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“I’ll see you tomorrow, Maverick.” Perry jerked his head for the dux demons to follow him.
Once they disappeared, I turned to Fane. “Who were they?”
He shrugged and grabbed my hand, towing me through the gathering bystanders who came to see the destruction unfold at the demon lord’s place. None of them paid us any attention as their gazes remained transfixed on the mansion that had now caught fire, flames leaping into the pitch-black sky. “Just some demons who are good at destruction. That’s all.” He cleared his throat. “Let’s hope we can find a bike.”
* * *
Fane useda key hidden behind a loose brick to let us into Logan’s one-story stone house on the edge of Vlehull, tucked at the end of a street and bordered by a patch of forest. Not many knew the high demon owned this spot, so the chances of Karn’s minions finding us tonight were slim. But not impossible.
“Stay here while I do a quick sweep of the place.” Fane cut on a tall lamp in the corner to spill dim light over the cozy living room. “Maybe you should sit down.”
I absentmindedly nodded, and his presence faded. We’d stolen a bike outside a seedy bar, but it still took thirty minutes to reach Logan’s. Aches pulsated everywhere, and dizziness tried to drown me more than once. If Fane hadn’t shouted in my mind a couple times, I would have passed out and fallen off the back of the bike.
Luckily, most of Karn’s underlings and guards had gone the opposite direction toward the gate to Savannah like Fane predicted. Once we made it a few blocks from the mansion, the chaos receded, and the streets emptied.
I swayed and grabbed onto the wall, so I didn’t crack my head open on the glossy hardwoods. As my vision cleared, the dried, flaking blood covering my hand caught my attention.
Human blood.
Images of the past few hours assaulted me, coming fast and angry like visions from hell. The torture Karn inflicted—forcing me to relive some of my worst moments as he feasted on my soul—mingled with my fight to the death between Arisa and Oliver.
Arisa’s raven curls were too similar to Jayla’s, and I cringed at the memory of her tiny frame sprawled on the ground, the demon stealing her life.
My lids fluttered, and that warehouse emerged around me, butIwas the monster leaning over Jayla. Claws tore from my fingers, and my teeth grew into fangs. Bloodlust ravaged my senses, and my eyes, reflected in her terrified ones, glowed as the pupils elongated to slits like they had when I tormented that demon.
Tears ran down Jayla’s cheeks. “Please don’t hurt me, Tate. I’ll be good. I promise.”
A growl slithered up my throat, and I grinned, wickedness flowing through my veins.Ihad murdered her that night. Not the demon.
Her death was my fault. Her blood stained my hands.
The waking nightmare shattered, and I stumbled away from the wall, crashing into a table and knocking over a metal vase. I regained my balance, my lungs struggling for air as if my windpipe had transformed into a slender straw.
My head slowly lifted, and I met my reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall. Ice wrapped me in its unwelcoming embrace, and frost crystallized around my heart, freezing my veins. The thing staring back was a monster that had crawled out of the depths of hell after murdering the innocent.
Dried blood caked my hair, turning the ends burgundy, and more covered my skin. Some of the scarlet coating had flaked off, but most remained crusted in a thick layer over me. My clothes had become stiff from all the blood.
Some of it was mine.
Most of it was not.
Invisible chains coiled around my lungs, and the living room spun as queasiness flooded my system. Darkness crept around the edges of my vision. I needed to get this off. I needed it to be gone. Their life had drained out all over me as I killed them.
I raked my nails over my arms, trying to peel the layers of blood off, but it only opened the healing slashes from Arisa’s knife attack. The stains remained as I scratched my chest and neck.
“Teague! Stop.” Fane snatched my hands before I could do any more damage.
I fought his hold. “I have to get it off.”
“Then take a shower.”
“I killed them. Ikilledthem.” My voice cracked, and it felt like someone had used a crowbar to pry my ribs apart. “They’re all over me. I killed them.Humans.”
“I know.” Fane released my hands and roughly gripped my cheeks, forcing me to meet his stare. “I know it’s human blood. I saw the bodies before I killed Karn.”
My bottom lip trembled. “They made me believe they had Hawk and were going to kill him, slit his throat right in front of me, but it was a fae with a glamour I couldn’t see beyond. He was just a stupid fae, and I killed them for nothing.”
Fane lowered his face toward mine. “Karn wouldn’t let those humans live one way or another. They were already dead before you fought them.”
