All the Queen's Angels

Ch. 27: Damn You

We arrive at the border at dusk.

I peek over Malcolm's shoulder, fighting exhaustion. A wall of towering, ancient trees steeped in fog marks the end of Forsythian territory and the beginning of the Infernal Lord's realm.

A twig snaps. Suddenly, hundreds of Forsythian soldiers spring from the bushes. They were waiting along the border and we rode right to them like fools.

Malcolm doesn't flinch, snapping the horse's reins as he unsheathes his sword.

"Hang on tight."

He plunges into the chaos, slicing past soldiers mercilessly. All I can do is cling to him and I curse my uselessness.

But as he plows through the crowd, soldiers begin to realize they can't really strike him.

They can't risk hurting me. I cackle, partly delirious. It can't be that easy.

Hands clamp onto my waist. I jinxed it.

"Hell no," I snarl before kicking the soldier trying to pull me off in the face. I grin triumphantly back at the soldiers watching me in fear, and my smile falters. Why are they-

A shower of blood splatters across my face as I turn to watch Malcolm beheading a lieutenant. Malcolm wipes a streak of blood off of his face and smirks, eyes practically glowing. The blood seeps into his skin and turns his veins black.

"Playtime's over, fools."

Malcolm plunges his hand into the air as he harnesses the fog in his fist. As the clearing fills with impenetrable black smoke, we ride straight into the forest.

As the trees close in on us, the choking gasps of the Forsythian troops echo as they realize too late it was poison gas.

We tear through the trees and into the shadows of the ancient forest as the surviving troops pursue. As I cling to his back, I look up to see Malcolm panting with exhaustion.

"Almost there?," I ask, partly in hopes of encouraging him. He could just change his mind and leave me here.

"Almost home," he breathes.

We burst from the forest into a clearing burned to ash. Every tree, every remaining sign of life, is black with rot. All that remains untouched is a lake in the middle, seemingly made of silver. Not a single breeze disturbs the eerie clearing.

The clamor of the troops grows closer as he dismounts and helps me off the horse. He takes my hand and guides me to the lake where he begins to walk into, fully clothed. I hesitate.

"You gotta trust me," Malcolm whispers. I hear the soldiers approaching the clearing. I nod and follow him into the lake.

The water burns my skin with a deathly cold I've never felt before. Just as the soldiers burst into the clearing, Malcolm pulls me under.

The lake is infinitely deeper than it looks, extending down into oblivion.

Malcolm begins to swim down and I want to cry because there is nothing more terrifying than a bottomless body of water and now he's dragging me down with him. I begin to choke as the air escapes my lungs.

Sensing my panic, Malcolm pulls me close and holds me to his chest.

I want to scream at him that he's not my husband and we literally just met so this is not fucking comforting goddammit.

(The only comforting about this situation is the idea of dying in a hot man's arms. I could live with that.)

My lungs start to burn and spots crowd my vision. I try to remember if he's immortal, or if he's just insane, because I seem to be the only one at risk of drowning. My thoughts escape my like bubbles chasing each other to the surface.

Too late, I realize I've let go of my breath. Malcolm stares down at me in disbelief. He doesn't hesitate when he clasps my neck and brings his lips to mine, breathing life into me.

Suddenly, the water begins to swirl, slowly at first but soon violently. The lake has become a whirlpool and we are now just beneath the surface. As we break away, I look down and wish for death.

Because out of the depths emerges a gaping set of wicked jaws. Three rows of massive teeth belonging to a massive, infernal sea creature.

It's headed straight for us. I don't have time to even think of swimming to the surface before its jaws clamp down on us. The roar of water is deafened by the sinister hiss that pierces the water.

I shut my eyes and cling to Malcolm as the monster's teeth sever us from the world.

The last thing I think of is Ambrose, sitting in a cell not unlike this one.

A moment later, everything falls silent. I open my eyes just in time to see the monsters jaws gape open once again, spitting us out onto a black marble floor.

We slide across the tile and I roll over beneath Malcolm, choking and coughing and heaving.

"Are you stupid how could you just scream underwater—." He stops himself, cursing under his breath, and turns me onto my back again.

"Are you alright?," he asks, more softly this time. I look around to find us in a circular chamber. Everything about it screams opulence and luxury. The only peculiar thing is the walls lined with the wicked heads of the same sea creature, jaws gaping like insidious train station terminals. The sea creature...is a mode of transportation.

"I want a fucking divorce," I croak, before collapsing back onto the ground. Malcolm chuckles.

"You're no fun."

Malcolm grabs my hand and helps me to my feet. Although shadows of exhaustion bruise his eyes, they still shine with excitement.

A goddam adrenaline junkie.

"Welcome home, darling."

...
A/N: it's giving "hang on tight spidermonkey" 💀