Page 31 of Once Upon a Demon's Heart
Kalel shouts as he impales a dire wolf in the back before it can catch a small framed demigod. It whirls on the commander furiously. The beast is at least three times his size and his crystal sword seems to have barely inflicted any damage at all.
“Dire wolves?” Tessa mutters in disbelief, arming herself before she’s about to charge down to the field to help. She stops on her right foot and glances back at me. Her eyes quickly finding my empty hands. “Gods,” she curses, reluctantly unsheathing her dagger with one sharp jerk of her arm. “Donotmake me regret giving you this.”
Tessa shoves the blade into my hands. I blink at her, shocked, but grateful.
She doesn’t bother waiting for athank you.She sprints off down the field and rushes to help the few remaining demigods left. They’re cowering behind Kalel and his four strongest knights.
My jaw slacks. It’s unheard of to hold off an entire pack of dire wolves when demigod blood has been spilt. They will pursue it to no end—a hunger so deep that they are willing to die to quench it.
Kalel’s eyes flick to mine, hard-set and narrowed with fury and confusion for the dire wolves’ appearance. It occurs to me just as I feel the vibration of the ground behind me that the demons might not know about the lure the beasts have to ourgolden veins. That the aftermath of the battle here may have drawn them from the deepest parts of the forest.
Kalel’s gaze widens and he lets out a piercing shout before teeth clamp down around my entire chest.
One thought rings through my mind. Perhaps through the universe.
A prayer, but not to the cruel gods.
Please don’t let me die, Kalel.
Chapter Eleven
KALEL
The forest spirit,an enormous white dire wolf that controls the pack, buries its teeth into Alira.
I never anticipated how cold the blood in my veins could run. But watching her lovely, silver hair quickly drown in gold makes every chamber of my heart turn to ice.
A sound escapes my throat. One I’ve never made before.
“Alira!” My voice sounds muffled as my pulse roars through my ears—all I can hear is Tessa and Nikolai shouting behind me as I run to her. I think they’re trying to make me stop, to let her die instead of risking myself.
It’s not even a question for me. I can’t let her die.
Not just that I can’t, Iwon’t.It’slike a calling through my very soul. A plea. Then I hear her voice. Clear as morning dew.Please don’t let me die, Kalel.
My heart twists and a surge of power thrums through my bones.
Did she just pray to me?All sense flees my mind. The only thing I care about is saving my little godling.
My grip tightens on the sword as I let my legs falter and slide to get beneath the white beast. As I pass below, time stalls and beads down like slow rain. The wolf’s eyes are a flurry of burningred coals, filled with hatred for everything that has dared step foot into its forest.
The pit grows in my stomach as my gaze reaches Alira, limp in the wolf’s jaw. Her chin is tilted to the sky—throat smeared with the color of the sun.
The moment is a millisecond at most.
My blade finds the throat of the spirit. It cries out in agony as I quickly roll to the side to evade the collapsing beast.
“Alira!” I shout, tossing my sword into the dirt and setting to pry the wolf’s jaw open by force. Its bloodshot eyes track my movements.
An unsettling voice rolls through every bone in my body. Chills race across my skin and bring me pause. “Kalel, why have you come to my forest with such a feast only to stop us from feeding? Pluto will punish you for hurting my pack.”The dire wolf speaks through telepathy—an ability I’ve only known the old forest spirits to have.
“You cannot have this one. I will leave the others to their fates, but you cannot have her.” My voice is graveled. The old spirit searches my gaze, finding only an unwavering expression.
It laughs—a raspy, haunting sound. “Very well. But I suggest you leave my forest at sunrise. I will kill every single one of you if you remain after tomorrow’s twilight.”It releases Alira, her body soaked in drool and blood. I bury my teeth into my lower lip, instantly tasting iron. “If it were anyone but you, Kalel, I would’ve taken out the entire army.”It warns.
I gather Alira into my arms and stand, feeling the weight of her limp body against my chest. I offer a nod of respect to the ancient creature before quickly turning and rushing to Nikolai. Mav is somewhere in the back of the group, trying to save as many knights as he can.
“Alira, I’m here… You can’t die on me. Not now,” I whisper, desperately holding her closer.
