Page 30 of Deranged Demons

“There had better actually be medicine in there,” he mutters, his eyes locked on the chest I’m cradling, and I give him a reassuring smile as I place the chest down and pry open the lid.

“Plenty,” I say as I pick out a leather pouch and open it to reveal numerous orange capsules.

Theon and the other archangels look even worse than I remember, and we’re quick to make the rounds, administering the medicine. I make sure to check every archangel to see if we’re fated, but none of them are my mates.

Saphis visits the archangels in turn as well, only using his strength to heal the worst burn marks inflicted by the fish. He even heals most of Nate’s burn marksas well.

It’s not long before the archangels look like they’re in much better health, and Theon suggests we stick together for a while, but there’s no point in them following us. After taking two blades to replace the ones I’d lost, I instruct them to take the provisions and find somewhere to relax and recover while they wait for this ordeal to be over.

Prince Callan has a private word with the archangels, and I expect him to remain with them, but when Nate, Shade, and I start walking down the street, he follows.

“You can stay with them, you know,” I say, when he catches up to us. “When I find my other mates, we’ll come back for you.” I don’t bring up the fact that he doesn’t want to bond with me. I’m still hoping that by then he will change his mind.

“If the archangels were that bad, I can only imagine what the other alphas in the city must be experiencing now. They’re going to end up killing each other,” Prince Callan says, instead of acknowledging what I’ve said.

“Or us,” Nate comments, twirling a blade in his hand. One that he also snagged from the chest.

Prince Callan’s expression is unreadable. “I think it’s better if I stay with you until this ordeal is over.”

I’m silent as I think about what he’s really just said. That he’s going to stick around to make sure I don’t die a true death. Because if I do, he’ll have to endure emptiness for the rest of his life. I sigh. There was a briefmoment when we were in the water that I told myself he was there for me. Not just because he knows what will happen if I die, but that he was there forme.That was, until reality sunk in, and I knew he was just there to avoid my death and for the medicine. I can’t even be upset at him for it. As a royal, I understand what it’s like. Having that responsibility for your subjects. In any case, if it weren’t for him, I might not have made it out. If it weren’t for him, I could still be trapped down there.

“Thanks,” I say softly. “For a moment there, I didn’t think I was getting out.”

Something flickers in Prince Callan’s eyes. Anger, maybe? I can’t tell.

“That monster,” he replies, moving closer beside me. “I’ve heard tales about it. They say it can’t be killed. That it’s some kind of spirit from the shadow realm.”

“Something like that,” I mutter.

“Why would the king bring it here? Why would he make you face that?”

“Who knows why the king does anything?” I say wearily, though I’ve been wondering the same thing. I’d been so sure that there must have been a weapon in the chest that would have helped me defeat the monster, but there wasn’t. So how had Dad expected me to best that thing?

Prince Callan doesn’t look impressed by my answer. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand your family.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t try if I were you. Sometimes you just have to accept your family for what it is.”

He gives me a strange look then, though I’m not sure why. Probably because his family is awesome and nowhere near as messed up as my non-existent mother and overbearing father who loves psychotic games.

“And if I ask you why the king is retiring,” Prince Callan says slowly, not taking his gaze from my face. “I gather you’ll give me the same answer?”

My brow creases as the exhaustion from my time in the water weighs on me. My body has already healed completely, but emotionally, I’m still a mess.“He’s over a thousand years old,” I reply. “I'd like to hope that eventually I'll be able to retire as well.”

It’s not exactly a lie, but I get the feeling the prince knows I’m not truly answering his question. In any case, he doesn’t continue to pry, and I turn my attention back to the city, my thoughts wandering to the strange glowing fish in the bathhouse. Their words echo in my head:Still lost.

Chapter

Fourteen

~ Nate ~

When I’d first realized the princess is my mate, I knew it would complicate things. Even so, I’d been sure that once we returned to the palace and I had my hands on the treasure, it wouldn’t matter. Even if we bonded, her other mates could take care of her when I left.

But when she’d been sucked beneath the water in the bathhouse, well, I’d never before experienced the stab of fear that had almost crippled me.

I’d stumbled to the edge of the bath, limping from the agony of my burns, and I’d stared into the watery depths contemplating jumping in.Nine Lives.That’s what the angels in Toralyn called me, but I knew if Iwent into that water again, I wouldn’t have emerged. I was already weakened, and the fish still glowed close to the surface of the water, like guard dogs who refused to let me pass.

Prince Callan paced as I went in and out of consciousness, and I knew he was as conflicted as I was, but when the fish finally moved away to the other side of the bath, he shouted something at me and dived in.

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