“Who is Talon Firestarter?” he repeated.
“He’s everything!” I shouted back.
“It’s not working,” he hissed at the shadow in the darkness.
“Well keep trying until it does,” the man answered.
Remy peered down at me, his unearthly eyes boring into me. “Let’s see how your demon responds. Demonae venite.”
I could feel her surging to the surface, pushing my consciousness down. I fought her for as long as I could, but I was so tired. As the darkness seeped into the corners of my vision, I welcomed the release.
“Azara, Azara?” The deep, silky tone warmed my chilly bones and yanked me from my memories’ icy grip. “Are you all right?”
I blinked and met those silver irises that had accompanied me every night of my imprisonment, of the torture. My head spun. I’d only just started to remember the horrors and already I wanted to forget. “Talon Firestarter,” I murmured. “I’ll never forget.”
His figure blurred, and my lids began to droop.
“Logan, what’s wrong with her?” Talon’s frantic voice sent a pang through my gut.
“Here, let me help.” Hayden. A smile curled my lips at the smooth sound of the angel’s voice. Or at least I thought I was smiling.
Delicious heat zipped through my veins as another warm body cocooned my frosty one, chasing the chill away. The familiar scent of winter and pinecones filled my nostrils, and I curled into the comforting presence.
My lids slowly lost the battle, and I succumbed to the darkness once again.
The murmurs of hushed voices dragged me back from the river of tranquil oblivion. Despite the heaviness weighing down my lids, the familiar deep baritone caressed my skin, drawing me back to the present. As my brain flickered to life and my senses sharpened, I focused on his words.
“She’s not ready, Logan. We can’t take her back there. You should’ve seen her when we were at Thax’s castle.” He huffed out a breath. “Whatever they did to her for all those months broke her in a way we’ll never understand. Bringing her down there might set back the progress she’s already made.”
“I agree with you. But good luck trying to tell her she’s not going.”
I popped up as anger ignited in my core, waking my demon. “What do you mean I’m not going?”
Talon released a frustrated sigh and dragged his hands over his face.
“You see?” Logan pointed at me, a wry grin curling his lips.
I scanned the warden’s office which had emptied out since my last bout of consciousness. “Where’d everyone go? And what happened?”
Logan sauntered over and folded onto the couch beside me. “We were hoping you could tell us. You were here and then you weren’t. Did you have another flashback?”
I nodded, chewing on my lower lip. “I remembered something…” The vile taste of the potion coated my tongue, and I swallowed hard to keep down the nausea clawing up my throat. “From when I was Thax’s prisoner.”
Talon’s gaze shot to mine, a storm brewing beneath the tranquil silver surface. A deep growl reverberated in his throat, shaking his chest and broad shoulders. He muttered a slew of curses as he rose and marched the length of the couch. “That’s exactly why you shouldn’t go, Azara,” he finally announced. “I don’t want you anywhere near that place. You’re not ready to relive that torment.”
“You’re wrong. Killing Thax will finally allow me to move on.”
He shook his head, and a deep line furrowed his brows. “You’re wrong. Killing your cousin won’t solve anything. Revenge only numbs the pain for a time, but it won’t help you heal. Not really.”
I turned to Logan and gave him my best pout. From my limited experience with the stubborn dragon, the warden was my best bet at this point. “Please, Logan. I have to go. I can open the portal, get us in and out quickly. I know the castle, and I’m the one Thax wants anyway. I’m the only logical choice.”
“Dash can portal us in and wait in the tunnels until we’re ready to go,” Talon interjected.
“What if you run into trouble, and you can’t make it all the way back to the tunnels?”
“Then we bring him in with us.”
I reached for the warden’s hand and squeezed. “Logan, come on. I’m fine, I swear. I can do this—I need to do this.”
He tossed his head from side to side. “I don’t know, Azara. I’ve done nothing but put you in harm’s way since you arrived at Darkblood. I think Talon’s right, and you should sit this one out.”
I leapt up, red hot anger coursing through my veins. My she-demon surged to the surface, and her dark powers bubbled up. They skimmed over my skin, and my demon’s mark ignited. “Just try and make me stay,” I hissed.
Logan rose slowly, his eyes on me as he moved toward his desk. I wrapped my arms across my chest and scowled.
“This is for your own good, Azara. We’re only trying to protect you.” Talon lifted his hands in surrender as he crept toward me.
I spun and directed the full brunt of my anger on the approaching dragon. “You said you loved me, but you lied. If you knew me at all, you’d know how important this is. How much I need to do this.”
Talon’s expression hardened as he moved closer, his eyes darting between Logan and me. “I do love you. Which is why I have to do this.”
A glint of silver flew across the corner of my eye, and Talon’s hand shot up to grab it. Before my brain could process what was happening, he slapped the metal handcuffs on my wrists. All the energy siphoned from my core, and my shoulders sagged forward like a puppet cut from its strings.
“No!” I cried as I rammed into Talon with my shoulder. With my hands bound in front of me, I was useless. My magic was gone. I was nothing more than an empty vessel.
Talon gripped my shoulders and forced my eyes to his. “I’m sorry, Azara, but this is for the best. By tomorrow, this will all be over and you’ll be safe. You’ll finally be able to move forward.”
“But I’ll hate you for this. You promised you’d let me kill Thax. Liar!”
His intense gaze dropped to the floor between us, and his hands fell away. As he walked toward the door, he whispered over his shoulder, “I hope you’ll understand one day and be able to forgive me.” The door slammed behind him, shattering every last bit of hope.
Killing the dark lord was the only thing I had left and now, Talon had taken that away from me. I had nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I paced the length of my cell like a caged tiger, fury fueling my march. How dare they go without me? I glared at my manacled wrists and cursed Talon. If he hadn’t put the idea in Logan’s head, I would’ve been on my way to the human world to put an end to my miserable cousin’s life.
Had they left yet?
Talon hadn’t returned to our cell all day, but Hayden had been back for a few hours before disappearing again just a little while ago. I tried to pump the angel for information on the operation, but he’d frozen me out. My fingers clenched into tight fists hanging uselessly in front of me. This was my mission. I deserved to be the one to suck the life out of Thax’s traitorous body. He’d cost me everything.