Page 59 of Fallen Demon

“What happened?” Jasmin asked.

“There.” The hunter pointed to the horizon.

Slowly, shadows formed in the distance … no, not shadows. Silhouettes. People.

“By the light,” I muttered, kicking the sides of my horse.

The animal jumped into a gallop and only slowed down when we came face to face with my friends—who were all also mounted on shadow horses.

My heart squeezed upon seeing Rage among them. “You’re alive.”

“Thanks to Zad and Lacey,” he said. He did look like he had been beaten pretty badly, but I was certain he had died.

“Well done with the key,” Wyatt said.

I had kicked the key down the cliff. “I was worried you wouldn’t see it.”

“It was pure luck,” Farrah said.

“Where’s Levi?” Lacey asked, concern clear on her face. “What happened?”

I let out a sigh. “Come on. I’ll tell you everything on the way back to the castle.”

17

I didn’t sleep well.

The shower was amazing, the bed was comfortable, and yet, every time I closed my eyes, I saw Levi with his bloody hand around my throat ready to kill me just like he did with those demons.

Restless, I woke up and was fortunate enough to find Lily outside the dining room.

“What can I do for you, Miss Ariella?”

“Is there anywhere I can exercise here? Run, more specifically.”

“Of course.” She guided me through a long hallway, down to a more intimate area of the castle, and showed me a large door that opened up to a giant gym with lots of equipment. “I believe you can run in here.”

I looked around. There was no track, but there were four treadmills. Why four, though? Did anyone else besides Tanner and Jasmin use this room?

I shook my head. That didn’t matter to me at all. “Thank you,” I said to the demon as I walked into the gym.

I hopped on one of the treadmills and turned it on. I started slow, with a brisk walk, but it didn’t take long for me to speed it up and run.

While running, I blanked out my mind. I focused only on my breathing, the beating of my heart, and my steps. Every time my mind wandered, I forced it to focus.

It worked. For forty minutes, I ran without really stressing or worrying about anything.

It was a pleasant change.

Shame it didn’t last.

I went back to my bedroom, took a nice, hot shower, put on some jean leggings, a tank top, my now magically cleaned leather jacket, and boots, and headed back to the dining room.

And this time, almost everyone was already there for breakfast—Farrah, Wyatt, Zad, Lacey, and Rage.

“You look better,” I told Rage, as I took a place between Farrah and Lacey.

He nodded. “Thanks to Lacey. She healed me a little more last night.”