Page 68 of Knight’s Absolution

Tobias’s eyelids quivered but didn’t open. Her sobs became more desperate as she poured bowl after bowl of the healing liquid over his skin.

With wet hands, she leaned over him and touched his bloodless face. “Please, please, Tobias, open your eyes. Please, don’t leave me here alone. I don’t want to be alone again.” He remained completely still.

He was dying.

Scarlet pressed her forehead to his. His face was as cold as the rest of him. “Please,” she whispered again and pressed her trembling lips to his.

Sparks of light danced like fireflies behind her eyes, and zaps of sensation shot through her veins. Unsure what was happening, she clung to him, afraid to let him go. Something was happening, something important—

“Back away,” a rough voice said behind her.

Scarlet spun to face the demon standing at the door. His teeth were curled back cruelly, and his black soulless eyes, eyes that made her skin crawl, slid from her to Tobias. But even more frightening, he carried tools of torture. If this demon hurt Tobias again, he definitely wouldn’t survive.

She stood, trembling with fear. “No.” Her voice was so broken and quiet, she was surprised he heard her.

But going by the glee flashing in those terrible eyes, he most definitely had. “Did you say no, drudge?”

Scarlet moved from foot to foot. “You’re not hurting him, not again.” She would rather he turn his instruments of torture on her than Tobias.

Her fingers clenched and unclenched, her body flexing and tightening in a way it never had before, as if it were preparing for something. Pure rage built inside her gut and she let it. She let it fuel her for something she didn’t understand but felt so incredibly right.

The demon charged her, knife in hand, but instead of his blade slicing into flesh, she spun and kicked him in the jaw like some dormant muscle memory had fired to life.

He came at her again, snarling and cursing, and Scarlet didn’t think, instead she allowed her body to take over and jabbed the heel of her palm into his windpipe. The startled demon grabbed his throat, and with a growl she’d never unleashed before, she sunk her nails into his shoulders, brought up her knee, slamming him hard in the nuts, then jerked her head forward, smashing her forehead straight into his nose, crushing it.

The demon crumpled to the floor, and without thought of what she was doing, or how she knew to do it, she scooped up the knife he’d dropped, wrenched back his scaly head, and sliced its throat. And she kept on slicing until the demon’s head fell from his shoulders.

Panting, she watched as the demon turned to ash before her eyes, disintegrating into nothing. Shaking, she stumbled back a step, unable to comprehend what she’d done. How she’d done it.

Who the hell am I?

It was always there in the back of her mind, ever since she woke here—who she was, where she’d come from. Where the multitude of scars on her skin had come from, or what she’d done to have such a strong body, muscled and limber.

She was a fighter. She could fight.

A large ring of keys lay among the demon’s ashy remains and she snatched them up and moved to the chain locked around Tobias. She was getting him out of this cell. Now.

He lay there, pale blue eyes open, watching her.

“You’re awake.” She glanced back at what was left of the demon. “I-I didn’t have a choice. But you’ll be okay, now. I’ll make sure of it.”

He opened his mouth, and nothing but a gurgled rasp came out. Scarlet tried key after key, desperately searching for the right one, terrified another demon would come. Finally, when she slid the next one into the large, rusted padlock and turned, the chains fell away.

Tobias tried to stand, struggling with the effort.

“Wait.” Scarlet tore a thick strip of fabric from the bottom of her tunic and wrapped it around his stomach, knotting it to try and staunch the blood coming from the gaping wound.

Then quickly shoving her bowl and rag in the large pocket of her cloak, she helped him get to his feet. She was a lot smaller than him, but she was strong.

He opened his mouth again, but still he couldn’t speak. Going by the way he shook his head, she guessed he was telling her to leave him, to save herself.

“Not happening, big guy,” she said and pulled his arm around her shoulders. Wrapping hers around his waist, she took most of his weight and, gritting her teeth, helped him limp to the door.

He squeezed her shoulder and made another gurgling sound, trying to stop her again.

“I know a place, somewhere you can hide until you’re stronger. They won’t find you.” What the hell was she doing? They were in Hell, what happened afterward? It wasn’t like they could just leave. Would he be forced to hide for the rest of eternity?

She glanced up at the male beside her, and those blue eyes she dreamed about at night and was desperate to see every morning when she woke, were locked on her. It didn’t matter what happened to her, she couldn’t see him like this again, she would risk everything to keep him safe.