Page 57 of Demons In My Head: Exposing the Exiled
Khol spun and hopped back to his feet with ease, but by the time he'd get his bearings to look where I'd been standing, Iwas going to be gone. Like a fucking ghost. He deserved nothing more from me.
Khol the Cold could handle himself. Or not.
He'd lied to me for years, and when the truth had finally come out, he hadn't denied any of it. Fucker could choke on his lies.
Back to compartmentalization. It always came back to that. Thank the gods for coping skills! I dove into the madness and slammed the box in my brain that held my father and all his bullshit.
Archers began firing arrows like deadly rain from the wall I was standing near. A wild growl broke through the crowd a second before a massive black panther exploded from the chaos and launched itself at the stone wall. There appeared to be a tiny black mouse clinging to the panther's head. I shook my head, blinking, and took a second look. There was definitely a mouse riding a panther.
The cat reached the top of the wall and charged the archers, knocking them off and sending them plummeting to the ground.
Panthers weren't native to Besmet so I knew that had to be Kaito, one of my sister's mates.
My sister.
Where was Saige?
My hand tightened around the hilt of my blade, the leather wrapping slick with blood and sweat. A soldier charged at me with a battle cry, eyes wild with that mind-controlled fervor that made them fight beyond the limits of their bodies. I stepped into his attack rather than away, sidestepping at the last second and driving my blade into his kidney. He dropped without a sound, just another body on a field of many.
I didn't even pause to wipe the spray of blood from my face. What was one more layer of gore?
Another one came at me, then another. My body moved on autopilot, decades of fighting flowing through my muscleswithout conscious thought—slash, parry, thrust. The rhythm of death was familiar, comforting even. It was everything else that was throwing me off-kilter.
Family.
The word echoed in my mind as I caught sight of Saige across the battlefield, her hair whipping around her face as she commanded her forces with the same natural authority I'd spent years cultivating. My sister. A fucking demon-witch hybrid, pregnant with twins, mated to a demon and mages both. The revelation still sat heavy in my chest, an unwelcome weight I couldn't dislodge.
Palmer.
"No," I muttered, twisting away from a spear thrust and removing the idiot's head with a single sweep of my blade.
A flash of movement to my left caught my eye—Felix darting through the battle with his characteristic fluid grace, blades spinning in his hands as he carved a path through our enemies. My chest tightened watching him, remembering the hours we spent out here perfecting our fighting skills. Little had we known back then that all of that work was for this very moment.
A wave of strong magic slammed into me, and I spun wildly to look for the source.Well, I'll be damned, little sister is a powerhouse.
Saige's scream of panic pulled my focus back, and I watched in horror as her giant mate, Cam, struggled to breathe as he stood before her. Magic was radiating from her being; there wasn't a single creature in that courtyard that couldn't feel it.
"Fucking hell," I snarled. I had to help her. I launched myself at a cluster of enemies with renewed fury, set on removing any obstacles that stood between me and making sure she didn't do something she'd regret. A sweep of my leg took one down; I drove my blade through his chest before rolling to avoid the axe aimed at my skull. Coming up behind the axe-wielder, I grabbedhis hair and cut his throat, letting his warm blood spray across the ground.
This was what I knew. This was what I was good at. Not family reunions. I pulled my mask back on right before I reached her.
"Saige," I barked, as though I was speaking to one of my fucking prospects. "You need to focus!"
I could feel her power, like a bone-deep ache within me. It didn't want me coming closer, so I froze. She looked back at me, her short red hair dancing wildly around her green gown. When she saw me, despite the fact that we'd met earlier, she still took a step away.
I held up both hands in a gesture of peace. "I'm not going to hurt you. You're hurting your mate right now; you don't want to do that."
Tossing a glance at Cam, I knew he was close to passing out. His face was red and his fingers clawed at his neck, trying to escape the invisible force that was choking him.
Keep talking, Ashland.
"I know your magic feels out of control, but it's not. You are controlling it. It's scary, but you need to push that away. You're arguably the strongest person standing in this courtyard, and you have nothing to be scared of!"
Saige shook her head back and forth, her eyes brimming with tears as she took in my words and tried to gain control. "Help me! Please, help me!"
I took a step closer, despite the pain it caused me. Despite the fact that I had no fucking business helping this woman, or anyone. All I knew was that at that moment, I had to try.
"It's all you, girl. You're the only one who can shut it down. Focus on my voice and take a breath." She was near hysteria and her breaths were choppy, but by the gods, she tried. "That's good, you're doing great!"
