Beyond His Evil

FORTY-ONE.

~THIRD-PERSON POV~

His claws hovered an inch from Zethar’s heart when suddenly, his entire body froze, paralyzed as if an invisible chain gripped every muscle.

All Devon could do was stare, powerless.

Zethar’s lips curled into a cruel smirk.
“A necklace, Devon?” he sneered, voice dripping with mockery. “Did you truly believe I’d depend on something so... weak?”

Devon fought to move, but his body remained unresponsive.

“No, no, no, Devon,” Zethar said, stepping forward, eyes burning like coals. “I’ve always been watching her... watching you. I witnessed your kiss, your whispered vows, the confession of your love. The necklace was merely a token, an afterthought. Because long before she arrived, I was already watching her.”

He leaned in close, his gaze locking onto Devon’s like iron shackles.

“You recall the dream she spoke of—the shadow that followed her? What if I told you she was entirely correct?”

Devon felt the compulsion sealing his lips begin to unravel.

“You lied to me!” he snarled through clenched teeth. “I came to you, asked you—”

“You betrayed me, demon,” Zethar hissed coldly. “And yet, your life will not end here. You shall serve a purpose yet to come.”

“What have you done to her, Zethar?”

Movement returned to him, but agony struck like a hammer inside Devon’s skull, shattering his senses. He screamed and crumpled to his knees, clutching his head as pain radiated through every nerve.

“Master Zethar, demon,” the vampire corrected sharply, voice like a blade. “Never forget your place.”

The unbearable pain faded, leaving Devon gasping for breath.

“I know you plan to run with her,” Zethar whispered. “But if you haven’t realized already, I’ll make it clear: That night, I marked her. She belongs to me.”

Devon trembled with rage, fists clenched tight enough to bleed.

“Step too far from me, and she dies. Kill me, and she dies. We are bound, one and the same. I see through her eyes, breathe with her lungs, and hear every whispered thought. And I know, she’s awakened her powers.”

His smile twisted cruelly. “And soon... she’ll turn twenty. I wonder what sounds she’ll make when I—”

Before the sentence finished, Devon blurred forward, grabbing Zethar by the throat and slamming him against the wall. A dent was formed.

“I will kill you.”

Zethar laughed, wheezing, eyes glinting with triumph.
“Kill me... and you kill her.”

Devon’s grip faltered, reluctant.

Zethar smirked, voice venomous.
“I warned you, time and again, to avoid love. It is a poison, beautiful, yet ruinous. It weakens, it clouds the mind. Look at you now, pathetic in your desperation.”

In the next moment, he delivered a punch that sent Devon sprawling across the room.

“For what it’s worth, she loves you, too. That very love shall be your undoing.”

A glass of blood appeared in his hand, and he drank it, sighing in pleasure.

“You have potential, more than any demon I’ve raised. But I underestimated you. You’ve ensnared the most powerful hunter in love... a strong fire elemental is pregnant with your child.”

Devon’s blood ran cold.

He knew Kira loved him, but a child?

With a fire elemental?

What was he saying?

Zethar’s expression darkened, voice dropping to a deadly whisper.

“One final task. The humans and hunters will be distracted at the anniversary celebration. Bring Kira to me by midnight. Fail... and I will come for her myself.”

His eyes burned with unholy fire.

“I will burn hunters and humans alike. I will snuff out your child before it breathes, and destroy that elemental. The era of hunters is ending.”

He laughed, a terrifying, maniacal sound.

“Once I have her, I’ll summon the son of Zalas. Zalas shall rise... and Heaven shall fall. You may join the new order… or be destroyed with the old.”

Devon didn’t teleport. But moments later, he found himself in his room—Zethar’s doing.

He growled, the room trembling with his fury.

Zethar had fooled him. Lied to him. The necklace was a cruel ruse, designed to sever Kira’s trust.

His hands shook with rage.

A child... with a fire elemental.

He'd been with only one fire elemental—

His eyes widened in horror.

Evelyn.

His body froze, numb with dread.

No. Not her.

Not Evelyn too.

He dropped to his knees, burying his face in his hands.

Kira was in danger. Evelyn was pregnant with his child. And now she was caught in this nightmare.

He had failed them both.

A/N

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