Page 97 of Renegade Kings
“We’re going to save the Autumn Court,” she told me confidently.
The nightmare inside me hissed in laughter. It revelled in the stupidity of them stepping right into the trap that Arik was setting them, allowing us to move another step closer to its goal.
Pain flared through my mind as I opened my mouth to respond, but there was nothing it could do to stop me. I’d always saved my brothers from the trouble that came to our doorstep, and now wouldn’t be any different.
“You can’t do that.” I fell forward to my hands and knees, pulling myself to the bars of my cage as if I was about to physically stop them. “You don’t understand what’s waiting for you at the Autumn Court.”
“A trap.” I gazed up at her in surprise at how matter-of-fact she sounded. “Arik has moved the majority of his forces to the Autumn Court, waiting for our arrival.”
If they knew, then why were they persisting with this madness?
“You can’t beat him. You don’t understand how strong he is.”
I groaned as the pain flared hot, lancing through my mind as my arms collapsed beneath me. There was no hiding it this time. With it came tears to my eyes as I realised how close I was to losing it all.
Not my life. I couldn’t give a fuck about that anymore.
But Maddox, Ryder, and Dean. Even the captivating woman and her shadowy guard standing watch over them all.
These people were trying to help me. My brothers came to Nymeria to find me. They’d changed just for a chance to survive here. They’d even faced a regiment of Endless to reach me. And now they’d face the madman, who was impossible to stop, impossible to kill. For what? Not for me. Please, god, not for me. I’d never survive losing them, especially not when I knew it was to pull my wretched soul from the flames.
“Turn back,” I whispered, feeling the fog slowly closing in around me again. “You can’t beat him, you won’t survive. Turn back and run while you still can. Leave… Ny…”
I tried desperately to stay, but the nightmare had me in its clutches again as it pushed me back beneath the surface. The frustration of losing control made me want to scream and rage, but as the sensation of my body slowly slipped away, a new feeling burned inside me this time.
Fuck. This. Shit.
“I won’t let you win. Do you fucking hear me? I know you’re getting weaker. You might have control for now, but you can’t keep it. I’m going to get you out of my head, you fucker, and when I do, I’m going to hunt him down and every single one of your kind. Remember this moment, nightmare. This is where it ends for you.”
Chapter 37
Alyssa
It broke my heart to see Damon laying on the ground, pleading with us to turn back and save ourselves. I wanted to tell him everything, to assure him we knew what we were doing, but I couldn’t. There was no way to know if we could trust him, let alone to know if Arik had some way to hear us through him.
The soft laughter didn’t register with me at first, until I saw Damon peering up at me through his black hair. As he slowly pushed himself upright, I saw the change immediately. It wasn’t just in his mannerisms. Even the look on his face made him seem like an entirely different person.
“I didn’t realise you were so eager to die, princess,” the man before me murmured.
I wouldn’t call this thing by Damon’s name, it would be an insult to him.
“What are you?” I asked calmly, even as I felt my mates tense, ready to fight. “I know you’re not Arik. Your magic is unfamiliar to me, so I know it’s not his.”
He stood, moving towards the bars as he slowly wrapped his hands around them. For a moment, I thought he’d actually pull them apart and step through. From the smug smile on his face, he knew it too.
“You may call me your nightmare,” he almost purred. “Arik is so determined to have you in his grasp, I wonder if he ever worried that I might keep you for myself.”
“I’m not the one in the cage right now. I think you should be more worried about yourself.” I gritted my teeth, regretting it as soon as I’d said it. Letting him antagonise me wouldn’t get us any answers, and answers were what we needed if we were ever getting Damon back.
“True,” he conceded, looking around at the bars like he was seeing them for the first time. “But I have a feeling that the men behind you care far too much for my host to let him come to any harm.”
“It seems terribly risky to trust your fate to the goodwill of others. Especially in Nymeria.”
“True again. But this bargaining chip isn’t only for them, and I think a barter between me and Damon is what will save me. He’s desperate to have control again, and I may actually be obliged to grant him that wish. He’ll never truly be rid of me, though. We’re too entwined now.”
I wondered if this creature knew how much information he was providing to me or if he actually thought he was being evasive enough to keep us in the dark.
“And what bargain would you strike with Damon?” I asked.