Page 13 of Demons In My Head: Exposing the Exiled
She shook her head quickly. "No, no, I wasn't. It's just that Romyn—" She paused to point her finger at the guard who was now slumped against the wall "—he's always been a real ass, and I've always called him jackass in my head, and when I saw what you did to him... turning him into a fancy jackass..." She trailed off as we all stared at her.
Misha lifted a brow and glanced at the dead guard. "A fancy jackass."
I blamed adrenaline for the deep laugh that came out of my mouth. There was no stopping it. The situation we were in was high stakes. Life or death, and yet, here we were, having stupid fucking conversations, and turning grown demon males into unicorns. Soon, we were all laughing uncontrollably.
"I can't believe you shoved that horn through his entire skull," Ashland said as he rested his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
Talon grinned wickedly. "When I tell someone I'm going to do something, I do it. It's not my fault if they're not used to being around an honest individual!"
"That's what I've been saying for years," Felix boasted, holding his tattooed arms out wide. "If you let everyone know where you stand, there won't be any fuckin' surprises."
"Unless you're standing on a wall..." Ashland added and pointed at the dead guard.
Misha cleared his throat, reminding all of us that we were here for a purpose. A mission. One we'd been waiting a very long time to complete.
"Right," I said, shrugging off the out-of-character for me merriment. "Let's get back to business."
Misha nodded in agreement before turning to the girl. "What's your name?"
"Elara," she said, her voice steady.
"Well, Elara, it seems as though you found yourself in quite the predicament with those guards," Ashland said calmly.
Elara rolled her deep brown eyes. "I was trying to sneak some supplies to Prince Bram. The resistance is alive and well within the walls of this castle..."
"How have you managed to avoid Asrael's mind control?" I knew Asrael. He was cunning and cruel. He didn't reach this point, the throne within his grasp, leaving possibilities for error. Although he was as egotistical as he was ancient. Perhaps the fucker made a grave mistake and ignored the 'small people' in the castle, not thinking them a serious threat.
"He's so full of himself. He planned this coup by using fear and cruelty. A lot of the demons here are terrified of him, and rightfully so, especially after the public whipping he personally delivered to one of the future Queen's mates." She winced in pain as though the recollection of this man's suffering was still fresh in her mind—no doubt those memories would linger forever with her and the other witnesses.
The sound of voices reached us, and I quickly held a finger over my mouth, silently telling everyone to hush.
Talon rushed over to Elara, causing her to flinch away at his sudden approach. He held out a hand to the girl, and she eyed it momentarily before accepting the help he offered. She was on her feet in an instant. He kept his voice low as he asked, "Do you have a way into the castle? We need to find Balor."
She nodded. "This way."
Talon grinned back at us in yet another victory. Fucker was always keeping score of his wins, and we'd no doubt hear about each and every one of them for the next century.
I lifted my shoulders and exhaled a long sigh as we tiptoed behind Elara, our footsteps softly echoing off the stone walls. I trailed my fingertips along the smooth, gray stones that made up the castle walls. They were still as solid and formidable as ever. However, some were now fully covered with soft green moss from the lack of sun on this side of the castle. We walked carefully, our steps quiet in case the guards had ears close enough to catch us. But they must have been too busy with their other duties because we reached the entrance without incident.
I knew the path we were taking. I'd taken it many, many times before. Around the next corner, there would be a massive wooden door that was as thick as Misha was tall. An old servant door that guards and castle staff utilized to sneak in and out of the castle. It was the perfect location if you wanted to leave or return without being seen, as it was built in a blind spot. No windows were directly overhead, and since it was built into the corner of the castle, it provided excellent coverage if you walked straight out to the small garden of bushes and trees before making a sprint to the wall.
With each step I took closer to that door, it got a little bit harder to take even the smallest of breaths. I mentally punched myself right in the face because now was not the time to uncork the buried bottle of memories I held deep within my soul.
Was I really going to lose my shit over a stupid fucking door?
Not. Today. Rhodes.
"You okay, brother?" Ashland's voice snapped me out of my internal battle with myself.
I cracked my knuckles and glanced at him as he kept pace beside me. His white-blond hair blew lazily in the equally lazy wind that filtered past us. "I'm more than okay," I lied.
His eyes narrowed as he studied my face. "Your face says otherwise..."
A growl slipped from my lips at his comment. "Don't pretend like you can read anything about what I'm thinking based on my face."
"I'd lie to you, but that seems to be something you've got covered," he fired back, keeping his voice low. Before I could respond to that, we came to a stop.
Elara fumbled around in her pocket, and I sank a little deeper into my thoughts. Thoughts that, for some fucking reason, would not leave me alone. I was losing my grip if Ashland could gauge my mood based on my face.
