“Can you get him out?” I whispered as we exchanged Logan’s weight.
Faris kept his face blank. “Yes,” he answered back. “I’ll be back for you.”
I swallowed hard. “Just get him out. And hurry. He’s lost a lot of blood.”
With a small nod of his head, Faris held Logan up. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go,” he purred, and led Logan across the sand pit.
I watched them go in silence until they went out the steel doors and melted with the dark shadows beyond. They were gone.
The noise level in the arena had risen again. Vorkol and Duvali were gone, and so were their entire balcony company.
I stood in the arena, tired and shaking from fever and the overuse of blood magic that I knew I would pay for later.
What will happen to me now?
By the time I heard something large and heavy coming my way, it was already too late.
The blow connected, and I choked down a cry as I fell, seeing Andromalius’s meaty fist before my eyes.
And blackness fell.
25
My stomach let out a loud, rumbling growl that lasted about five seconds. If I didn’t know any better, it sounded like I had a gremlin living inside my ribcage. Apparently, it wanted out. So did I.
I’d grown accustomed to the sounds of my stomach, the sounds of the demon lamentations around me, and the metal bars of my cage.
Little bird...
If only I had wings, I could fly away from this hell.
An aching, lonely hurt welled inside me. I missed my family terribly—my grandfather, my eccentric aunt, and especially Poe. He was probably beside himself with worry. Now, I might never see them again.
My life had not turned out how I’d planned it. I had not planned on spending the rest of my days rotting in a cage in the depts of the demon realm.
Logan was safe. I had to believe Faris had managed to get him out of the Netherworld. That had been two days ago, if my calculations were correct.
Faris hadn’t come back for me yet, but I knew he would. He wouldn’t let me die down here alone, not after what he’d sacrificed to get Logan out.
No. Faris was coming for me. I just had to sit tight and wait, yet I couldn’t help an icy feeling that had settled deep inside my gut, leaving me quivering.
The steel doors burst open and the minotaur demon marched into the cave.
There was a chorus of growls and hisses filled with rage around me from the neighboring cages, mixed in with whimpers and cries for help.
I sat up, watching him make his way over to my cage. I should have felt fear—a rational person would have—but I only felt rage. A hot, delicious rage spilled into my body. I was going insane. I hated these demons, but I hated what they’d done to me most of all.
Andromalius closed the distance between us and stood below my cage. He looked up. “Mistress Vorkol wishes me to convey a message to you.”
I frowned. I didn’t like the sound of that. “She does. Does she?”
Andromalius folded his muscular arms over his large chest. “Yes.”
I squinted at the demon. “I know you’re not the most talkative demon, but are you just going to stand there, batting your eyelashes at me? Or are you going to tell me?”
The minotaur flared his nostrils, looking pissed. “She wishes to tell you Farissael won’t be coming to rescue you.”
Oh. Shit.
My heart pounded madly and I gave a small laugh. “Who says he was?” Damn. Damn. Damn.
“He did,” answered Andromalius with a sneer in his voice.
Crap.
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my shaking to a minimum. “He told you that?” I asked, my voice high and panicky. Did Faris really betray me? My pulse raced and I felt ill. What about Logan? Oh, god, Logan!
The minotaur let out a breath. “He did not. But he was caught trying to make a deal with Krampus—one of our Rift experts—for your return to your world,” said the minotaur, his words twisted and snarling. “Stupid bastard. He’s awaiting his trial.”
“His trial?” My insides twisted into a hard knot. Faris hadn’t betrayed me, but it didn’t sound like a victory. “What happens if he’s found guilty?”
“Death.”
Anxiously, I wrapped my hands around the bars, trying to keep them from shaking. The cold, familiar feeling of dread settled in me, and my gut clenched.
I opened my mouth and asked the question I most feared. “What happened to Logan?” I barely knew the guy, but it had been my fault he’d been stuck in here with me. The thought of him escaping had given me a small sense of relief. Now, I felt only dread and hollowness.
Andromalius leaned back. “Who?”
I rolled my eyes. “His lover. The angel-born?” Hadn’t he been paying attention? Yeah, not the sharpest sword in the Netherworld armory.
The minotaur waved a hand in dismissal, his expression irate. “I don’t know anything about that.”
Oh, god. It was worse than I thought.
“It is not the first time Farissael got himself mixed up with a witch,” said Andromalius, feeling chatty all of a sudden. “It seems he’s developed a taste for mortals over the years.”
“What are you talking about?” I didn’t think the big demon bull would answer, but it was worth a shot.
“I do not know all the details,” said Andromalius. “But I do know the idiot had wed some witch, long before your time and long before there were automobiles and radios.”
Faris was married to a witch? The damned demon was full of surprises. Why hadn’t he told me? Being married to a witch must have been a big deal. I looked at the satisfied gleam in the demon’s yellow eyes. “What happened to her?”
The minotaur smiled, revealing his twin rows of sharp teeth. “Tortured and killed, obviously. Her soul devoured. As it should be.”
“You sick bastards,” I spat, wishing I could fry his ugly cow ass right now. I was dying for a cheese burger.
“Mortals breed like a cancer. And we’ve been dealing with relations between humans and demons for centuries. Our laws are very clear on the matter. No demons are allowed to mate with mortals.” He gave me a look a pure disgust. “Look what happened when we did. A weak race of half-breeds emerged. It is forbidden.”
This news was nothing new. I’d grown up hearing the stories of how the pure demons despised our half-breed races. It wasn’t that we were weak. It was because we were strong and could walk in the sun and live in our world when they could not. And they all hated us for it.
But it explained why Vorkol hadn’t seemed very concerned about Faris’s declaration of love for Logan. Two males couldn’t procreate. It was why he’d chosen Logan and not me.
I let go of the bars and slumped back. The thought of a child from Faris’s marriage came to my mind. But I wouldn’t risk voicing it. What if there had been a child? If I said anything now, Vorkol was vindictive enough go after the entirety of Faris’s living descendants and kill them all. The demon bitch was cold.
“One more thing,” said Andromalius.
My eyes flicked back to him. “You’re just full of sunshine and rainbows today.”
The minotaur’s yellow eyes flashed. “Mistress Vorkol wishes you a nice and happy long, long life.”