Page 47

"Stay here."

Her expression changed instantly. "No."

"Poppy."

"I'm coming with you."

"You are not."

Another low rumble moved beneath the cottage. The cupboards groaned. A picture frame toppled from the wall and shattered against the floor. Poppy's eyes filled with fear as she stared through the window where I knew Mrs. Wilton's cottage was. The fear on her face wasn't for herself. It was for the old fairy.

"We don't have time to argue."

"Then stop arguing." I huffed. "I am not taking you into those woods."

"You took me there yesterday."

"Yesterday the thing beneath them had not consumed my magic."

"It had been consuming Mrs. Wilton's."

"That is different."

Her brows flew up. "Why?"

Because Mrs. Wilton was not Poppy. Because the thought of the creature reaching for her filled me with something far worse than rage. Because I had only just learned what it felt like to hold her, and I had no intention of discovering what it felt like to lose her.

I bared my teeth. "Because I said so."

"Oh, good. Very compelling."

I summoned my sword. Flame spiraled around my hand before hardening into blackened steel. Infernal runes burned along the blade, casting red light over the kitchen.

Poppy stared at it. "You're going to kill it."

"Yes."

"We don't know what it is."

"I know enough."

"It's trapped."

"It is draining the veil."

"It might not mean to."

"I do not care what it means to do."

Her mouth parted. The hurt that flashed across her face struck harder than the tremor had. I almost softened. Almost. Then the ground shifted again. A crack split through the plaster above the doorway. Enough.

I crossed the kitchen and caught her shoulders. "Listen to me. Whatever is beneath those woods has already destroyed one realm. Perhaps more. It is killing Mrs. Wilton. It is calling to the vulnerable. It has tasted my power, and now it knows exactly what I am."

Her eyes searched mine. "A demon?"

"The strongest source of infernal magic within reach." I corrected with more gentleness than I thought I possessed.

The color drained from her face. "It'll come for you. You're not going alone."