Page 79 of Marked By His Hunger
The sluggish monstrosity crawled from the pit towards the tempting sadness of her tears.
Algea.
Pain Daemon.
Minor deity of suffering.
They feast on misery.
And tears glow to them like lanterns.
“Serena!” I roared—and ran.
The name tore from my throat like a war cry, raw and unrestrained, carried on the wind as I closed the distance between us.
She turned.
Too fast.
Too unsteady.
Her boots slipped on the wet stone, and she stumbled backward, eyes wide, fear flashing across her face when she saw me.
Fuck.
Not like this.
“Behind you!” I barked, forcing the words through clenched teeth as I veered toward her.
She hesitated—just for a heartbeat—but instinct won. She twisted, looking over her shoulder?—
—and saw it.
The Algea slid forward from the shadows, its elongated body dragging across the stone like something dragged up from the bottom of the sea. Slick, glistening skin stretched too tight over a frame that bent wrong, its jaw unhinging with a wet, snapping sound as it lunged.
Serena’s fear hit the air like a spark to oil.
It flooded everything.
And that?—
That was the moment the tide turned.
Something inside me detonated.
Not hunger.
Not control.
Rage.
Pure. Blinding. Absolute.
I spread my wings wide, the storm catching them as I launched forward, using the force of it to propel myself through the air. Stone blurred beneath me. Wind screamed in my ears. The world narrowed to a single point?—
Her.
The threat.
