Page 4 of Hunting Her
At a laughably slow pace I drag my chains to the chapel doors, lifting a candelabra from a holder beside it. I walk halfway across the wide hallway, then pull my arm back and use every vestige of strength I have to throw it at the ornately designed, purple stained-glass window.
I close my eyes and turn my head away, lifting my other arm to protect my face. There’s a collective gasp behind me as it shatters. A piece of debris catches me in the arm, but it’s easy to ignore the pain when I open my eyes to the light.
Sunshine pours through.
I stare up at the sun, basking in it with a soft sigh. The breeze rushing through cools me as fast as the sun warms, and I already know there’s no surviving the fall from this window. The scent on the wind can only be mountain air. I can’t see anything through the window except the blue sky and a snow-capped mountain in the distance.
Even knowing that, I drop the bloody dagger, step through the broken glass, and haul myself onto the window ledge, brushing away the largest of the shards.
Without giving myself time to second-guess my choice, I hold my arms to my chest and jump.
CHAPTER TWO
DAMEK
I’ve toured a hundred castles, been hosted by countless barons and viscounts across the Underworld and the human realm. Yet, I’ve never had a show like this one.
Most of the humans living in captivity are broken and boring—especially those held in a household such as Baron Donovan’s. He’s known for his cruelty, both in how he lures humans to his side in the first place, and how he slowly steals their souls.
It appears he and his staff misjudged this one.
With her chaotic ginger hair and a fire burning in her green eyes, she’s not the subservient doll they thought she was.
She’s exactly what I’ve been searching for. A mate that won’t be easy to break. A queen for me—and for the dukes who help me govern. They’ll be just as devoted to her as I am.
When Izoran licks the fresh blood from his injured hand, I know he already is.
Brellan leans down to whisper in my ear as she drags her shackled legs from the worship room. “When should I step in and stop her?”
I hold up my hand. “Don’t. I will.”
She grabs a lit candelabra from the wall. Is she planning to burn the place down? There isn’t much that’s flammable, and demons are built for the scorching heat of the Underworld. All she would manage is killing her fellow captives.
But she doesn’t try to light a set of drapes aflame. Her weary movements take her into the hall, and then she flings the heavy object through the window.
The baron’s guards flinch, along with all the prisoners, but I grin.
Does she think she’ll escape that way? The castle is built into the side of a mountain, and there’s a steep drop from those windows a thousand feet down.
I watch keenly as she basks in the sunlight, her shoulders slumping. The sweet scent of her blood is in the air from a fresh gash on her arm, and it intensifies when she steps through the broken shards to the window.
I’m not sure she looks at what’s beyond the window, but I think she knows there’s only death to be found in this escape route. She doesn’t hesitate as she swings her legs over and hugs herself as she falls.
She’s perfect.
So much confidence. Resolve. Decisiveness.
Brellan is stiff beside me. “Damek,” he warns.
I laugh. “I’ll fetch her, don’t worry.”
The drop is far, and I don’t want to save her too soon. I’m curious to see what her expression says after her life has flashed before her eyes, the rocky ground coming at her at speed.
I fan my wings out behind me, ruffling the feathers and stretching them. Then I take off through the worship room and out the window, sharply turning downward to follow her fall.
She hasn’t screamed, which intrigues me.
My heart races as she descends and I gain on her, exhilaration making my cock hard as she grows closer and closer to crashing into the rocks at the bottom of the sheer drop.
