Page 37 of Fate & Monsters
Mavros cradled the imp’s head with his other hand. Unmoving, unflinching, while the Inferni begged and scrambled for release. The prince’s eyes softened for a fleeting second and he held the imp as gingerly as a mother holding her babe.
Talons of anxiety, dread, and a foreboding desire wrapped around my throat. I should have turned long ago, but something akin to a sick fascination or a wicked inclination held me frozen. A statue longing for fresh air and freedom but trapped in a cage of stone.
“Ask the gods for mercy when they greet you.” A brutal gush and wet gurgle preceded the tragic thump of a limp, lifeless body bouncing off stone. Ruby droplets glistened like gems in the firelight as they splattered across the floor. A garnet smear of ichor stained the bones of the throne hall as liquid life pooled from the demon’s slit throat.
Destined for my own annihilation, a distressed gasp escaped my lips. I slapped a hand over my mouth, but not before the charge of my demise whipped his head in my direction and noticed me lurking at the edges. A monster, licking the blood from his fingertips, reveling in it as one might relish in the blood of their savior. His mouth was stained red, and my heart twisted when he held my gaze and licked his lips.
The demons ceased to exist, and for oneliminal moment, Mavros and I were the only two creatures in all of existence. A million unspoken words passed between us, and a primordial understanding gripped us tight and raised us from the haunting dark into a sacred light from which there would be no return.
A soft whimper lodged in my throat as if I might beg fate to turn back time and stop the inevitable from charging toward me. It was caught on the precipice of a needy whine that begged for more.
Mavros stepped through the crowd of demons. None of them paid him any notice as they lunged for the corpse of their fallen comrade. Wet squelching, slashing claws, slavering maws gnashing on sinew and viscera warmed from fading life. He slipped through the cannibalistic feeding frenzy, equally driven by bloodlust and feral hunger.
I should have been horrified and afraid. I suppose some remaining rational part of me was. But the vibrating pulse within me sang a different tune. One of a delicious darkness that would devour me in the sweetest way. An aria of savage passion and animal lust sung by a monster and drawing me into the welcoming arms of depravity.
“Astoria.” His voice was iron and flame, saying the name he rechristened me with like a cherished prayer.
Despite the curse of my rebirth, the tragic death of my identity, there hung the promise ofnew life. A renaissance painted with claws and fangs on a canvas of pale flesh. A resurrection ignited in my heart by the fire in his eyes, and burning through me like a hungry inferno with each step that bridged the gap between us.
I stepped forward into that dark embrace with all the obedience of a lamb being led to slaughter. Mavros was the gallows, and I was walking, walking—
A gasp cut through me.
Bloodlust and an intoxicated fervor radiated off him with the strength of heat pouring from a fire. He was a dark, fathomless sun drawing in smaller celestial bodies and devouring them into nonexistence. And I was a star dragged by an intangible force into his awaiting maw. Instinct begged me to turn and flee, and the predatory promise in the beast’s eyes said the same.
Running.
I turned on my heel and bolted into the shadows.
I was running.
Chapter 14
“Astoria.”His husky growl flooded the halls and caressed me from head to toe.
I almost stumbled as I fled.
A predatory snarl reverberated off the walls and flipped on the prey instincts sitting dormant in the back of my mind. Bare feet slapped on marble, slipped on threadbare rugs. I slammed into side tables, dust-coated suits of armor, and nicked the corners when I darted down new corridors. Each rough breath sawed in and out of my lungs and my heart pumped electric energy into my limbs.
Irrepressible, rampant urges fueled my body and carried me along like a marionette dancing to a frighteningly unfamiliar song. Rational thought drowned under the tide of wild delirium propelling me into the unknown. A pulse in the air made my hair stand on end and lightning skittered over my skin.
I hadn’t run this vigorously when I fell into Infernus. Not since I was a young, wild thingflying from prehistoric dangers on Earth had I felt so viciously, vibrantly alive. The air filling my lungs, the energy powering my limbs, the kiss of the wind on my face. And the danger, the fear and threat of being caught, spurred an animalistic impulse within me that no mortal flesh could erase.
“Astoria!” Mavros roared. His heavy steps thundered behind me. The frenzy in his voice and the huffing growls as he chased only encouraged my disobedient escape. “Where are you going, sweet creature? What sort of games are you playing?”
I whipped around a corner, barely registering my location. In a blur, I bolted through the double doors to the garden. Cool air and darkness slapped me in the face, a puff of air lingered in a fog on my lips. One moment, one delirious second, I paused to regain my bearings and strategize.
The beast charged after me. Mavros ran on all fours, appearing every bit the lord of monsters as he stormed out into the night like a wolf rushing from its den on the hunt. All dark fur and broad framed, claws shredding through stone and dirt, tail lashing in his wake. A vision of horror and savagery hunting me in the night.
A feigned fight for survival, but in those desperate moments, it felt horribly, wonderfully real. It was… exhilarating.
A shroud of hysteria enveloped me. I sprinted with all my might, trying to hold the groundI gained. Once I entered the maze-like hedges and trees of the garden, an intoxicated quality overtook me. A haze of madness warping my reality into a haunting dream.
The beast prince gave chase like a wraith in a nightmare. Hedges pressed in, their shadows shifting and playing tricks on my mind. Skeletal trees reached overhead like the dead digging their way out of their graves. And I was caught in the darkness, lost in the silence. In my mind, a hallucination reigned supreme. There in that make believe dream I was myself again, the true version, as if I’d never lost her.
A dainty yet powerful creature gleaming brighter than the silver moon. An entity of magic and wonder, possessing the oldest wildest grace of the world. A sylph in all her glory, flying free and untamed.
“Run all you want, Astoria!” His booming voice exploded over the garden. A shivery thrill went down my spine. “I’ll find you. I’ll catch you.”
