Page 65 of Run Like the Devil

“Besides the fact that it wouldn’t work,” he went on. “This wasn’t Loch just wandering off.”

“So? She made me fucking worry—she should have to deal with that.”

“You both are exhausting me,” Gorrin pointed out from his place behind me, his tone like a father sick of the squabbling of his children.

The way he could sound so in control pissed me off all the more. I mostly accepted myself—hot-tempered and all—but sometimes seeing me so out of control made me feel lacking. How they kept their heads on straight when Loch was missing was beyond me.

“Don’t you fucking care what she might be going through?”

“Of course I care,” Gorrin said. “But losing my composure now won’t change things, will it? If anything, it will only make it more likely that I will miss things, that I will make a mistake. Keeping a tight leash on your feelings will serve you best.”

My gaze moved beyond Gorrin to Yazmor, who walked ahead, his face a mask of focus as he followed a feeling he had with Loch. I didn’t quite understand it, didn’t get why he had that connection with her, but at no time was I more thankful for it than right now.

“Loch is tough,” Tyrus said, his voice softer. “After everything else she’s survived, I doubt there’s much even here in the Path that could hurt her too seriously. I’m sure she’s fine.”

I snorted at how not convincing his words were.

We all understood the risks. We knew just how dangerous this fucking place was and how likely it was that any person alone wouldn’t last long. Loch was tough—I sure as fuck wouldn’t claim otherwise—but she was still young and way too sweet. She was always trying to save other people, too concerned with their wellbeing and too reckless with her own.

Which made me want to poke Yazmor in the back to get him to move faster. I wanted Loch in my arms, to reassure myself she was fine. The last fucking trap we’d fallen into, at least it had happened with Tyrus, Loch and me together.

This time?

The Path had separated her out, taking her alone, plucking her from her spot. Gorrin had said she’d been there, talking to him one moment, then gone the next.

Why?

“Why is the Path targeting Loch?” I asked.

Yazmor’s feet slowed, and Tyrus furrowed his brows. I got the sense it wasn’t just my question that stilled them.

They probably were just as surprised that I’d be the one to bring up a good point.

Always fucking underestimating me, huh?

“The Guardian does seem most interested in her,” Gorrin pointed out. “In fact, I didn’t see it at all when you all were trapped in that shadow, and I haven’t seen it since she disappeared this time.”

“Two traps so far, both sprung around Loch,” Tyrus added.

Yazmor turned back toward us, his lips pressed together. “The Path is focused on her. Why?” Even though Yazmor seemed to ask us, he went on as though we weren’t there at all. “She is a Demon Lord as three of us are. Is she the weakest? Is the Path trying to focus on what it perceives as the easiest prey?”

“She took my place, so in terms of sheer power, she has to be at least equal to any of you,” Gorrin said.

The words might have annoyed me any other time, but we had bigger problems right now than measuring dicks.

Besides, he was probably right… As the oldest of the Demon Lords, he’d had the most time to collect power.

“But she’s more conflicted,” Tyrus said. “Maybe the Path senses that and sees that as a weakness. Maybe it can tell that she’s the least seasoned, the least vicious?”

Gorrin shook his head, his expression tense. “The Path sees her as a threat.”

“Aren’t we all threats?” I asked. “I mean, we’re all fucking here to go kill Hubis, so shouldn’t this place see us all as threats?”

“I’m sure it does, but who got us here? Who brought us together? Who was the only one who even considered this as an option? Loch might be more conflicted, more naïve, but she’s also the only one who got us here,” Gorrin explained. “The Path is a form of protection for the Plains, and thus for Hubis. If The Guardian works in conjunction with that, it would focus on whatever it finds the largest threat—which is Loch. If she were gone…”

“We wouldn’t keep going,” Yazmor finished. At my sharp look, he continued. “Loch binds us together, makes it so we have a common goal and can put our own hatred aside. Without her, that alliance would dissolve. We would have no hope of working as a team.”

The words sank in, and worse? Their truth.

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