Lorcan & Evette

Chapter Forty-Five

After peeling herself away from Lorcan, Evie started on her way through the castle, praying with everything she had that she could remember her way back to the doors. She'd only seen them once. Unfortunately, upon entry, her mind had been a wee bit preoccupied.

Sneaking her way through the castle, she fell back into that old routine from Castle Solum. She walked silently, sticking to the shadows.

There were no werewolves in sight.

Had she been less focused on escaping, she might've noticed how convenient this whole thing was.

She could hear the demons talking outside the doors. They were quiet. Quiet for demons, at least. It wasn't in a demon's nature to be quiet. They were jolly, rambunctious and loud.

Apparently, they took their jobs very seriously.

She hesitated again, thinking of her werewolf before the resolve set in. Even if a little part of her did want to stay with him and see where what they had was going, her leaving was best for the both of them. He needed someone his subjects didn't hate, and she needed someone Annaliese wouldn't kill on sight. She wouldn't cope with Lorcan dying. No, she couldn't stand to think about it. Removing herself wasn't an easy decision, but it was a decision that needed to be made.

She refused to regret it.

This whole thing was so much bigger than her and Lorcan. Their species were at war with each other, for heaven's sake. Evie didn't like to back down from a challenge, but she saw no point in fighting in a losing battle.

"Caspian," she greeted, slipping out the doors. "Claudio said you'd be here. You didn't have trouble getting in, did you?"

"That portal you came in from isn't properly guarded yet. Since it's been dormant for so long, it's been neglected. Getting through there was easy." He shrugged casually. "The guards haven't added it to their rounds yet. I'm sure they will after tonight's expedition."

That was a lie. The guards had been stationed elsewhere for the night.

"Right," she nodded. "You know what you're doing, don't you?"

"I do. I'm getting you out of this realm and past the cabin. From there, you're on your own. Good luck with that, witch."

She muttered something about needing it.

"This is my crew," Caspian told her, pointing to five other demons. Some tipped their heads her way, horns glistening beneath the light of the moon. "They're all trusted soldiers of Claudio's. Not my usual bunch, but they'll do."

"Your usual bunch? So you do this kind of thing a lot."

"Search and retrieve's not really my thing—but yeah. I piss off powerful immortals for a living."

She'd pegged him for the sort.

"You're not worried about Lorcan hunting you down?"

Caspian chuckled. That was impossible, but he had a lie at the ready.

"With his mate gone, Lorcan's going to be too busy hunting you down to give a shit about me. For your sake, I hope there's someone who can cloak you when you get back to Veneficus."

"There is."

"Good. Ready to go?"

She nodded. As she walked with them, she cast an odd glance back over her shoulder at the castle. It almost felt longing. She hated the people in that castle. All of them except one.

"You coming?" Caspian called out to her. She nodded, hastening to catch up.

Flanked by the other demons, she stuck by his side. He was the only one she knew. Or semi-knew.