Page 139 of Knight’s Retribution

They moved through cavern after cavern, passing demons, past cells where the screams and cries of agony were so filled with terror it lifted the hair on the back of his neck.

They walked for a long time, his demon’s jumbled thoughts zeroing in on one thing: Kyler.

There was a low hum in the distance, and it grew in volume the deeper they walked. Finally, his demon reached the end of the tunnel, pausing at the cave opening.

It was some kind of…demon common area? The caves opened up into an immense space. Above, it was dense with shadows, and Rocco couldn’t tell if there was a cavern roof or not. No, not shadows, black smoke curling and licking at the walls below, and there was something up there, something fucking massive, something moving.

His inner demon refocused on the large space around them, on the other demons filling it. The majority were fighting or fucking…in some cases they were doing both at the same time.

There were more guards positioned around the place, and his demon searched the room—so many ugly, fucked-up, twisted faces—

He stopped and hissed.

Taren.

He was on the far side of the room, standing against the wall, examining his clawlike nails. Rocco’s demon went fucking haywire, and Rocco had to fight through all those volatile emotions, clawing, reached forward, reaching out with his senses, searching for Kyler—

His demon grabbed for the wall, his knees almost giving out.

Oh fuck.

It was her.

He could feel her. For the first time in months—he could feel her.

His female.

His Kyler.

A door beside Taren opened. Diemos’s lieutenant straightened and Diemos himself walked out.

The shriek of rage in Rocco’s head was ear-splitting.

Diemos turned back and held out his hand. Someone walked through—

He sucked in a pained breath.

Kyler.

Rocco tried to take a step toward her, but his inner demon clawed at his mind, refusing to give back control, trying to shove him out, to take over completely. His demon wanted Kyler, but its instincts were telling it to stay the fuck away from Diemos.

Rocco gritted his teeth and fought back the darkness with everything he had. His demon screamed for Kyler, fighting harder to gain control.

The demons around the room had stopped and were watching their king and the female at his side—Rocco’s female. Kyler stood close to Diemos, clutching his hand, eyes wide.

Roc shoved his demon back with every bit of inner strength he possessed, his will far stronger at the sight of his little female with that monster. His demon shrieked and fought, but was forced to yield. Heat slid through Rocco’s veins, nerve endings sparking, muscles pumping full of adrenaline as he regained control of his limbs.

With a growl, Rocco pushed away from the wall and charged forward, moving faster, his heavy boots hitting the hard stone as he picked up speed. He was going to kill Diemos. He was going to cut that fucker into tiny pieces and watch him burn.

A roar crawled up his throat, and he reached for his sword—

Something heavy smashed into his side, knocking him to the ground, and a hand clamped over his mouth. The cool weight of heavy armor pressed into him, and Rocco growled, fighting Diemos’s guard with everything he had.

A fist smashed into his temple, momentarily stunning him, then a face loomed over him. It was obscured by a helmet, but cool blue eyes locked on his—blue eyes that were as familiar to Rocco as his own.

“We’re going to stand, and you’re going to come with me, brother,” Tobias said.

“Tobias?” Rocco choked. “You’re alive.”