Every inch of her pale, smooth skin. She won’t be able to say no.”
I snarled wordlessly.
“Yes, I thought so. Now, let’s see how well you dowithouther.”
I readied myself for his attack, expecting him to try to kill me, but it wasn’t a weapon that came at me next. Instead, it was magic. A wall of red erupted from Astaroth, washing over me before I could do anything about it. As it did, I felt a tingle in my chest, tugging me up and to the right. A hazy line appeared in the air, its true nature hidden under the red magic of my brother as it wrapped itself around the barely visible cord.
“Yes. I think that’s enough ofthat,” Astaroth growled. He came at me, and I swung for his blade—
Only he wasn’t coming forme. He leaped into the air before he reached me, flipping as he did to stare down at me from above. I watched in horror as his sword slicedthroughthe tendril—
The warmth in my chest, the glow representing Lily’s connection to me, went dark, carving a hole that brought me to my knees.
She was gone, and just like that, I was alone once more.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Lily
The Fury’s blade stabbed upward, piercing the armor and bursting through the guard's chest as I lunged forward with all my strength. The clatter of the body as it fell down the stairs wasn’t even noticeable over the din of the fighting going on several levels below me.
The entire building was shaking as if it might come down at any moment. I could only hope that Belial was getting the upper hand on his brother. Otherwise, my solo rescue attempt might come to a crashing halt far sooner than expected.
Up the stairs I went some more, trying not to worry about how I would find a woman I had never seen in a castle that defied belief with its size. The levels were getting smaller the higher I went, but they were still huge, a warren of unlabeled rooms and corridors.
“Maybe I’ll get lucky, and he’ll have a giant sign labeling where to go,” I muttered, rounding the next flight of stairs as they circled up through the castle's core.
“Halt!”
Looking like an oversized version of the imps Belial had called forth, the guard brought his spear and shield into a guard position.
“What are you doing standing around?” I bellowed in my best angry-demon voice. “We are under attack. Traitors from within. The front gates are close to failing. Gather any you can and get to the lower levels. Are you a coward? Is that why you refuse to join the glorious battle?”
The big imp frowned, his eyes darting from me to the very obvious weapon in my hands, dripping with blood. He wasn’t going to buy it. I could see it in his yellow eyes as I approached.
