Page 83 of Sinful Curses
As he ran, the coldness of the rocks seeped through his sock, but it did nothing to cool him as the conflagration heated the night. Sweat dripped from his brow, slid down his face, and cleaved his clothes to him while he raced toward the blaze.
Standing before the fire, Sahira and Elsa came in and out of sight as smoke choked the air around them. When Sahira vanished from view again, his heart lurched, and he pushed himself faster.
I have to get to her.
The sparks bouncing off his flesh left welts where they burned him. They singed his clothes and skin and smoldered longer than he would have liked before going out, but with one arm around the demon and his other hand gripping the dagger, he couldn’t slap away the sparks.
When he made it to the two witches, he briefly let the shadows fall. Sahira and Elsa took startled steps back as he exposed himself and the demon to them.
At their feet, the brownies thrust out their tiny swords before realizing it was him. They lowered their weapons and dismantled their tower.
Sahira’s mouth parted as hope and relief burned in her eyes. She stretched a hand toward him before letting it fall to her side.
Her customary bun had come loose to dangle against her nape, and hair clung to her sweaty, flushed cheeks. Despite the soot and sweat covering Sahira’s face, she was still incredibly beautiful, and he had to get her out of here.
“Come closer,” he commanded as he shifted his hold on the demon and bent to retrieve his sword from where it had fallen.
Pip climbed swiftly up to sit on his shoulder while the other two found a perch on Elsa and Sahira. When they all gathered closer to him, he pulled the shadows around them.
He glanced back at the spiders gathered away from the flames and close to the cliffs. Some had perched like they were about to spring off the cliffs and come after them, but none moved.
He didn’t know how long the fire would keep them away. He’d prefer to go after that giant one and kill it before they left, as he had a feeling the rest would fall or scatter once it was dead, but they had to get the demon out of here.
They also couldn’t take the chance the fire would burn out before he succeeded in destroying that monstrous beast. Or that he was wrong and, even with her gone, the others would be more vicious.
He hated retreating while leaving any enemies standing but didn’t have a choice. They had to go before the fire burned out, and these ugly, eight-legged beasts followed them.
If the creatures decided to pursue them, they should lose what remained of the spiders if he kept them all cloaked in shadows. Orin didn’t know how likely pursuit was, considering they’d destroyed the spiders’ home and many of their friends; they’d probably think twice before coming after them, but if they did, they would pay.
Sahira draped the demon’s other arm around her shoulders and winced before lifting her chin. Orin frowned over her reaction and looked down to see the destruction of her hand.
An unexpected, hot rage rushed through him, and he almost released the demon to charge the massive spider. He’d gut that bitch alive and hack off each of her legs for this.
But as he contemplated it, the momentary lack of control slipped away, and the calculating reasoning of the dark fae returned. He’d put her in more danger if he ran back at that thing and took the shadows with him.
Yes, he’d love to hack that monster to pieces and savor watching it fall, but it was far more important to get Sahira out of here. Inhaling and exhaling slowly, he managed to further subdue his fury before turning toward the web.
Thuds vibrated the ground as the bodies of the spiders’ victims started falling from the web and hitting the earth. Some might still be alive, but Orin wasn’t stopping to check.
Locked securely in the shadows, nothing could see them, but they all saw each other. Together, the seven of them jogged beneath the burning web as bits of it rained down on them while fiery strands of webbing floated to the ground.
He ignored the burning sting of the sparks and filament against his nape while they ran as fast as they could beneath the inferno and away from the monsters seeking to eat them.
CHAPTERSEVENTY-THREE
They’d only gonea couple of miles before Sahira said, “We have to stop.”
“We can’t,” Orin said from between his teeth.
With the demon draped around his shoulders and Zeth’s increasing inability to help maneuver him, it was difficult for Orin to look back, but he knew they hadn’t traveled far enough to stop safely.
“We have to,” she insisted. “Orin….”
The pleading in her voice caught his attention; Sahira didn’t grovel for anything. His hand squeezed Zeth’s increasingly cooler wrist before he looked at her.
The second their eyes met, he knew he’d made a bad choice. The pleading and desperation in her gaze tugged at a heart once cold as ice; she’d thawed parts of it.
And those parts were leading to bad decisions.
