“Do you want to try that immunity?” says a demon who’s just arrived, and he pulls a whip from his belt and hits the reaper between his shoulder blades.
The chaos I’ve started is beautiful. It blossoms fast, a dam that had been about to burst for ages. The reaper is in the minority, but he’s more powerful and more skilled. I watch his blade coming down on the demon who attacked him, and he swirls to attack a second. Something tells me he has the upper hand, even when he’s by himself.
I turn around, biting down on my lip. Shit, this was low even for me. I teased him into starting a war between reapers and demons... and I don’t even feel guilty. When I told myself I would get out no matter what, I really meant that.
Darting down the corridor, I keep to the right, searching for the way out. I don’t have long, and I can’t stop running. Soon, the reaper will notice what I’ve done. He’ll understand how I’ve played him.
And he won’t be happy about that.
CHAPTER26
ZAKI
Where the fuck is she? I make my way back to the dungeon’s entrance, then take the stairs down two steps at a time and inspect every cell once more. Where is she? Don’t fucking tell me the reaper has already taken her. I can’t believe I’m this unlucky.
After listening to the fucking longest harangue of my life—and I’ve had several of them—I gave my father a couple of hours to think it through, then came back with ideas. Father was never the most intelligent one, much less generous, so I had little wiggle room to get Cassandra out without a fight.
At first, I tried to convince him I wanted her as my slave. He didn’t believe me—not after I spent so long making sure everyone knew I never fucked the same person twice. Fucking past Zaki. He had no idea how much I needed that lie right now. So, I changed tactics. I used what I know of my father to play to his interests.
More than anything, my father wants the power of being recognized. It isn’t about strength or politics, just about being famous. He wants people to look at him in awe, to love him. Funny when he never worried about building a relationship with me.
Father wants to have the upper hand, to build a solid reputation. So, I told him he had to play this game right. He had leverage since the escaped soul was in his power. I went as far as to tell him she was important, a powerful mage who the reapers needed to keep in a tight leash. That interested Father. He loves to have shiny things in his power.
Instead of sending her off in a chariot with a couple of demons to guard her, I convinced him to send a message for reapers to come get her. I thought that would buy us time, enough time for me to sneak into the dungeon and get her out.
What I didn’t expect was that fucking Lord Náli had a reaper within his lands, doing the Devil knows what.
My time is much shorter now, and the moment I hear about some fight having broken out within the house, I know this is my one chance. I break into the dungeon, dart down the steps, and... don’t find her. The reaper has already taken her, I don’t know where.
Whirling around, I make my way back to the main lobby. Fuck, I don’t know where to look for her, but they’re definitely heading either toward the office or to the front door. If I head to the office and miss them, things will be much worse. There’s no way I’m getting her back then, so I better head to the door first.
A group of demons stand in a circle down the corridor. I shoulder them out of my way, and they don’t complain once they see me. A second group takes a second corridor. What the fuck is everyone doing here? Don’t they have better shit to do?
“Out of my way!” I bark, and they step sideways when they see me. That’s the one good thing about being a fucking prince.
A girl with several short red horns sprouting from her forehead runs to keep up with me. “Are you going after the reaper, Your Majesty?”
I glance her way. Weird question. “Yeah,” I lie.
She smiles. “Good. Give him a good kicking, Your Majesty. They don’t know their place, these reapers. He thought he could insult us, then stab half a dozen of us, and nothing would happen.”
I halt. “What?”
She stops, too, her brows shooting up. “You haven’t heard? I thought that was why you were after him. He stabbed a bunch of ours then raced off. I think he lost something.”
Fucking shit. It was Cassandra. The surety of it burns inside me like a new fire, stoking the embers of hope within my chest. She did something. It has to be it. She played the reaper into attacking some demons, creating a distraction, and giving her enough time to slip away. A smile stretches my lips. She’s a fucking genius.
I ignore the woman calling for me and rush ahead, making a beeline for the exit. Cassandra has definitely left. She must have gone straight to the door, and from there to the road. She knows the reapers can tag her, and it’ll take no time at all for that one to find her. I pump my legs, running to the front door, then bursting into the gardens. Several demons call out for me, but I don’t give them my time. I have to find her.
Up the road, I run as fast as I can, keeping my eyes combing the horizon, looking for her. Something black darts to my right. I skid to a stop, kicking pebbles out of my way, then turn to the woods bordering the road. Did she enter the Silent Woods? Fuck, I should have warned her about it. But how was I supposed to know? How was I to guess she would need this knowledge?
I burst into the tree line, jumping over roots as I make my way to the place I saw the black cloth. Maybe that was the reaper. I fucking hope it was the reaper, or I’ll be losing precious time. Pricking my ears, I search for any signs of her.
Of course, I hear nothing. It’s not called the Silent Woods for no reason. The trees devour any sound, any call for help, and stupid demons who come inside for a quickie get lost for years on end. It’s used to torture human souls into insanity, and I should have fucking warned her off this place.
In the corner of my eye, I see the black again. Turning fast, I catch the glimpse of a slim man running between the trees. That’s it. That’s him, the reaper. I adjust my course and pick up my pace further. Over a fallen tree, and I stumble into a clearing. The dark trees shine red where the light touches, and no animal calls from the foliage. Amid the darkness, the reaper prowls closer to Cassandra, her pale face contrasting with all the red and black. Her jaw is set, and even when she’s cornered, it’s obvious she won’t go down without a fight.
The reaper growls at her. “You set me up!” he screams, but the sound doesn’t travel far. “You knew what you were doing, didn’t you? Fucking mage. You won’t come out scot-free. I will make sure of it. Personally.” And he raises his sword.